El conocido periódico estadounidense "The New York Times" entrevista a los pilotos de Ferrari para dar a conocer las sensaciones que ambos tienen de cara al próximo mundial:
- What is your general feeling about Ferrari’s performance this year?
- This year in overall performance was a big step forward for us, compared to last year. Last year we were learning to know each other, and in 2011 we tried to improve all the problems we had last year. This year we maximized the potential of the car at every single race, and I am very happy for that. We didn’t maybe have as competitive a car as last year and we are still third in the world championship — and that is a big achievement for us this year. We improved the pit stops, we improved the starts that we were not totally happy with last year, we improved the strategy, the management of the race. Last year, there was a jump-start for me in China, and a crash for me in Monaco that did not allow me to qualify. Drivers always do mistakes, but this year I tried to improve the biggest mistakes that I did last year, and I tried to do only small mistakes this year that people don’t see. Overall, we improved in every area that we wanted to. The problem is that we found a very dominant Red Bull car this year, a superb [Sebastian] Vettel as well, and the combination of the two made it impossible for us to fight for the championship.
- What are your feelings about the team in general and your own position within the team now?
- Personally, I am very, very happy with 2011. It feels good. It is a team that is born to win and in the DNA of every single person in the team is a sense of competition, a passion for motor racing. And we are at a moment now that we want to win, we want to be dominant in Formula One and we know that we have to work hard for that and make some changes in this new low-cost Formula One. Because we have no testing, we have no possibility to be creative; there are the same tires for everybody, there is the engine freeze. So you need to readapt your organization if you want to be as dominant as Ferrari were in the last decade.
- What are your general feelings about next year?
- Next year, obviously the target is to be world champion again. For the Ferrari team and a Ferrari driver, there are no other targets but those before the season starts. Then, after the first four or five races you see how competitive you are. Ferrari has the best history in Formula One and a huge number of fans worldwide, it has very important sponsors; there is no other way to start the season other than thinking the championship is possible.
- When many drivers join Ferrari, they say that they will also retire when they finish their contracts at Ferrari, that there is no life after the Italian team. Is this how you feel?
- Yes, there is no doubt, no other possibility. I think that it is not possible to be in another place than Ferrari; any move after that is a step backward. And I won two championships, I won 27 Formula One Grands Prix, and I like this team. I like their way of thinking, and the Italian and the Spanish, we are quite similar in the way of culture, sense of humor. There are many things that make me feel at home here. I signed a contract until 2016 and I will be 35 years old then, so maybe that’s the right moment to retire. Maybe not. But if it is not the right moment, and I have the possibility to keep driving for Ferrari then I will do it. But if I don’t have that possibility, that moment will be a good moment to retire.
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