 |
|
Alonso discusses his performance with an engineer (not in frame) after the qualifying session at Istanbul Park.
© AP Images
|
Ferrari has clarified that it was not a technical problem but a sheer lack of pace that spelled their doom in the qualifying session in Turkey. Massa finished with an 8th best time while his teammate Alonso failed to make it to Q3 causing him to start the 2010 Turkish GP from 12th place on the grid.
The Maranello based-outfit will be fairly disappointed with the show so far at this special weekend which marks its 800th race, “It wasn't the way we wanted to celebrate the 800th GP Unfortunately, today we had not enough performance to fight for the top places,” said a Ferrari spokesperson on Twitter.
They also added that it was just a lack of pace that did them in, “No problem (with the car), just not enough speed.”
Alonso didn’t seem to agree though, singing a slightly different tune in his post-qualifying review. Talking to a Spanish television channel after his disappointing Q2 exit, the Spaniard opined that he, in fact, had pace, "I don't know. I didn't think we were so slow. We struggled in Q1, ninth and tenth, and then in Q2 we couldn't improve the time by much and we were out. By a tenth, but that's the way it is," he said.
But he was quick to add that he was in no way suggesting that there is no room for improvement, " We have to improve and we know it," he added.
The Ferrari driver highlighted what a huge disadvantage this is, considering the fact that he will now start on the dirty side of the tack, "we've been practicing starts from the clean and the dirty side and saw there's a difference of one position when you start from the dirty side."
"When I crossed the line they told me I was 11th so I thought tomorrow at the start I would gain places, but from 12th I may even lose some positions, so it's going to be difficult,” added the double World Champion.