A Formula One appeal court rejected McLaren's bid to reinstate Lewis Hamilton as Belgian Grand Prix winner on Tuesday, leaving the Briton just one point clear in the championship with four races remaining.

The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement the court of five judges "concluded that the appeal is inadmissible" after hearing Hamilton give his version of events in Paris on Monday.

Fernando Alonso believes arch-rival Lewis Hamilton cannot win the Formula One drivers' championship despite the Briton topping the points standings.

Hamilton's victory in Monaco last Sunday saw him move ahead of reigning champion Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, but Alonso believes the Ferrari duo are still strong favourites.

"I see the favourites still as the two Ferraris, by a long way. I don't think Hamilton can win it," Alonso told Cadena SER radio.

"It is too early to say where the world championship is going. The lead at the top of drivers' standings is changing hands after every race - even [Robert] Kubica in fourth place is just a stone's throw away."

Alonso clashed with Hamilton last season when the pair were McLaren team-mates, and their bitter rivalry led to the Spaniard's return to Renault, where he won the 2005 and 2006 world title.

The pair swapped the lead in the standings several times last season, only for Raikkonen to pip them at the post after Hamilton threw away a 17-point lead over the Finn in the final two races.

Alex Chick / Eurosport

Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA
1st Felipe Massa (Ferrari), 1h26m49.451s; 2nd Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 1h26m53.230s; 3rd Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), 1h26m53.722s.

Q: Felipe, you like winning from pole. The Turkish Grand Prix always results in a winner from pole and everything delivered for you today.
Felipe Massa: It is just fantastic. Today was a very difficult race actually and Lewis was pushing me hard a lot for the whole race. Then when I did my pit-stop he was there straight away, so I thought maybe he had put less fuel in or something. I then realised and my team told me straight away he was on three stops. For sure, that was a little bit of help as he was very strong and I couldn’t hold him on the track and he passed me. But then I knew I still had a good chance to win the race as three stops were a little bit optimistic. But anyway I created a reasonable gap to be at the front after the pit stops. It was difficult, but we made it three times in Turkey which is just fantastic. I think I can get a passport here already.

Q: Ferrari were very good on both types of Bridgestone tyre unlike most of the other cars in the field and starting on the option, or softer type of tyre, was unusual as far as rest of the grid was concerned.
FM: Yeah, I was just talking with Kimi. Today was a very difficult day to choose the tyres as the difference was not so big from the soft to the hard, even on the first lap and during the run. The hard was much better on Friday but my softs survived quite well on Friday, so we were really keen to use the softs today. But then I saw Lewis going very quickly with the hards and we thought maybe it was a little bit of a mistake. In the last run I think the car was so easy to run on the hard that maybe it was the right choice to choose the hard.

Q: Lewis, I guess from where you were yesterday, when you weren’t too happy, to split the two Ferraris today is a great result for you.
Lewis Hamilton: Absolutely. I am thrilled to have come second from third, but with the strategy we were on as you could tell yesterday I was a little bit disappointed with it. Heikki did a fantastic job and was able to out-qualify me with more fuel. But after looking at the data I realised I was happy with the tyre choice. I lost a little bit of time in my middle sector. Today we started on the harder tyre and knew it was going to be very tough to challenge the Ferraris and to be honest, we were just hoping to get some points. To finish in the top five would have been good. But the balance of the car was great and on the hard tyres I was able to keep up with Felipe and even overtake him. After that I was gone and I was able to keep pushing and pushing. At the end it was quite tough, the softer tyre was definitely the worse tyre but I am much happier.

Q: Do you think your second place is a result of switching to that three stop strategy?
LH: Perhaps. The reason we went with a three stopper was due to Bridgestone being concerned as they thought the tyre was going to fail like it did last year. Therefore, they made us do a three stop as it was the safest route to go. Unfortunately for us, that put us in not such a strong position to win the race. However, I am given a problem and I deal with it and so do the team and that’s why I still believe that we are the best. I really have to say a big thank you to the team who did a great job in all the pit stops.

