Ferrari

Formula 1 Team reports for the 2009 F1 season includes race previews, reports and reviews
Ed
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Post by Ed » Mon May 11, 2009 10:35 am

Spanish Grand Prix – Barcelona, 10th May 2009

Driver Position Time Gap Laps Chassis
F. Massa 6th 1:38.10.029 + 50.827 66 275
K. Raikkonen R 28.17.924 Lap 18 17 279

Weather: air temperature 38/36 °C, track temperature 51/49 °C, sunny, then slightly cloudy.

Another sixth place for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro in the fifth race of the season, this time for Felipe Massa. The Brazilian driver, who set the third fastest race lap, fought for a place in the top four until he was forced to slow significantly to save fuel as, at the second pit stop, the full planned amount of fuel did not go in the tank. Kimi Raikkonen had to retire on lap 18, because of a problem with the hydraulic control of the accelerator.

Stefano Domenicali: “We can take some satisfaction from this weekend, but at the same time, it has thrown up further concerns. On the one hand we saw that the effort expended in recent weeks has born fruit in terms of improving the performance level of the car. Both in yesterday’s qualifying and today, Felipe was competitive at the highest level, as was confirmed on the clock: it’s not by luck that we got the third fastest time in the race, which would have been far out of our reach in previous races this year. Once again, the downside comes from the reliability side. Again today, we had problems which forced Kimi to retire and cost Felipe two places in the final stages, having also robbed him of the chance of getting to the podium, which would have been well deserved. This is unacceptable for a team like Ferrari: we must all react to get back to our usual standard, as indeed we have partially managed on the performance side. There is much to do on all fronts and we will tackle it with our usual absolute determination.”

Felipe Massa: “It’s a real shame to have lost two places in the final stages, even if we’ve finally made it to the scoreboard. We knew we couldn’t match the pace of the Brawns but we had managed to get ahead of the Red Bulls and, but for the fuel problem, I could have certainly stayed ahead of Vettel and Alonso. The final part of the race was a pain. I was already struggling on the harder tyres and then I had to try and save fuel as much as possible, while at the same time staying ahead of Vettel. Then the team told that if I wanted to make it to the finish, I would have to let Vettel by and slow down a lot: if I had made another pit stop I would have finished out of the points. Today, the car’s pace on the softer tyre was reasonably good, even if we’re still lacking a few tenths, but at least we are back to fighting for the top places.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “I am very unhappy because I could have finished in the points. Unfortunately, I had a hydraulic problem linked to the control of the accelerator which meant I had to retire. At the start I managed to make up a few places but then, I found myself behind Heidfeld’s BMW. The car is better, but we must fix these reliability problems. Obviously, when you have to make up ground you can end up making avoidable errors, as has happened to us in this first part of the season, but that doesn’t mean to say the team has lost its way. We are the same people who over the past two years have won three world titles out of the four available.”

Chris Dyer: “The most important thing this weekend is that the car performance is much improved compared to the previous races. Today we were capable of fighting with the best and we had a great chance of finishing on the podium. On the downside, we can only be disappointed about our reliability and the running of our on-track operation. After what happened in qualifying yesterday, Kimi had to retire because of a problem with the hydraulics used to control the accelerator. On Felipe’s car, the front left wheel fairing broke and at both pit stops we had a refueling problem, the cause of which we have yet to find out. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do. We are all very unhappy for what happened and lament the fact that so much work from the team to improve car performance was not adequately rewarded in the final result.”

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Post by Ed » Thu May 21, 2009 5:07 pm

Ferrari press release in relation to the 2010 regulations

Ferrari has noted the verdict of the Tribunal de Grande Instance with regards to the request to suspend with all haste the consequences of the decision taken by the FIA World Council on 29th April.

The existence and validity of Ferrari’s right of veto, as sanctioned in a written agreement with the FIA Senate, were recognized by the Court, as was the fact that this dispute is of a contractual nature. Consequently, it was also recognized that the dispute was not a matter for the internal tribunal of the FIA, but rather a matter for normal civil courts. The Court believed that the right of veto should have been exercised during the World Council meetings of 17th March and 29th April. It therefore chose to let the civil law courts rule on the urgency of the matter.

Such a decision, which is not prejudicial to the outcome of the matter, allows the FIA to impose on those teams entered in the 2010 world championship, regulations that have been drawn up unilaterally without respecting the agreed procedures. In the final analysis, Ferrari has been forced to use its right of veto, in defence of its own interests and those of all the teams participating in the Formula 1 World Championship.

While continuing to evaluate whether or not to continue with this legal action already underway, Ferrari confirms its commitment to work within FOTA in conjunction with the FIA and the Commercial Rights Holder to ensure that Formula 1 is a series where the rules are the same for everyone and which benefits from stability in the regulations, while continuing the work of the past few months in moving forward methodically and gradually towards reducing costs.

