Adam Cooper F1

Felipe Massa is confident that he will have a much stronger season this year after enduring a tough first half of 2012.

Massa spent most of last season in Fernando Alonso’s shadow, but says that this year represents a re-set.

“I can’t imagine a team not wanting two competitive drivers,” said Massa in Italy today. “We are fighting for two titles and I am sure the team will help me if it turns out that my situation was the same as the one that meant Fernando was a contender these past years.

“I remember when Kimi was my team-mate and how much we helped one another from one season to the next. It’s the same with Fernando, it’s team work, while the harmony between us is a help, as it would be in any job.

“In Australia we start over from zero and it will all depend on my ability and on the way the championship pans out. I hope to get off to the best possible start, and my aim is always to carry the Brazilian flag onto the highest step of the podium. This year, I am the only Brazilian in Formula 1 and it was an emotional time on the podium in Interlagos last year, hearing the fans cheering my name. It’s a sign of the affection and closeness I feel from my country and that is fundamental for me.”

Regarding Ferrari’s potential he said: “We must wait and see the new car on track and right from the second test, we will have some indication, but it won’t be until Australia that we will know if we have done a good job.

“Vettel is definitely one of our main rivals, but McLaren also finished last year with a very quick car and the stability of the regulations means they too will be contenders. In any case, I am confident in my team and I am sure Ferrari will be in the hunt.”

Fernando Alonso says he has high hopes for 2013 , and expects to have a better start to the season than he did last year.

However he denies that Ferrari is ‘obliged’ to win this season having come so close to the 2012 World Championship.

“I don’t think there is necessarily an obligation to win,” said Alonso at a media event in Italy. “Sport means sacrifice, work, enjoyment of what one does and for the past three years, I’ve been fortunate to be in the fight for important targets.

“There are 24 drivers in Formula 1 and few of them can say they have won races and usually finished on the podium. Since I’ve been at Ferrari, two out of three times I have come very close to being world champion, which is the target for me and for a team like ours and I hope I can now make that three times out of four.

“I’m confident I can start the season with a better car than the one we had in the first few months of last year. It was actually in the early races that we lost decisive points, when we had a car that was only good enough for seventh, as was the case in China, or ninth in Bahrain. The fact we are working with just one wind tunnel, the Toyota one in Cologne, could be a small advantage.”

Alonso was full of praise for team mate Felipe Massa.

“I have always said that Felipe was one of the best drivers around and I still remember that some people smiled when I said this last year. He and I have always helped one another, day by day and I expect him to always be very close to me in terms of performance: what was not normal was the difference between us over the past two years, but now I don’t think that will be the case. That will be a very positive factor for me and especially for the team.”

He is also pleased to have Pedro de la Rosa on board: “When there are new arrivals in high level teams, it is always important. Pedro will work mainly on the simulator, an area where we were not at the same level as the best and his experience will be useful.

“Having said that, it’s not the case that a new driver can change things or can do it in the simulator – there are and there will be further and more significant new arrivals that can make the team grow.”

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali admits that this season will be a tough one as the team prepares for the new turbo era in 2014 – but insists that the Italian outfit will be going all out to be competitive from the first race.

“The 2013 season will be a complex one from many points of view,” said Domenicali at a media event in Italy. “We face a few changes on the technical front which will have a significant impact on all areas of the company, not just in terms of design, but also when it comes to the investment and infrastructure required to develop the new engine.

“Within the limits imposed by the regulations, we need to put every effort into reaching our objectives, while making the best use of the timescale in preparing for 2014. Our aim is clear, to win, and the priority is still that of giving our drivers a car that will be competitive right from the very start.”

Domenicali is confident that the team will be able to retain a better grip on aero development as it is focussing on the Toyota wind tunnel rather than trying to compare results with Ferrari’s own.

“The development of the 2013 car began in the Cologne wind tunnel and is on-going. I certainly expect to see greater efficiency than last year, because we will no longer need to carry out comparisons of data and correlation with the Maranello wind tunnel, which is currently being rebuilt and is due to be operational again after the summer break.”

