Fernando Alonso (August 25th)
The holidays that ended today, just before leaving for Belgium, have been very relaxing. Immediately after the Hungarian Grand Prix, I was in Maranello to work on the simulator and with my engineers, from where I headed for home, via a stop off at Madonna di Campiglio for a presentation of the book about twenty years of the Wrooom event. In the days that followed, I split my time between Switzerland and Spain, trying to avoid any long journeys: we can expect the final part of the season to be quite stressful and I wasn’t keen on the idea of seeing even more hotels and airports.

In fact, the means of transport I used most was the bicycle. Apart from the usual training, I had some fun doing a “mini Vuelta” in the area around Oviedo: along with my best friends, we tackled five stages and it was great fun. Three weeks is more than enough time to unwind, at least after the first few days. I made the most of it to recharge the batteries in preparation for the final part of the season, which I think was the same for everyone: it was much needed, after a particularly hectic month of July.

Now, I really want to get back on track, but in a positive sense, without any feeling of anxiety, but in a very calm way. I am happy that the return to racing means going to two particularly special venues which host the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix. The Belgian track is possibly the most appealing of the entire season, while Monza will be something special for me, given that it will be my race debut as a Ferrari driver in front of the Italian crowd, in addition to the circuit itself having played such an important role in the history of motor sport.

I have a good feeling following on from the positive results obtained in Germany and Hungary. As the saying goes, we have to keep the momentum and that should be our aim in Spa, to ensure we carry on the way we started just before the holidays. The Hockenheim and Budapest results were important not just in terms of the classification in both championships, but also for the confidence it has given us. We have to keep pushing on this way.

Felipe Massa (August 24th)
I am preparing to leave Sao Paolo to return to Europe for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, having spent all my free time since the Hungarian Grand Prix at home here in Brazil. Usually, when you go on holiday it involves some sort of journey, but with all the travelling involved in my job, for me the ideal holiday is being at home and not having to see an airport, sit on a plane or stay in a hotel. Therefore, staying at home with my family was the ideal break for me, catching up with everything going on here and meeting up with old friends. During the year, when I get the chance to stay in Brazil for a while, I admit that I miss my home country for a while after I leave, but knowing that I am returning to racing again is all the incentive I need to get on the plane back to Monaco.

It’s winter time now in Brazil, but to put that in perspective, the daytime temperature is still around 23 or 24 degrees, so nothing to complain about! Apart from keeping up my fitness training, I really managed to switch off for a while doing very little, although last weekend, I was at the Interlagos circuit that hosts the Brazilian Grand Prix later this year: my family organises a racing event so it was good to hear the sound of racing engines again. We run three different race categories here, in conjunction with FIAT. One is an open-wheeler category, similar to Formula 2, called Formula Future, which as the name suggests is aimed at finding young racing talent from the next generation. It is an important step for racing here, as for many years there was no “school” class with single-seater cars, which is why we wanted to do something for motor sport in Brazil. There is a category for Touring Cars also, using the FIAT Linea and finally there is a 600cc motorcycle class. It was the third round of the season and it was fun to be at a racetrack without all the pressure of racing myself.

Although it was a very quiet holiday, I am fully prepared for this weekend in Spa, as I kept in touch with the engineers, even though they were not working in the factory. We look in good shape, with some new parts coming as part of our constant development programme on the F10. The last time I raced here was in 2008 and it’s not just because I won the race that I love this track. I think all the drivers look forward to racing on this fabulous circuit. It is high speed, requiring less downforce than at many of the other tracks and fortunately, in the last few races, we showed that we have returned to being very competitive, even better than we had expected. But it is very hard to predict what could happen, as the small differences between the top teams means that performance has been very much track specific in terms of who had the slight advantage over the rest. As usual we need to wait and see how free practice goes before knowing what to expect.

