To come together to celebrate a victory is always nice, but to do it twice in one month takes on a particular significance. On top of that, in between Alonso’s two wins at Valencia and Hockenheim there was also a second place at Silverstone, so there is a lot to be pleased about. 68 points in three races represents a good haul for Fernando, almost a full house and it’s logical that the longest applause from the men and women of the Scuderia, gathered in the Logistica building, was reserved for him.
There were other rounds of applause and along with the Spanish driver, there was also plenty for Felipe Massa and Jules Bianchi, but of course there was a round of clapping aimed in the direction of Stefano Domenicali and the trio of engineers – Fry – Tombazis – Marmorini – but there were also reminders, and there can never be too many, that there is still a very long way to go. Inevitably, the person making that points the most clearly was President Montezemolo.
“I am concerned, more so than the day after Valencia,” said Montezemolo. “I see very strong opponents: McLaren has made great progress, Red Bull is very strong, Sauber had a race pace that was a match for ours and Lotus is very strong at times. Therefore, we have to be very careful: after we had a difficult start to the season, maybe our rivals did not expect to see Ferrari capable of fighting back this strongly, but now they will redouble their efforts to beat us. Therefore, we must stay very focussed and continue our efforts to improve continuously.”
Those concerns were not enough to stop Montezemolo from acknowledging the good job done these past few months. “I want to tell you I am proud of you. When I watched you applauding the drivers, I was thinking that I am lucky to work with people like you, people who have known how to work without fuss, with ability and determination to redress the difficult situation at the start of the season, which was not at the level of the name Ferrari. I want to take this opportunity to thank Domenicali for his work. When, a few years ago, it was decided to go for a man who had grown from within the company, there were some who turned up their noses at the idea, but today I am pleased to see a true leader of a team that is doing well, which is what I want and which is worthy of the name Ferrari.”