Q: When you were really quick with relatively light fuel it was sector three you were losing ground to the Ferraris, or not gaining ground. Is that a worry going into Monte Carlo?
LH: I don’t see it as a worry. In Barcelona, the last sector which was all the tight corners, they were a little bit quicker than us there. It was the same here with the last three corners on the straight where they seemed to take quite a lot out of us. We are going to go back and try to understand exactly why and keep pushing to improve. I have no doubts that we can do that.

Q: Kimi, a good points’ scoring day for you. Tell us about that first corner incident with Heikki Kovalainen which resulted in a puncture for your compatriot.
Kimi Raikkonen: I didn’t have a very good start. I got to the side of him on the braking. Then I got a little bit squeezed on the inside and I tried to slow down and get behind him, but he just turned in a little bit. The unfortunate thing for both of us is that I broke the front wing and he had a puncture. It didn’t help for either of us. We chose to use the front wing for the whole race because it takes too long to change it and it wasn’t too bad. The weekend was a little bit difficult but at least we got some good points and we need to get a better weekend at the next race.

Q: What was the handling like with the broken front wing as you did set the fastest race lap?
KR: It wasn’t too bad, but it never helps as the end of the wing was damaged. It is difficult to say how much better or different it would have been with the proper wing but for sure it doesn’t help you.

Q: Part of that was starting on the slow, the dirty side of the grid, which was the result of a relatively poor qualifying for you. Can you talk us through your problems up to qualifying?
KR: It wasn’t the best qualifying for me, but it has been my weakest points. We had a bit more fuel than the others which is one reason but also the lap wasn’t as good as I wanted. But anyhow I think it all started on Friday when we had a problem. But like I said we had a difficult weekend but I am still happy being in third place and we didn’t lose too many points. It is early season and we still have good points, so we will see what we can do in the next few races. The next two races last year were very difficult for us so we need to see how strong we can be and hopefully we can challenge for wins and go from there.

Q: Felipe, the Monte Carlo Grand Prix – the marquee race for Formula One – looks very good for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro.
FM: Yeah, for sure last year was okay. I finished third in Monte Carlo but McLaren were very strong there. We have been working a lot – even from last year – on the set-up for Monte Carlo for this year, so hopefully we will have a good car and a good chance to win there as well. Having a good weekend would be definitely a good result, even being on the podium as you always want to score as many points as possible. We know Monte Carlo is a track which can be very tricky especially without traction control. But I am looking forward to being very strong there as well.

POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Felipe, three time winner here, fantastic. Your feelings about this circuit?
FM: It is just great. It is just fantastic to drive here. As I said yesterday it gives you a lot of pleasure as a driver to drive here. It gives you so many different corners and also having a great car like I had today it is definitely fantastic to fight for the victory and win. It was a very difficult race. We saw that Lewis was pushing very hard. In a way fortunately he had three stops, but it was difficult to hold him on the track as he was very quick. At that moment knowing he was on three stops it was maybe not so good to fight and risk the care knowing that it was pretty possible to get in front again which is what I did. It is just great to come back here at a track where I won for the first time. That is always special. To win for the third time in a row is difficult to explain my feelings.

Q: That overtaking manoeuvre. How did that come about from your point of view?
FM: I was trying to go a little bit on the inside but then I saw him going almost on the gravel, so I didn’t risk going more to the left as it would not have been fair and maybe we were going to crash. I tried to brake a bit late but he was inside, knowing where I was braking, so it was much easier to try. Then when he tried I saw him on my inside and I said ‘okay go’ and we will see at the next stop how it is going to be. It was just fine and I was talking with my engineer and he told me the gap should definitely have been okay.

Q: So no problems during the race?
FM: Maybe we made a small mistake, a very small mistake, because it is difficult to choose the right tyres here at the track. Our car was working very well on the soft for me on Friday, but not for Kimi. But on the hard it was very good. Then I said after three days the track will be much better, so I think the right directions will be the softs like most of the tracks are like that and the softs always work on the Sundays. But maybe the hard was a bit better knowing how quick Lewis was.