There are only seven races left to go and I think that for the spectators and viewers at least, it should be a really exciting final part of the year, even if it might be a bit more tense for those of competing. But myself and Ferrari have been in this sort of situation before and we know how to deal with the pressure, by concentrating on the job in hand. Now we must build on the way we ended up just before the break, being competitive and putting ourselves back in the fight. I am definitely really motivated to get back in the cockpit because, even if I enjoyed the short holiday, I have to say I missed driving my race car and I can’t think of a better place to start again than at Spa. Even if it rains � and when didn’t we see water at Spa? � this is still a very enjoyable track to drive and actually it can be good fun in the wet. We just have to make sure we are ready to make the most of whatever the weekend throws at us.

Michael Schumacher finally issued a personal apology after their wheel-to-wheel duel in Hungary, Rubens Barrichello told ranks of reporters on Thursday.

The veteran Brazilian, who was the centre of attention at Spa-Francorchamps ahead of his milestone 300th grand prix, had earlier revealed that while Schumacher might have apologised with a website statement, the seven time world champion had not said sorry in person.

"I received a message from him today, an SMS," said Barrichello in Belgium.

"I just said thank you, no problem. I accepted it, wished him a good weekend, life goes on," added the 38-year-old.

Organisers of October’s Korean grand prix continue to defy speculation the venue will not be ready for its inaugural race in late October.

It has been announced that benched HRT driver Karun Chandhok will demonstrate a Red Bull F1 demo car at the Yeongam circuit next Saturday.

In addition to the doubled front wing scrutineering load tests, it has also emerged that the FIA will be probing the alleged flexibility of some F1 cars’ floors and skid-blocks at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend.

"I presume because Charlie (Whiting) has issued some clarification that there is some level of disquiet about what is happening or about to happen," McLaren’s managing director Jonathan Neale told reporters earlier this week.

It was a wet and sometimes sunny day at the famous Belgian circuit on Thursday, and more changeable weather is forecast throughout the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. Currently, the chance of a wet race is said to be 60 per cent.

"The weather at Spa always worries me a bit," said Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi. "It can be very unpredictable."

The Belgian Grand Prix, the thirteenth round of the 2010 World Championship, effectively got underway yesterday, as the transporters containing the two F10s that will be used by Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso set off from Maranello. The bulk of the team will leave Italy this afternoon at five, when the charter, regularly used for European race travel, will take off for Liege.

Late yesterday afternoon, Luca di Montezemolo met Stefano Domenicali and other senior engineers from the Gestione Sportiva to get an update as work resumed after the short August break. Montezemolo was shown the latest technical updates, especially on the aero side, which will be fitted to the F10 from Friday morning. He was also given an overview of the development plan for the upcoming races, starting with the unique requirements of Monza, the Scuderia’s home race. At the same time, the President was brought up to speed regarding design work on the 2011 car.

After this, Montezemolo left for Abu Dhabi where today he meets with partners from the Emirates, such as Mubadala and Etihad, as well as calling in at Ferrari World, where work is well under way for the opening of the first ever park themed around the Maranello company.

I am in Maranello for a few days to be as well prepared as possible for the final part of the season and specifically, the Belgian Grand Prix, the first round on the calendar after the summer break.

We have moved into the final third of the season, so it’s time to sum it up so far. I think we can be pleased with what we have done to date. We are still in the fight for the championship, which is the most important thing. It’s true that some races have gone better than others, just as there were some lucky breaks and times when bad luck seemed to follow us around, but I believe these things tend to balance out. Over the last two races, we have considerably reduced the gap to the championship leader. There are five of us all within twenty points, so it’s as if we are starting from square one: from now to the end of the championship we can expect seven finals. We must have a lot of respect for everyone. McLaren has been very strong, especially Hamilton and Red Bull has shown it always has a competitive car. This is a time to stay cool, without succumbing to the tension that will grow with every passing race, on the track and away from it. We will need to be clever to manage this situation, staying calm at all times.

