(by Massimiliano D'Elia) The new season starts really well for the Ferraris. First and third with Vettel and Raikkonen. Hamilton, despite the qualifying that saw him in pole position, had to settle for second place. In front he had a Ferrari with a better race pace. The enthusiasm at the Ferrari team is visible and is an incentive to look forward with greater confidence, perhaps improving the Achilles heel of each season, in recent years, the qualifying. This time, however, the strategy in the pits worked when, due to the safety car on the track, the men from Maranello made Vettel return to the pits to change tires, a move that in the end was a winner for conquering the podium, thanks to a track. where it is really difficult to overtake. But let's hear the hot comments of the protagonists.
The president of the Ferrari Sergio Marchionne
There could not have been a better start for Ferrari in this World Championship. Hearing the Mameli anthem playing in Melbourne was a thrill for all of us and for every fan of the team.
It is the most beautiful recognition for the team, which has developed a competitive single-seater and has been able to take advantage of the opportunities presented with a perfect strategy. Congratulations to Sebastian and Kimi both authors of a great race. Of course, the path is still long: there are no other 20 GPs and it would be wrong to make proclamations. We know that we have to work hard, but the first step has gone in the right direction.
The words of Hamilton
I have to congratulate Seb and Ferrari. We need to review our strategies a bit but we had a great pace in the race. Visibly disappointed after yesterday's pole position, Lewis Hamilton paid tribute from the podium to the German for his victory in the Australian GP, who had tried to make it his own until the end before settling for second place. “Here it is difficult to overtake, even under drs, explained the English driver. In the end I tried to preserve the car and the engine.
Vettel's comment
However, it was an incredible weekend, thanks to all the fans ”. Since I got out of the pit lane first, I've never been afraid. I knew it was difficult to overcome here. Maybe Lewis was a bit faster but not fast enough, I had fresher tires and I knew I could stay in front. When you are in front you can control, overcoming is difficult. This is why qualifications are important. Yesterday the gap was too great, Hamilton took pole with about seven tenths of a second over the Ferraris, so we are still not where we want. But the sensations are good and we can improve to play for it in qualifying too.