Ferrari confirmed today that Pedro de la Rosa has joined the team as a development driver.

De la Rosa, who is close to Fernando Alonso and worked with the former champion at McLaren, will focus on improving the Ferrari simulator. He brings with him useful inside knowledge of the McLaren simulator, with which he worked until late 2011.

Explaining the move, Stefano Domenicali said: “We decided to add de la Rosa to our group of drivers mainly to strengthen one area, namely work in the simulator, which with the current regulations regarding testing, is becoming ever more important.

“Pedro therefore joins a group of drivers that already includes Davide Rigon, Marc Gene, Andrea Bertolini and Jules Bianchi. Regarding the latter, who is also part of the FDA, we are currently trying to find him a role in Formula 1 and when we have some news, we will let you know.”

De la Rosa is well known to Ferrari’s engineers after using the Maranello company’s engines at Sauber in 2010, and of course has an established relationship with technical director Pat Fry, another ex-McLaren man.

He had an ongoing contract with the now defunct HRT team but was left without a drive when the owners pulled the plug after the Brazilian GP.

“It is amazingly motivating to be working for a team like Ferrari, not just because of what it represents in the history of Formula 1 and motoring in general, but also because it will be a completely new and very stimulating experience for me,” said de la Rosa.

“I really hope I can get to work as soon as possible and to help in the development of the car. I am happy to be collaborating with Fernando again and also to be working with Felipe. There’s not much time until Australia, but there is a lot to do and I am available to help the team from right now.”

Sergio Perez and his new boss Martin Whitmarsh in Woking today

Sergio Perez enjoyed his first official day as a McLaren driver today, speaking to the assembled team staff and also meeting the media wearing his new colours.

It was not his first visit to the McLaren factory, as he has already been there to try the simulator and for a seat fitting and engineering meetings, but until today he had not been on PR duty for the team. Not surprisingly the Mexican was in an upbeat mood.

“It’s been a great day, a very busy day, but extremely a nice day,” he said. “I have really enjoyed all the work as an official McLaren driver. It’s been very special for me.”

Perez admits that he has a lot of work to do even before testing of the new car begins at the start of February.

“The most important thing for me is to get into the rhythm of everything automatically, in terms of the steering wheel, to get to know all the codes, all the functions of the car, to understand the car quite a lot in terms of set-ups for me to be able to have a good communication with my engineers.

“I think it’s a very important part as well to build my relationship with my engineers, with the team, and to get together so when I come into the first test I have as much familiarisation as possible with the whole team, and when we get to Melbourne that I’m very well prepared and everything comes automatically, and I don’t have to think so many things. The more prepared I can get, the better it will be.”

Asked by this writer if he was getting to know key technical folk Paddy Lowe and Sam Michael, he said: “We had some time during last year, some meetings obviously to start the familiarisation for them and for myself, so we start to understand ourselves. It’s going well, time after time it’s getting better. I think we are going in the right direction and we are doing good work so far, and we have a month to go before the first test.”

He admits that he wasn’t able to get too involved in what direction the new car has taken.

“Obviously it’s difficult for me to give any input but in the simulator while driving the team already started to know me better in terms of driving style, so I think in that respect that helped a bit. But if I’m honest I didn’t have much input in the new car.”

Elaborating on the news that he had already tried the McLaren simulator – a tool he did not have access to at his previous team – he said: “I was there last year, Sauber allowed me to come. I was there for only one half day.”

Bernie Ecclestone insists that the German GP will take place as scheduled at the Nurburgring on July 7.

The track alternates with Hockenheim for the right to hold the race but financial problems – the fallout of a misguided attempt at creating a Nurburgring motor racing theme park – meant that the race has been in limbo since the 2013 schedule was announced, with suggestions that it might return to Hockenheim.

However Ecclestone has told Reuters that the race should go ahead as planned, saying: “It should be the Nurburgring and we are trying to make it happen. I’m talking with them today.”