We always aim for the win, but there was no chance of that in Budapest, which I was definitely not pleased about. However, we know some tracks suit our car more and others are more suited to our competitors: we must try and win the races where our car is strong and finish second in the others, as was the case in Budapest. Continuity will be the cornerstone to this title fight. It was surprising to see how the relative performance between us and Red Bull changed in the space of a week! I reckon that actually our performance is pretty similar, especially in comparison to McLaren, Mercedes and Renault and that maybe in Germany, the Red Bull car was not so competitive, while it was at its maximum in Hungary on a track that was a perfect match for its characteristics.

The break comes at the right time. July was very busy with three races in four weeks: drivers, mechanics, the whole team, we all need a rest after this rush. We set ourselves the target of reducing the points gap and we did it. Now is the time to ensure we have the right spirit in which to tackle the final seven races.

I won’t be doing anything special over the next few weeks. After leaving Maranello, I will stay with my family, partly in Switzerland and partly in Spain: no travelling, no airports, just relaxing! In my career, I have been in the fight for the title three times, from 2005 to 2007. Twice I was in the role of the hare, so I can appreciate the different situations that arise, even if does not mean much. When you are in the lead, it is very stressful if you lose points, but when you are trying to catch up you are aware that you cannot afford to make any mistakes, even if it is a nice feeling in a team when you know you are starting to fight back. As I said earlier, for us the most important thing from now to Abu Dhabi is to try and always finish on the podium: it won’t be vital to win at all costs, but whoever gets six or seven podiums will be champion.

In a few weeks, we will be at Spa, definitely the most enjoyable circuit to drive. It is a very long track, with every type of corner and climbs and drops and it gives you a fantastic feeling. There are tracks as nice as Spa, for example, I like Malaysia a lot and Monaco has a special atmosphere, but all the same, the Ardennes track is unique.

I am back home in Brazil now for the summer break, having flown out of Budapest on Sunday night. It is good to be home after what was one of the busiest months I can remember in my time in Formula 1 and thankfully, it ended with a couple of good results that suggest Ferrari is returning to the form that we expect.

I think the Hungarian race result was about the best we could have hoped for, for several reasons; the pace of the Red Bulls, the fact the track is well known for not providing any overtaking opportunities and finally the fact I had a bit of bad luck in losing a place to Lewis (Hamilton) at the pit stop, when the Safety Car came out. But the luck swung back my way later on, when Lewis had an issue with his car and had to retire, which put me back to what you could call the “normal” position of fourth, which is where I had started from on the grid.

At the time, we opted for a double pit stop, with me coming in after Fernando, so why did we do this, instead of do what the winner Mark Webber did and just keep going on the soft tyres for longer? What Webber did was right, but only because of the pace he had in his car which allowed him to build up enough of a lead to pit without losing first place. This was the only reason and it would not have worked for us. Our double pit stop worked perfectly, because when I arrived at the garage, Fernando had already left and I only lost the place to Lewis because that can sometimes happen in the pits. Even with the double pit stop, I had the chance to fight for my position. To be honest, it was the right strategic decision.

In Germany, we seemed to have the fastest car and just a few days later, Red Bull were in a different league to all the other teams. They have nearly always been fastest, apart maybe from Bahrain and then Hockenheim. It is mainly related to the nature of the track. In Germany we and they qualified in much the same time and then we were quicker in the race, but in Hungary they were 1.2 seconds faster, which suggests to me that in Hockenheim they underperformed. Budapest was an important weekend for me on a personal level. Going back there after what happened a year ago and meeting the people in the circuit medical centre, who did such a fantastic job of getting me out of the car, in the ambulance and then into the helicopter was a great feeling. On Thursday I had dinner with the surgeon who operated on me and did an excellent job and all of this was something really special in my life. On track, I never thought about it when I was going through that corner, although I appreciated seeing the banners that some of the fans had in the grandstands with messages like “Welcome Back Felipe.” That was a nice gesture.

Now we have a long break, which means three weekends without racing and even though the momentum has picked up for Ferrari in the last couple of weeks, I am happy to have this pause. It is important for us drivers to have a rest after such a busy schedule in recent weeks and it is especially important for everyone in the team, who have worked so hard. I will be spending it at home with my family here in Brazil, relaxing and spending time with my son, which actually is quite a full time job!