Q: Lewis, from your point of move where did that overtaking manoeuvre start? How did it happen for you?
LH: Probably at the beginning of the lap. I knew that I was catching him and I knew that if I could keep close to him at the beginning of the lap I’d be able to tow him down the back straight. The good thing here is you are able to follow at some of the high speed corners, it is not too bad. I knew that also he was having a bit of traffic, so it was a perfect opportunity for me to get up behind him. So I just had to make sure I capitalised on that. I got a late braking into turn nine and managed to get on the power really early. The car was very nicely balanced but right at the end of the straight they are very quick, so even then once I pulled out of the slipstream he began to pull away again. But nevertheless I was able to outbrake him and pass and pull away. Perhaps if that had happened earlier we could have won the race or if I had done a better job in qualifying we probably would have won the race.

Q: How close was Kimi coming to challenge you at the end?
LH: At the end of the race we turned the engine down and just looking after the car really. We knew that we had second place. If I needed to go a little bit quicker I could have, but there was no real need as he was never close enough to do anything. I just tried to keep him at bay. I was quite happy with the car on the hard tyres, but on the soft tyres it was a little bit trickier to maintain a decent gap. There was a lot of traffic at the end and I think they did quite a poor job in getting out of the way. I was behind someone for quite a while and although it looks like they were quite far away it does affect the handling of the car. They are not in my race as such, we are not racing us at the front and it made it quite difficult. But nevertheless I got on with it and came home with second.

Q: You have said you were almost pushed into a three stop strategy. Is that likely to happen elsewhere or is it something you can change on the car?
LH: It won’t happen anywhere else. Last year I had the tyre blow-out here, so they were already quite worried. Coming into this weekend they thought they had fixed the problem and somehow we seemed to have the problem again. But then again in the race the tyres were fine. We were sort of put on the back foot going into qualifying knowing that we were not really in the shoot for the win even if we did get pole position. I struggled on my Q3 lap to get a good time, so even with a lighter car I was not able to put it on the front row. However, going into the race I remained optimistic and so did the team and we pushed through. I think the result is the result of hard work from all the guys. They did fantastic pit stops and I think for me I probably drove the best race I have ever done.

Q: Kimi, you were saying you weren’t too badly affected by the front wing damage, could you see what it was, could you feel it at all?
KR: I knew pretty much what had happened. I hit the rear wheel of Heikki and the bottom of the end plate came off. I didn’t look at the end how much it was damaged but for sure it doesn’t help, but it’s difficult to say how much the difference was.

Q: Are you in agreement with Felipe that perhaps the harder tyre was easier to use?
KR: Yeah, if I’d chosen now I would go onto the harder tyres at the first pit stop but it’s too late. I think the first set of soft worked pretty well for me, but the second set, when it was new, was quite difficult and it was at a point when we needed to be faster, so that’s one of the reasons that we lost second place, but anyhow, it’s been a difficult weekend, so third place is the best we could do.

Q: Did you pretty much settle for third, one hoped you would have a go at Lewis at the end?
KR: For sure we tried to be in second place but we couldn’t, so I would rather take third than anything else.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Lewis, you mentioned the tyre problems that you suffered this weekend. Just how much of a fear was it for you driving round today knowing that the tyre could have gone at any stage as it did in last year’s race?
LH: For sure it was on my mind at some stages. I was having some vibrations and I wasn’t sure whether that was the tyre or whether that was a flat spot that I possibly picked up earlier on. So for sure it was in the back of my mind. I was checking the tyre nearly every lap on the exit of turn eight to see if… last time it was on the exit of turn eight it delaminated and the tyre exploded, so I was just making sure I kept an eye on that, so I could report to the team as quickly as possible and possibly come in. Fortunately the tyres were fine but no, it was all down to safety really, that was why we were forced into that because they didn’t want to have another incident, a bit like the last race or like last year. There’s nothing worse than having a tyre blow out at 200mph, so they tried to avoid that. Unfortunately, it put us on the back foot, as I said. Without a three stop perhaps we would have had a better chance of winning the race, but nevertheless, I’m very happy with second.