Ecclestone also said that the calendar will stick at 19 races, which means that his attempt to revive the Turkish GP has failed.

That in turn means that Hungary will be the only race to take place between Germany on July 7 and Belgium at the end of August.

Luca di Montezemolo was in good form in today’s meeting with the media in Italy, and as well as discussing his team’s season the Ferrari boss aired his views on the bigger picture.

As in the past he stressed the need for F1 to be a platform for developing road car technology. He also made it clear that he had little time for smaller teams with budget problems – and suggested once again that it would be a better option to for bigger teams to sell them cars.

His views confirm that there is still much uncertainty behind the scenes about the future direction of the sport.

“During the year, there were some things I did not like,” he said. “I saw cars that did not comply with the regulations, but instead of being disqualified, their teams were told to fix it for the next race.

“Above all, I note with regret that it is no longer possible to have a technology transfer from the track to the road, because in too many areas, development is frozen and because aerodynamics is too important, so that the cars are more and more like spacecraft and less like cars.

“All this is born of a desire to go for the lowest common denominator, something that needs to stop, and is the result of decisions made four years ago, at the time of Mosley, when there was an urgent necessity to reduce costs. With 2014 however, we need to start a new phase – we will see which means of governance Formula 1 will adopt, but we will put forward our ideas very forcefully.

“For our part, a choice which I wanted to emphasise to give the greatest possible emphasis with the Board of Directors, is that we will do all in our power to push for a strong change, to bring Formula 1 back to its role as a real test bed for road car research.

“We will no longer accept this principal of absolute democracy. The gap between the small teams and the big ones is still very big but you can’t always do everything at the lowest level – if they don’t have the resources or the structure then they should compete in a lower series.

“On this subject, I will put back on the table the idea of selling a third car to the smaller teams, a solution that would allow them to have a competitive car at relatively low cost, which would allow them to attract more sponsors.”

Montezemolo has long made his opposition to testing restrictions clear, a stance that is no surprise given that Ferrari has access to both Fiorano and Mugello, but can’t utilise them.

“As for testing, it’s getting close to ridiculous,” he said. “The FIA is not opposed to it, we are not, and so what is the reason for it? There are teams who have put a lot of funding into simulators as have we, while at the same time we have invested heavily at Mugello, which is now one of the nicest circuits in the world.

“In the next few days we will meet Ecclestone and Todt and we will put all these perplexing points on the table. I would remind everyone that test sessions are not just for developing the cars, but are also an opportunity for sponsors and for young drivers. What possible media or commercial interest can there be in testing in a simulator?”

Luca di Montezemolo has defended Ferrari’s actions regarding the Vettel/Vergne Brazilian GP incident – and taken the opportunity to tease Bernie Ecclestone.

After Bernie responded to the yellow flag saga Montezemolo made reference to Ecclestone’s age – and Bernie in turn pointed out that he had once dealt with an 88-year-old Enzo Ferrari. Montezemolo struck back today.

“Every so often, Bernie likes to play the boss and gets involved in matters that don’t concern him – godfathers no longer exist, at least not in Formula 1,” said Montezemolo at a media event.

“Interpretation of flags, be they yellow or blue is nothing to do with him and he used expressions that I do not accept. Our behaviour in this instance was not only transparent, but perfect, and maybe he would do better to think about attracting bigger crowds and more youngsters, and to discuss more with the television stations and the media.”

He also made it clear that it was time to for F1 to plan for life after Ecclestone.

“We are approaching a time when we need to think about the future, because all eras must inevitably come to an end, as happened to us when Todt, Brawn and Schumacher left. It’s not a case of replacing Bernie and in fact I do not like doing to others what I would not want to happen to myself.

“It’s a question that needs to be tackled with the current owners of this sport, CVC which, let us not forget, is an investment company looking for a financial return on what it has invested in Formula 1. The era of the one man show cannot continue – the future should be in the hands of a team that will look after all the different areas.

