Hungaroring, 29 July

Today is a special day for the Scuderia Ferrari race team, because three of our number all have birthdays. The most famous of them is obviously Fernando Alonso who hit thirty one in Budapest. The Spaniard was unable to celebrate it with a thirty first career win, but the +40 with which he leaves the Hungaroring is nevertheless a nice fillip with which to go on holiday in relaxed state of mind. He can definitely feel better than when he left Melbourne back in March having on that day also finished fifth. The team waited until after the race to line up a little surprise for its driver, aware that this morning, there was no time for even the smallest distraction: a nice cake and some champagne to celebrate, preceded by a short film clip showing key moments in the Spaniard’s career, from his first steps in karts to victories at Ferrari. Alongside Fernando to cut the cake were two other men in red, two men who are not talked about much in the newspapers, but whose work out of the spotlight has contributed to the success of the team that has won more than any other in the history of Formula 1. Francesco Cigarini and Sergio Padovani, respectively 38 and 34 today, not only share the same date of birth, but also play the same role within the team, working on the electrical side of the two Prancing Horse cars. Since 2010, they have also been fortunate to celebrate alongside a driver, who in less than three years, has certainly found a place in the hearts of everyone in the team and, we are sure in the hearts of all true Ferraristi.