Q: (Bob McKenzie – The Daily Express) Lewis, did you say that you thought that that was the best race you’ve run and if so, what makes it that?
LH: It doesn’t particularly matter whether you win or not, it’s whether you drive at one hundred percent, it’s whether you extract the most out of the car. It’s one of those times when you end the race and you ask yourself and you ask the team, could we have done a better job? And I strongly feel we couldn’t have done a better job. The pit stops were almost perfect, if not perfect, and I think my in laps, my out laps, they were stronger than ever and I just feel my race pace is getting stronger and stronger over the year, at each race. We had a strong showing in Barcelona and even stronger here. And we overtook a Ferrari. Can I just go back to why I think it was my best race. Just another thing: my predicted race finish was fifth. It could have been a lot worst. If I had got a worse start and didn’t get away in second, then I probably would have come sixth or even worse, so with a three stop strategy that no one else had, I think, I just feel we did a fantastic job to bring it back up.

Q: (Will Buxton – Australasian Motorsport News) A question for all three of you: you’ve pretty much all admitted that the hard tyre is the one you would have preferred to have been on all weekend for the race. With that in mind and looking at the final stage of the race – the only time you were on the same fuel weights – how much do you feel the teams are now more on an even playing field, given that your sector times were pretty much identical to each other for the last ten/fifteen laps?
LH: Coming into this weekend we knew that we had closed the gap, that we were going to be competitive and possibly be able to win the race. They still have a strong car but so do we, as you can see. The first two sectors were very strong. We need to figure out exactly how we can improve our last sectors because that’s where we are losing. If we didn’t have the problem in the last sector then we would be winning, so that’s something that we need to fix.
FM: Well, I think we were very strong here during the first day, we were very strong yesterday during qualifying, seeing that we had more fuel than Lewis and similar fuel as Heikki. But I think in the race, it’s difficult to measure. For sure, McLaren was very very strong here on the race pace, but we had a completely different choice of tyres, so maybe we need to wait and see when we have exactly similar conditions, run-by-run, plus they had a different strategy as well, so we need to wait and see, but for sure, they were very very competitive here.
KR: It’s the same answer really. It’s very difficult to say. Everybody did slightly different things, so you cannot really be a hundred per sure, but I still think that once we get everything running, we can win all the races, so every race we at least have a chance. For sure it’s closer now than it was a few races ago but I still think we have a good car and a good package.

Q: (Juha Päätalo – Financial Times Germany) Kimi, this was certainly a weekend where the nine point lead that you had coming here helped you. What are your thoughts about the championship, still having a seven point lead after such a problematic weekend?
KR: Like I said before, this race is early in the season and it’s good to have a little gap to the others but we already saw today – or this weekend – that if you cannot get everything out of the car then you are going to lose some points. We’ve lost a few points now but it doesn’t change too much. I don’t worry about it too much. We go race by race and try to win and try to gain the points on the others, but sometimes you need to be happy with what you get and today was one of those days, so this weekend I was never really where I wanted to be but six points is still good.

Q: (Juha Päätalo – Financial Times Germany) This one is for Felipe: this win has suddenly brought you back into the title race; what are your thoughts about the title right now?
FM: Well, I’m right in there in the fight. If you look at the past races, Kimi won one, I won the next one, Kimi won again, and I won this race. For sure it’s always very tight, the competition is very high, but after some races I feel that I can be competitive everywhere and I’m just happy to reduce the gap a little bit, being similar to Lewis and just concentrate on the next races. We know that sometimes you can win, sometimes you cannot win, but you need to score points like Kimi did today. It’s important to be competitive and then in the last three races you’re going to see who is going to have the greater chance to win but it’s important to be consistent and trying to get a lot of points race-by-race, even if it’s first or third or fifth, whatever.

