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Ferrari endure nightmare weekend

July 14 - 20, 2010
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Ferrari cursed their misfortune on Sunday after Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa endured a nightmare weekend at the British Grand Prix.

While Spain's double world champion Alonso could celebrate his country's footballing World Cup success, there was little for the Italian team to cheer about at Silverstone.

Alonso started third and finished 14th after falling foul of the safety car for the second race in a row, while Brazilian Massa was 15th.

To cap a dismal afternoon, the two drivers collided on the opening lap with Massa pitting with a puncture.

"We seem to be really cursed at the moment, when everything that could go wrong, does," team boss Stefano Domenicali said.

Two weeks ago, Ferrari had slammed the European Grand Prix in Valencia as 'false'and 'manipulated' after McLaren's Lewis Hamilton suffered no meaningful punishment for illegally passing the safety car while Alonso was left behind.

At Silverstone, it was the Spaniard's turn to fall foul of the stewards - including former Ferrari driver Nigel Mansell - after they ruled he had cut a corner to pass Robert Kubica's Renault.

Unable to give the place back to Kubica as the Pole suffered a driveshaft failure and soon retired, a drive-through penalty was imposed only for the safety car to be deployed before Alonso could take it. Alonso, who recognised he had made a 'horrible start', was more resigned to the day's events and the decision of the stewards.

"The criteria is the same for everybody," he told Spanish media. "The stewards look closely at all the incidents of the race and they always make the decision they think is the right one."

Ferrari sit third in the constructor standings, 113 points behind leaders McLaren and 84 behind Red Bull.







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