Montezemolo's bet is always the "first and most famous driver", Schumi, Kimi and now Alonso, never Massa.

No one to comment? OK I'll propose a medals system here. Gold for who finishes ahead on the race, silcer for qualy and bronze for the fatest time of the 3 FP's. So no one has nothing so far.

About today, seems really impossible to figure out what happend. Because if Ferrari wasn't in a wild race program with both drivers - or building a 30 feet high sand barrier - I'm really concerned.

EDIT: Gold for the best finishing position no matter what.

Actually as Kimi crossed the line he became the champion since Hamilton was lapped and hence couldn't gain positions.

I´m spanish but think massa will be a problem for Fernando. remember 2007 season... Hamilton-Fernando..... and Fernando crying all the day.... jajajaja

This year will be funny!!!!

Regards

yes, that is true. But remember that some weren't sure right after he crossed the line.

I remember James Allen saying that they have to wait to see Kubica and Rosberg crossing the line (they were still fighting for position) and Martin Brundle corrected him by saying that it doesn't matter since Hamilton was lapped hence couldn't gain position.

That's why on the radio after a few seconds Chris Dyer said "it's all over, Hamilton 7, by my calculation we win the championship by 1point". So that's why Kimi said that he wasn't sure if he won it when crossing the line because he was waiting for the confirmation on the radio.

Felipe looks happy

Well done

So Felipe was faster in qualifying, but as I always said, only race matters, so we'll see who is faster tomorrrow .

Time for some people to rethink their estimation of Massa, no?

Alonso made a crucial mistake on his last lap. Not good enough. He really should have been on pole. Im sure he will make up for it tomorrow.

I quite amazed that felipe still surprises people with his speed
what does this guy have to do to prove he's bloody fast??

0.4 sec, where did came from?


The race 300km in one go is a new format. So. No score yet, right?

Lets wait for the race. Alonso made a mistake and was generally quicker until the final run.

Good question.

First of all excellent predictions by people here during the winter testing. Red Bull and Ferrari are indeed the top 2. Mclaren never looked anything close to ferraris pace during winter and today that was underlined (still lets see tomorrow). I was a bit surprised by Mercedes, especially by michael. He was slower than rosberg in every session and at a time 1 second off front pace. But I think Mercedes race pace is much nicer.

As for tomorrow I am not sure red bull hasn't shown the race pace much during the winter...We know ferrari is easy on the tires but will they have enough speed to stop vettel? Its going to be an interesting race to watch

Excellent comeback for massa by outqualifying Alonso and starting P2 tomorrow. I sense he is going to edge Vettel by the end of the first lap.

And glad to see both Ferrari drivers dominating Lewis and Mclaren and Mercedes for that matter..

Good job by Massa.

Good lap by Massa. Surprised to see Alonso being slower in Q3 than in Q2, he must have made a pretty major mistake in S2.

in the end the mistake plays a part in it, isn't it? depends when you make it. The fact that he made a mistake it's no excuse.
Massa didn't make the mistake so he is p2.

If it was the other way round, I would say the same think.

Yeah, he was generally very fast in S2 and in his last lap he didn't quite manage to reach it, it must have been a mistake.

So, Massa is the winner of today's battle between the two, let's see what they can do tomorrow. Even though I support Alonso, I think Massa will finish ahead this time as he's always been really great on this track.

I was surprised to see that everyone except Massa was slower in Q3 than Q2.

If Felipe manages to put one over Fred tomorrow, then I will hand the points to him.

People jumping the gun after qualy is amusing. Nothing between the Ferrari drivers right now.

I didn't realise that, but why?

Im in the group of people that think Alonso will beat Massa through out the championship, but today there is absolute no excuse for Alonso,he might have done a mistake, but Massa did not, he made an excellent quali so kudos for him. as of now no one can contradict the fact that massa beat alonso in quali so, massa 1 --alonso 0.
On the other hand i agree that tomorrow is the race, and everything can happen, so yes tomorrow i hope alonso beats massa

cheers

LOL at some Kimi fans and Alonso haters, it's only quali from the first GP

People jumping the gun after practice is amusing. Don't forget what we have just witnessed is raw low-fuel pace. Yes it's the race and tyre management that really count towards points but IMO Massa deserves praise for this. Withholding it seems odd to me.

you know that there are some people that are neutral that appreciate Massa as a very quick driver.
Personally I think that at the end of the year Alonso will be in front of Massa as points, but not at such difference as some may think.
It will be close.

I agree

I'm not degrading what Massa has done, it was a great lap and he outpaced Alonso. However the race is the ultimate focus and with tyre management and no refuelling, I'll be interested to see how Massa handles Alonso and what his performance is like.

Just think its too early to judge anything...to be honest.

I won't be surprised if Felipe is in front of Fernando at the end of the season, many things can happen in races and the difference between them is tiny. But reading those comments just make me laugh, chill out boys, that must not be healthy, for sure

Good improvement from MS in the last session!

0.3 sec off teammate's pace on a long lap isn't that bad, considering he hasn't raced competitively for 3.5 yrs

he was consistently 0.3 sec off Rosberg in sector 1 only literally every lap, sector 2 and 3 he was on par with Rosberg.....different setup, maybe?

Considering he struggled with understeery nature of the car, ít's really not a bad performance for the 1st comeback race!

back to Ferrari, I'm happy for Felipe! he was chirping like a happy lil bird in the press conference!