“We are slowly approaching the end of a period characterised by the style of one man who has done significant things. It’s a bit of a similar case to what will happen to me: within the decade I will face this question, but when I am 75 not 82…”

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo insists that the Italian team made the right decision in retaining Felipe Massa for another season, despite his poor first half of the 2012 season.

Montezemolo insisted that there was no one available for 2013 who could have done a better job.

“The Brazilian improved a great deal in the second half,” he said at a media event in Italy. “In fact in the first part, it seemed he’d gone on a round the world holiday! Joking apart, I think the decision to reconfirm his position was the right one. If we had changed, then one would need to take on someone who would make a difference, and I can’t say I noticed many drivers around who would be quicker than Felipe.

“Also, we did not want to change the balance and the good atmosphere within the team. Domenicali and I told ourselves it was best to wait and I think that the facts proved us right. Towards the end, when Felipe was even faster than Fernando a couple of times, the points he scored played a vital part in securing our place in the Constructors’ championship.”

Regarding the championship as a whole, Montezemolo said there were positives and negatives.

“You can see the glass as half full or half empty, but clearly there is great regret. Because the outcome went down to the wire, because after that first lap in Brazil, maybe things could have turned out differently, because Fernando went on holiday at the start of the summer break with a 40 point lead over his closest challenger and because, when it came to collisions we were forced to retire, while others kept going as if nothing had happened. However, the biggest regret is that we did not have a car that was quick enough to win the World Championship.

“On the glass half full side, we had amazing reliability which allowed us to come second in the Constructors’ championship, despite the fact McLaren was quicker than us, and despite the fact that, in the first half of the season, we pretty much only had Alonso’s points to count on.

“There were those great starts and pit stops and the fact Fernando had an extraordinary season, the best since he has been in Formula 1. Next year, let’s hope we can say it was our best season, given that we want to give him and Felipe a car that’s competitive right from the start.”

Marussia has confirmed the not unexpected news that Max Chilton will partner Timo Glock in 2013.

Chilton, who impressed in GP2 this season, drove for the team in FP1 in Abu Dhabi, and was its official reserve for the last six races.

He will be Glock’s fourth team mate in four years after Lucas di Grassi, Jerome D’Ambrosio and Charles Pic.

“It comes at the end of what has been a fantastic year for me,” said Chilton. “And those steps – my GP2 pole positions and wins, my performances in the F1 Young Driver Test and in FP1 at Abu Dhabi – have given everyone the confidence in my ability to compete at the highest level of motor sport.

“I am very fortunate to have spent the last six races with the Marussia F1 Team as Reserve Driver, which means that instead of a standing start, I am already up to speed and at ease with the people, the culture, the systems and of course, the 2012 package.

“During the period since the Japanese Grand Prix, I have watched at very close quarters the incredible commitment and determination to succeed that saw everyone in the team pushing until the very last race. I feel very lucky to be able to embark on my F1 racing career with this group of people.”

Team principal John Booth said: “We have spent a significant amount of time evaluating his performances during 2012, both in our own car in a testing situation and also from the pit wall as we monitored his progress alongside the other members of our junior talent pool during Grand Prix support races.

“We felt confident enough in his ability and potential to appoint him to the role of Reserve Driver in September and since that time his development has been rapid in all aspects. First and foremost, he has shown himself to be extremely capable in the car.

“Most recently, in Abu Dhabi, he was put to the test in a competitive environment which included providing him with an opportunity to demonstrate his outright pace and consistency over a single lap. We saw just how much he has progressed even since the Silverstone test in the summer and through the succession of GP2 races thereafter, when he achieved two pole positions and two race wins.

“Not only that, Max very quickly embedded himself within the team, thanks in no small part to the fact that he is a lively and affable character who we’ve enjoyed having around. Having been integral to our race weekend engineering environment for the past three months already – as well as having undertaken a significant part of our simulator programme – Max has already found his feet.”