Alonso: "Ferrari is a dream come true"

Madonna di Campiglio, 14 January 2010 – Today Madonna di Campiglio’s congress centre hosted the press conference dedicated to the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro drivers Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso. The two official drivers from the team from Maranello, who arrived here in the mountain village in the Trentino region last Monday for the 20th edition of Wrooom, the event organised by Philip Morris International to present the novelties for the 2010 season to the international press, took turns in a special meeting with journalists from 95 Italian and international newspapers. For the first time dressed in the colours of Ferrari Fernando Alonso wanted to thank the team’s main sponsor for the exceptional welcome during the Wrooom week, a unique event in the world of Formula 1: "I’m having a fantastic time here with skiing and work, but especially benefitting from this extraordinary opportunity to get to know my teammates Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella better."

Asked about his first contact with the Scuderia Fernando said that he was positively impressed by the first days spent in Maranello: "I immediately had a good feeling with every part of the team and everybody was extremely available for me, trying to satisfy my needs and my proposals as good as possible. I was really impressed by the passion you can feel in Maranello everywhere in the company and in the city. The legendary history of the Prancing Horse can be seen in everything. I think that Ferrari is much more than just a Formula 1 team. For me like for anybody it’s a dream come true.”

According to the new Scuderia Ferrari driver the changes regarding the rules won’t upset the race: “Considering that the times to change the tyres are more or less the same for all the teams, a good position in the qualifying will be fundamental, so a good Saturday will be more important than the race itself. Naturally the fuel consumption will play a crucial role, but I know that the team is working very hard with Shell regarding this issue, so I’m really calm.”

The Spanish driver didn’t want to comment Bernie Ecclestone’s proposals, while the head of Formula 1 arrived in Madonna di Campiglio yesterday evening for his traditional greetings. “There’s a commission working to add more show to this sport and we drivers trust in them, because our main commitment is to stay concentrated on our work."

Regarding Schumacher’s return Fernando said: "For a driver, who was at the top it must be difficult to stay at home, because the adrenaline remains. He accepted this opportunity, because he feels to be ready and still competitive. I think that his comeback can only help this sport, especially after such a difficult year as we had in 2009. His presence on the track will be a further impulse.”

Alonso said that he is not worried about the new challenges ahead at all: “Racing with Ferrari was my objective and I’ll certainly end my career with this fantastic team. I think that it’s impossible to find the same passion somewhere else. I need to adapt rapidly to the car, despite the few days for testing, although I think that to reach the best performance we need to wait until the third or fourth race.”