Ferrari have hit back at Niki Lauda's criticism of their race-fixing tactics at last month's German Grand Prix.

The three-time world champion said his former team would be given "a pasting" by the World Motor Sport Council in September when they review the race.

Stewards said Ferrari had imposed team orders on Felipe Massa to give Fernando Alonso victory in the race.

But Ferrari, in a column on their official website, said the 61-year-old Austrian was being "hypocritical".

Ferrari were fined $100,000 for their actions following the race on 26 July in Hockenheim.

But the sport's governing body, the FIA, say the case will be heard by the WMSC in Paris on Wednesday 8 September - four days before the Italian Grand Prix - when the team could face the added possibility of a points deduction or even exclusion from the championship.

Lauda said Ferrari's tactics were "against the rules"
Lauda, who won two of his three world titles with the famous Maranello marque, was quoted as telling Formula1.com that what the team did in Germany was "against all rules."

He stated: "Either the rules are changed or everybody observes them. What they've done is wrong and they got an immediate punishment - and they will get a pasting from the World Council, that is for sure."

But responding through their "Horse Whisperer" column on their official website, Ferrari said: "After events in Hockenheim, a wave of hypocrisy swept through the paddock, with so many pundits, young and old, keen to have their say.

"Some were promptly brought back into line by his master's voice, while others continue to pronounce sentence willy-nilly.

"The latest missive comes from Austria, from a person, who having hung up his helmet, has never missed out on a chance to dispense opinions left and right, even if, on more than one occasion, he has had to indulge in some verbal acrobatics to reposition himself in line with the prevailing wind.

"This time, good old Niki has missed out on a fine opportunity to keep his mouth shut, given that, when he was a Scuderia driver, the supposed Ferrari driver management policy suited him perfectly.

"That aside, where was all his moral fury when, over the past years, so many have been guilty of more or less overt hypocritical actions?"

With regard to Lauda's suggestion that the WMSC will punish Ferrari severely, the column added: "As for any predictions regarding a possible decision from the FIA World Council on September 8, time will tell.

"In this sort of situation, the best policy is to respect and to trust in the highest level of the sport's governing body."

The fine Ferrari were given in Germany is the maximum the stewards were allowed to impose and the matter was subsequently referred to the sport's governing body.

Team orders are banned in Formula 1 and the move has provoked widespread anger within the sport.

Pirelli have started their first Formula One tyre development test, with former Mercedes GP reserve driver Nick Heidfeld at the wheel of a 2009 Toyota TF109. Heidfeld is to be Pirelli's official test driver as the Italian firm prepares to return to Formula One racing in 2011 as the sport’s sole supplier following an absence of 20 years.



Heidfeld, who has started over 150 Grands Prix in an F1 career spanning more than ten seasons, will drive the car in a series of tests on several different circuits from August onwards, starting today (Tuesday) with a two-day session at Mugello in Italy.

"We're delighted to welcome Nick into the Pirelli family, and we're confident that he'll do a great job for us,” commented Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery. “The role of test driver is a crucial one, so we were looking for a driver who had plenty of recent Formula One experience, the speed to push our new tyres as hard as possible, and the consistency to provide reliable simulations, as well as the analytical skills to relay information accurately to our engineers. Nick fits the bill in every respect and we're very pleased to have secured his services and obviously thankful to Mercedes GP Petronas for agreeing to release Nick from his contract.”

The Toyota TF109 was the last F1 machine produced by the Japanese manufacturer before they withdrew from the sport at the end of 2009 after scoring five podium finishes in their final season. As such the TF109 provides contemporary technology and performance with which Pirelli can test their new PZero Formula One tyres to the limit, without handing an advantage to any current team.