Alonso looked gloomy

I am not surprised! I think that Massa will have it over Alonso all season. Though I am wary of the "Hand of di Montezemolo." ;-}

Felipe is starting on the dirty line. I am interested to watch how Fernando takes advantage of that at the start.

After seeing today's qualy, I would say AGAIN Alonso will beat Massa.

Is this the Kimi Vs. Massa thread?

Ooooops! Sorry, wrong one I guess, just, the story seems all too familiar, and the excuses too, well, at least it will keep us entertained as always LMFAO

I told all the Tifosi who was lauding Alonso as the man to take Ferrari forward, not to underestimate Massa. I made that mistake when he went up against Raikkonen and he has had my respect ever since. The guy is seriously fast. 4 tenths up on Alonso is no joke. If Alonso was still in the Renault, the pundits would be saying "thats all the car had"

The interesting part is Q2 and Q3 are at least now directly comparable, all the same low fuel. So it gives an plain picture who is off the pace. Massa was faster in Q3 than Q2 and didn't make a mistake.
I was surprised that Alonso was a whole 0.5 of a second slower than his Q2 time on the same fuel load. It shows he had the pace for pole but something went wrong in Q3 and he saved the tyres.

Red Bull or Renautl engine is going to break down like always

Massa just has to keep his head cool and wait for the Red Bull to start getting problems.

This is one of Massa's tracks so it's certain going to be interesting to see who has the upper hand tomorrow in the race, looking forward to it.

I didn't read any excuse, everybody agree Alonso made a mistake in S2 and Massa was faster.

Good on Massa to come out the 1st race and show everyone that's he's ready and back on form.

No one as of late (the last few years) thinks Massa is slow or erratic anymore from his 1st year or 2. He's a solid driver that is very capable of winning races.

Fernando is Fernando and has sooo loyal fans and an F1 champ. Just live with the fact that until Massa beats him consistently.. comments will always be there .. At least he took 1st blood ..

I still think Fernando will come out on top when you look at the final standings at year end.

See you in this thread, after 4-5 races.
Alonso gonna win.

How can anybody would have said that when he was previously 0.5 secs faster. Too much hate

Judging after what has happened so far this weekend the shit will hit the fan very soon. It's just a matter of time before Alonso will moan about this and that. There was never any question that Felipe would be up there and 100% healthy. But it's inevitable that there's going to be some dirty tricks within the team from Alonso's side. Felipe will have to learn fast because he will need it. Luca created this situation but Enzo also made mistakes. It's all good in the end but there will be fireworks for sure.

Oh, Alonso's mistake is no excuse at all ROTFLMFAO!!!!

The fact is, Massa did NOT make a mistake, meaning, he drove better? Very much like it used to happen with Raikkonen.

No surprises for me, Massa is a seriously fast driver, I've always said that I wouldn't be in the least bit embarassed by being outqualified by him, but, this was the stickng point in "proving" (at least for some of you guys) that Raikkonen stank and that he needed to be replaced by Alonso if Ferrari was to have a chance. Well, it don't look much different, does it? Even if Fernando comes tomorrow, and beats Massa, and goes on to win the Championship even if Massa out Qs him 60% of the time, you will still say, racing is where it counts, and then, well, wouldn't that still not be better than Raikkonen did?

So yea, same excuses, sorry to point out.

it is reported the part between the steering wheel and the seat failed to deliver

"something went wrong".. he just made a mistake and that's it.
they will be head to head all season

Yeah but Raikkonen was WDC and Massa wasn't - and Massa had his very good chance in 2008 and couldn't get it done. So I don't know where you get all your confidence. Alonso is a 2 time WDC, so he's already proven he is capable. Before anyone goes off the handle, I am not an Alonso fan and I wish Massa all the luck in the world (and I do feel he has skill) - but I think you have to keep sight of the reality. Alonso is a great driver and cannot be summarily dismissed as if he hasn't the talent and ability to leave Massa in the dust, much like Raikkonen did in his first FER year. Keeping Alonso happy may be as important as they made keeping Kimi happy at first. You just never know. Again, I do not like Alonso; I feel he participated in a dangerous bit of cheating and I'll never forgive or forget that - but that doesn't make his talent and skill disappear.

I think a lot of the excitement around Fernando has been his temperament. Felipe seems such an easy-going agreeable guy who is blindingly - subtly - fast. And Kimi was just too cool for the Scuderia who want some spark - like MS gave them.

So this really gets to the dynamics of what it takes to be WDC and, per the prognostications prior to the present, the conventional wisdom seems to indicate that you have to be something in addition to blindingly fast. Indeed, you have to be a polarizing character. Which is kind of contrary to the "team" spirit Ferrari promote.

I am an Alonso fan. He is very fast and full of character. He makes for a good show. In the end, though, I hope that Ferrari fully support their "team boy," (Massa). He is blindingly fast. He will have the measure of Fernando through the first half of the season (after which, Fernando will self destruct) and he should end up as WDC. Goodness knows that he deserves it.

FA fan here. Massa was better today when it mattered. Case closed. Now let's see what happens tomorrow.

Word to the drivers, PLEASE DO NOT CRASH at the start!

Go take a look at the charts again. Massa was the only one who improved from q2 to q3 and Alonso's loss of time was about average of what everybody's else lost. And btw this loss of time from q2 to q3 can be explained by the drop in track temperature.

DONT FEED HIM.

Not me. He lost about the same everybody else lost from q2 to q3. So, i'm not convinced he made any mistake.

These threads are pointless. No matter who 'wins' they never deserved to win.