Q: (Bob McKenzie – The Daily Express) Lewis, you said earlier that you could have won the race if you’d done a better job in qualifying, but isn’t that being a bit hard on yourself, given the limitations and restrictions that Bridgestone put on you?
LH: Yeah, I’m always hard on myself. I sat down last night and I was ticked off yesterday, I wasn’t particularly happy with the job I did and at the end of the day the team give me a car and I’ve got to go out and drive one hundred percent and I didn’t extract one hundred percent from the car. That’s why I’m always hard on myself because we’re top drivers, we should be able to do it. But it appears to be a lot harder for me or in our car to do a solid lap. It looks a lot easier for them, so that’s something we need to keep pushing. Perhaps we’ve sacrificed a bit of qualifying pace for race pace, perhaps we need to work on bringing them both up.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Moto und Sport) Kimi, you lost two positions going into the first corner, was it not such a good start due to the line you had to start on or was there a technical problem?
KR: The inside line is never going to be as good as the clean side but also, when I was side-by-side with Heikki and then he was turning in and I needed to slow down because otherwise we would have hit hard, so both of us were pretty slow in the corner, so I think people came round the outside. I think Kubica or somebody else came and passed us. I lost some places there but it all started to go wrong at that point.

Q: (Will Buxton – Australasian Motorsport News) Lewis, going back to the question of tyres, obviously we’ve got two compounds running each weekend. Was the fear of delamination equal with both compounds of tyre and what does the team think it is that’s been causing that fear of delamination over the Turkish weekend?
LH: It was with both sets of tyres but we’re not sure of the reason. Basically we need to look into it more, but they’ve taken the tyres away and analysed them and saw there was some problem with the tyre, it was failing, or looking like it was going to be failing. Fortunately they made the right choice, it was the right choice at the beginning, and we made the best job that we could with them.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado do Sao Paulo) Kimi, after seeing Hamilton in front of you after the last pit stop, did you believe it was possible for you to overtake him?
KR: It’s always difficult to overtake but we tried, we tried to push him but unfortunately we couldn’t get close enough because we knew that we have good straight-line speed on the back straight but if you don’t get close enough... I was always catching him but I was too far away, so there was nothing that we could do.

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari (1st, 1m 27.543s):
"Not the best of Fridays. This morning, I only managed one timed lap before a gearbox problem meant I could not go out for the rest of the session. In the afternoon, I struggled a bit to find the right settings on the car. One of the main problems today was getting the tyres up to the correct temperature, but I think that tomorrow, partly as the grip level on the track improves and partly as we work to improve the set-up, it will be a different situation. We lost valuable time this morning, but we still have enough data to analyse so that we can be ready to tackle the rest of the weekend."

Heikki Kovalainen on his return to the McLaren cockpit following his dramatic accident in Barcelona; Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima on beating team mate Nico Rosberg into the top ten; and Red Bull’s Mark Webber on making an impact on Istanbul Park with his afternoon crash. All 20 drivers report from Turkey (note - positions and times refer to practice two)…

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren (2nd, +0.036s):
"We focused on tyre evaluation and set-up work today and so far things are not looking too bad. Everybody lost a bit of running time in the first session as the track was still wet in places after cleaning. This circuit is constantly evolving which is challenging but also enjoyable. In the first session I stayed on the same set of tyres throughout and experienced no problems. In my last run of the day I put on a new set of tyres but had a small moment which cost me some time. Overall I am pleased with our initial pace and consistency."

Felipe Massa, Ferrari (3rd, +0.139):
"Overall, this was a positive day. The track is very fast, even if it's still a bit dirty, which meant it was quite easy to make mistakes. The low temperatures mean it is difficult to get the most out of the tyres on a first timed lap, especially on the harder ones. We tried various settings and now we need to look at the data from everything we have done over these three hours, to be as well prepared as possible. I feel comfortable on this track and I think I can be very competitive tomorrow and on Sunday in the race: it would be fantastic to win again here, after having done it for the past two years."

David Coulthard, Red Bull (4th, +0.220s):
“Today was similar to the Friday session in Spain - there were no major problems, it was all about following the track evolution and making sure we had the balance right. There are a lot of long corners on this circuit, you can see people are going off quite easily, so it’s critical to get the front end right here. We’ll look at the data now and decide what we’ll do for tomorrow.”

Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren (5th, +0.411s):
"It was nice to get back in the car again and everything was fine. I was on the pace immediately and was able to set some consistent lap times. At the end of the first session I went out on the option tyre but the brake temperature was not quite right, so I was not able to go flat out in that run. The second session went smoothly as well, and we focused on tyre evaluation with some long runs as well as looking at the set-up. A very productive and positive day."

Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber (6th, +0.888s):
“Unfortunately I didn’t have too much time on the track this morning due to a small technical problem. Therefore we had to squeeze the morning work into this afternoon’s programme. We only did four runs and had to work on the tyres and the set up. We still have a few problems with the balance of the car, but tested several set up options which we will now evaluate and then choose the best one. I am confident for tomorrow.”

Jarno Trulli, Toyota (7th, +1.076s):
"We have come to Turkey at a different time of year so temperatures are unlike what we have faced in the past. But that was a good day despite the mixed track conditions - dusty in the morning then rain in the afternoon. We made it through our programme of tyre and set-up work and we didn't have any problems. The car seems okay so far but there is still work to do in order to improve the handling. Now we have to work hard over the next two days to maintain our strong start to the season with a successful race."

Kazuki Nakajima, Williams (8th, +1.121s):
"Practice was good for me today. In the morning I struggled a little with the grip levels because the track was really slippery, but it improved a lot in the afternoon. The rain at the start of the second session prevented me from carrying out some of my scheduled programme, but I did at least do a tyre compare which has given us some useful information. We’re looking in reasonable shape for tomorrow’s qualifying; there’s still some work to do tonight on set-up, but I’m happy."

Fernando Alonso, Renault (9th, +1.138s):
“The track conditions were certainly not ideal today, buy they were the same for all the teams and did not disturb our programme too much. As usual we worked hard and I was able to evaluate a lot of things with my car and gathered some interesting information. We still have to make a few more improvements tomorrow, especially with the general balance of the car, but today’s performance is encouraging for the rest of the weekend.”

Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber (10th, +1.274s):
“The trouble is I don’t get the tyres heated up quickly enough. The long run wasn’t bad. As soon as the tyres start to work, it is okay, but it takes too long to get there. We now have to work on that.”

Jenson Button, Honda (11th, +1.283s):
"We made a lot of changes to the car after this morning when I was struggling with a lack of grip on initial turn in which you really need around here. This afternoon was much better right from the start of the session. We tried a lot of different things on the set-up and I'm confident that we know which direction to take for the rest of the weekend. This circuit is very tough without traction control and you could see that a lot of people were making mistakes but that does make it more fun to watch and drive. I was certainly enjoying it out there! The car is working better on the smoother asphalt here and we have made some changes to help with the ride quality, so for me the car feels better than in Barcelona."

Timo Glock, Toyota (12th, +1.306s):
"Both practice sessions went pretty well and the car felt good throughout the day. I also had a strong long run with competitive lap times. Graining and understeer were challenges today. On a late run I went off the track and couldn't stop the car from hitting the kerb and damaging the front wing. It was my mistake and I missed the last five minutes but it was nevertheless a good first day. I've had some successful races here in GP2 but it's difficult to overtake so qualifying is important this weekend. Our target has to be to get into the top ten tomorrow, as I did in the first two races this year."

Nico Rosberg, Williams (13th, +1.364s):
"We covered quite a lot of ground today, especially on the aero side. We have definitely made some progress and are taking the right direction, but we are not 100 percent there yet. It was quite slippery out there, and not easy to keep the car on the track, but I don’t think the temperatures here are causing us too many problems, which is a plus."

Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India (14th, +1.465s):
“This morning I was really struggling with the balance and with the grip on the circuit, but then we made a few changes on the car and it felt much better, much more consistent so I think it was a good afternoon, it was definitely a step forward in the second session.”

Rubens Barrichello, Honda (15th, +1.481s):
"The car was nicely balanced in the morning and we were pleased with our progress. However we made a mechanical change over lunch which changed the balance. It was too big a change to go back in the time available so we have some work to do overnight to understand what has changed. We should be able to get the car back to how it felt this morning, then I believe we have a good chance of getting through to Q3 tomorrow."