“As for the car, we have a policy of complete impartiality, so we did not want to favour any existing team,” continued Hembery. “The Toyota was the perfect solution, as it is a contemporary racing machine with proven speed and reliability but without links to any of the manufacturers currently competing in Formula One. I'm confident that we have an extremely good package that will give us every opportunity to maximise the potential of our tyres prior to the start of next season."

Pirelli's development testing is getting underway less than two months after they concluded a three-year agreement with the FIA, world motorsport's governing body, to become the sole tyre supplier to the FIA Formula One World Championship, following Bridgestone’s decision to withdraw at the end of 2010.

According to Pirelli, development work will focus on finding the delicate compromise needed between performance, durability and spectacle next season. The new tyres will be carefully designed to cater not only for the needs of the teams, ensuring a stable and consistent product, but also for the wishes of the fans to see exciting and close racing.

“Through the experience I have built up over the years, I'm confident that I will be able to provide Pirelli with some important feedback regarding the development of next year's tyres,” said Heidfeld. “I've got a lot to give but I haven't been driving so much this year, so it is good to get started! Together, I'm sure that we can create a dynamic range of tyres that will make Formula One an even more exciting sport in the future."

Following Heidfeld's on-track work with the Toyota, all the current Formula One teams will get the chance to test the new tyres at the Yas Marina Circuit after the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November.

It has been twenty two years since Enzo Ferrari passed away. On behalf of all our collaborators, owners and fans of the Maranello marque, our thoughts turn to the man who created Ferrari.



"It is important for all our fans, as well as our collaborators, especially the younger ones, to remember Enzo Ferrari,” said Luca di Montezemolo. “A man who, with oustanding brilliance and obstinate determination, was able to transform a dream, considered by some at the time to be pure folly, into a sporting and industrial reality which is admired and envied world-wide.
I'm sure that our founder would be very satisfied to see the international presence his company is now present internationally with ever more innovative cars and constantly amongst the front runners of Formula 1."

Those who wish to pen their own thoughts on the Founder can send a message (in English or Italian) to press.office@ferrari.com and the most significant will be published over the next few days at the formula1.ferrari.com site.

For a fortnight in August Formula One racing comes to a shuddering halt as the teams enforce their self-imposed summer shutdown. For Ferrari, who only recently rediscovered their early season form at the German and Hungarian Grands Prix, the two-week holiday could be considered costly, but team principal Stefano Domenicali is hoping a spell away from the factory could prove productive.

�€œWe will be on holiday, but that does not mean our brains will stop working,�€� Domenicali told Ferrari�€™s official website. �€œMaybe one can even find fresh inspiration when outside the normal working environment and I expect this time to be a fertile one for ideas, which when all is said and done, are what make the difference.�€�

Although hopeful of returning from the shutdown with a few bright ideas packed into his suitcase, Domenicali believes the Italian team are already on the right track thanks to their hard work in July and he is optimistic the F10 will only get better when they resume racing at the end of this month.

�€œI have to say I was very pleased with the way our team reacted at a point in the season when the results were just not coming,�€� he added. �€œThe second half of July went very well and I hope it has given the right impetus for the final part of the season. We know there is much to do, because we still do not have the best car, but this should simply be a further incentive.�€�

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, who won in Germany and took second place in Hungary, isn�€™t expecting to completely escape Formula One either on his break. He is currently 20 points adrift of standings�€™ leader Mark Webber and is targeting more strong results when he returns to racing.

�€œIt won�€™t be possible to switch off my mind completely over these two weeks,�€� Alonso said. �€œI will try and relax and do a bit of sport, but at least once a day, maybe just for ten minutes, I will inevitably think about the next race in Belgium. I think it will be the same for everyone. After a few unlucky races, which went badly for various reasons, we are now on the right road.

�€œThe car is much improved and so that makes me more optimistic and has seen the whole team grow in confidence. It only took us two normal races to be fully back in contention for the title. The important thing is to remain calm and concentrated and to do our job well. The percentage chance (of winning the title)? I�€™d say 50 percent, which is the normal state of affairs.�€�

Ferrari are expected back in the factory from August 23, ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps from August 27-29.