Ferrari needed a pep talk and they got one…actually two. Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso has called on the team to do what he did, give 120% to try to win the world championship. Alonso said:
“We can fight the Red Bulls, but at the moment, we still don’t have a car capable of winning. Once again this year we have seen that, in the race, the situation is much better than in qualifying. A great start, a great first lap, a good top speed and the right tyre management produced, along with me driving at 120% for each of the sixty race laps, got me second place.
“We did what we could, as at every race: if, come the end of the championship we will have won, then no one will be able to say it was down to mistakes from the others, but because we always did the maximum.
“We will already have some updates in Abu Dhabi: let’s hope we can make a step forward because it will be important to start making up the points gap there already. There are 75 points up for grabs which is a lot. I am still optimistic even if we are all aware that we have to improve our performance, especially on Saturday.”
Alonso’s not alone in giving a pep talk to the folks back in Maranello, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has also taken Alonso’s challenge and rallied to troops to operate at 120%:
“Alonso was exceptional in India. Drivers and team have never been more united to give 120 per cent.
“We’re more united than ever, and the team is working on further improvements with the last three races in sight.
“We’re ready to give it 120 per cent, just like Alonso. We’ll fight for the championship to the last kilometre. I’m very confident.”
At this point we have to consider that 100% is the maximum effort and individual could consistently give. If this is the case, could Alonso or Ferrari give more? Sure but could it be consistent? That’s the big question.
If 100% was the maximum effort the team and Fernando were capable of giving on a consistent basis, then surely asking them to give 120% is actually suggesting they could have been half-arsing it? (I jest!)
Anyway, there you have it. It all comes down to this and it will take 100% from Ferrari and Fernando and something less from Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel and as we’ve seen many times before, that’s very possible in Formula One.