Nelson Piquet, Renault (16th, +1.669s):
“My day was pretty normal. I had quite a busy programme with set-up work this morning and tyre testing in the afternoon. The aim was to feel at home in the car and to try to improve the balance, and we managed to do this because we did not have any problems during the two sessions. The track conditions were relatively stable, even though it rained a little bit at the beginning of the afternoon. Overall I think that we have prepared well, and I am determined to make the most of the final practice session tomorrow.”

Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso (17th, +1.919s):
"I am quite happy with the way practice went today. Obviously, it was difficult because of the changing conditions, which limited our track time. But I think we completed a good and consistent programme, which produced a lot of useful information, especially for Sunday. I feel happy with the car again, which is the most important thing, so I am looking forward to tomorrow afternoon."

Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso (18th, +2.087s):
"It's my first time at this track and I have to say it is very interesting. Turn 8 is particularly tricky as it is both quick and bumpy and these cars don't like bumps very much! The car can step out on you quite quickly. Today, sometimes the car felt good and at other times, it seemed to get away from me. The conditions were really difficult. I wouldn't say it was a case of low grip, but rather that we struggled to take care of the tyres and this made the car difficult to drive. But we got plenty of data, so we have something to work on for tomorrow."

Mark Webber, Red Bull (19th, +2.090s):
“Going off the track at Turn Six was 100 percent my fault. I didn’t respect the green
Astroturf that sits on the outside of the track enough. I was a bit too loaded up on the outside of the track, the Astroturf was a bit damp, and I went off, it was my fault. I apologise to the guys and we’ll bounce back from this tomorrow.”

Adrian Sutil, Force India (20th, +3.289s):
“This morning was okay. It was difficult for everyone as there was very little grip with not much rubber laid down. I think most people struggled to find a balance, including us. We took the hard tyre for the first session and recorded a standard lap time, but at least we could see where we were. It was okay with the balance and some corners were quite good. We used the harder tyre again in the second session with the longer runs, but it did not work as well at the beginning as I lost all the temperatures in the tyres. After the red flag we realised that there was a clutch issue and we couldn't do any more running so it was a bit disappointing, but hopefully tomorrow will be better.”

"Ferrari au o masina foarte buna, dar cu ce avem noi acum ma indoiesc ca Raikkonen va scapa asa usor" sustine Lewis Hamilton.

Acesta le-a declarat jurnalistilor britanici invitati la un eveniment ce a avut loc la Woking ca e destul de sceptic in legatura cu monopostul Ferrari. " E putin ciudat ca nu au fost prezenti la toate testele la care am participat si noi. Au fost foarte rapizi in Bahrein dar nu stiu ce incercau sa faca acolo. Barcelona e un test mult mai relevant, daca observati anul trecut era o diferenta mult mai considerabila intre noi. Acum avem monoposturi foarte apropiate."

Pilotul britanic sustine ca a gasit solutia si pentru a se adapta presiunii. "Trebuie sa ramai mereu atent si sa nu lasi politicile si restul sa te doboare. Nu ca asa ceva s-ar fi intamplat anul trecut (n.a bineinteles ca nu)."

Ba mai mult, Hamilton crede ca anul acesta va fi mult mai putina presiune pusa pe umerii lui pentru ca a dovedit anul trecut ca e un pilot capabil.

"Anul acesta stiu ce trebuie sa fac pentru a ajunge pe primul loc al podiumului".



Hm, monoposturile sunt apropiate ca valoare in mod cert insa ma indoiesc ca lucrurile vor fi mai usoare pentru Lewis. Daca zvonurile care il dau plecat pe Ron Denis se adeveresc si Kovalainen se dovedeste la fel de rapid ca si in teste atunci Lewis va fi "in trouble" si inca foarte serios.

In plus sa nu uitam ca Mclaren va simti lipsa setarilor si datelor oferite de Alonso; inca mai sunt persoane care se intreaba cat au contat indicatiile lui Alonso in curse de vreme ce Lewis a terminat in spatele pilotului spaniol dupa ce acesta a incetat sa mai ofere informatii (6, 2 si 4 pozitii pierdute in fata lui Alonso in ultimele 3 curse ale sezonului).

Tind sa cred ca lucrurile s-au schimbat pentru Kimi, nu pentru Lewis. Dar asta ramane de vazut dupa Melbourne.