If it is not possible for all parties to reach agreement, then in line with the decision of the Main Board, taken on 12th May, Ferrari will not enter its cars in a competition that, with the planned scenario in place, would see a watering down of the characteristics that have endowed Formula 1 with the status of the most important motor sport series and that have specifically led to the Maranello marque’s uninterrupted participation in the world championship since 1950. In this situation, Ferrari will continue to compete in races of a calibre worthy of the marque, matching its level of innovation and technological research.

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Post by Ed » Fri May 22, 2009 10:57 am

Monaco Grand Prix – 21st May 2009

Free practices First Session Second Session
Driver Pos. Time Laps Pos. Time Laps Chassis
F. Massa 2nd 1.17.499 31 5th 1.15.832 42 276
K. Raikkonen 5th 1.17.839 30 8th 1.15.985 43 279

Weather
First session: air 25°C, track 32/36 °C, sunny.
Second session: air 24 °C, track 25/34 °C, partially cloudy.

It was a trouble free first practice day for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro. The F60s of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa completed a total of 73 laps each, finishing in the top ten in both sessions. “Our Monaco weekend has got off on the right foot, meaning we got through a lot of work without losing time because of technical problems,” commented Stefano Domenicali. “Everyone is very close and so it is difficult to assess the pecking order, but from what we have seen today, we can say that we are in good shape. As usual, qualifying will be the vital factor and, given that traffic could throw up a key variable, we will have to do a good job of managing the session as well as possible, also taking this element into consideration.”

Felipe Massa: “It’s hard to say if there’s been an improvement since Barcelona, but we are in amongst the other front runners, which is already a good sign. Everything went well from the start of the day, when we worked towards the race. From what we’ve seen today, our car seems to be quick and consistent in performance terms. In the past, I wasn’t particularly keen on this track, but more recently that has changed. Last year, I took pole and today I immediately felt comfortable, working on settings for the car, which we had never tried before. The softer tyres are definitely quicker, but after ten laps or so, you start to lose the back end a bit. However, we must bear in mind that the track conditions change a lot from today to Saturday, so today’s results are not that representative.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “We worked our way through the usual programme for the first day of practice, based on evaluating the two different types of tyre that Bridgestone has brought here and on finding the best set up on the car. I would say the car is handling reasonably well: there are still a few areas where we can improve but I am pleased with what we achieved today. Driving here is always a challenge, even if Sunday’s race can then be rather boring, with overtaking practically impossible and if you end up behind slower cars there is nothing you can do but wait for the pit stop.”

Chris Dyer: “It’s always important to start the Monaco weekend without any problems and so we can be happy with having managed that today. Time lost in free practice here can be more costly than elsewhere. As for the set-up, both drivers are reasonably happy with the handling of the F60, even if obviously, there is still a lot to do. Tyre choice for the race is particularly interesting here, given that the two types available are much closer to one another than at other races. Qualifying will be the key as usual at this Grand Prix. Usually at this track, the times are very close and this year they are even more so, given how closely matched everyone is. Therefore it will be even more important to be as well prepared as possible for all phases of qualifying.”

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Post by Ed » Sun May 24, 2009 10:49 am

Monaco Grand Prix – 23rd May 2009

Qualifying session
Session Driver Pos. Time Laps Driver Pos. Time Laps
Q1 MAS 4th 1.15.340 11 RAI 7th 1.15.746 13
Q2 RAI 1st 1.14.514 10 MAS 7th 1.15.001 10
Q3 RAI 2nd 1.14.927 8 MAS 5th 1.15.271 7

Chassis: F. Massa 276, K. Raikkonen 279

Weather: air temperature 24 °C, track temperature 37 °C, sunny.

Best qualifying of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, which results in Kimi Raikkonen starting from second place on the grid and Felipe Massa from fifth. “This is a good result and confirms the team is working well,” commented Stefano Domenicali. “There’s obviously slight regret at Kimi missing out on pole by a whisker and at the fact that Felipe hardly managed a single clean lap in Q3, which prevented him from getting a better grid position. Overall, we can be reasonably satisfied: we are in a good position for tomorrow’s race and we have confirmed that we have made progress on the performance front over these past few weeks. There is still some way to go but we’re moving in the right direction.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “Second place is a nice result but I’m disappointed that I missed out on pole by a few hundredths. Here, there is a much bigger difference between starting from first or second place. The car has improved and that can be seen from the performance level. Today, we felt ever more comfortable as the track’s grip level improved bit by bit. I had some difficulties on the first run in Q1, but then things got better all the time. In the end, I had the possibility of doing another lap, but I went long at the first corner: I don’t know if I could have done a better time. Tomorrow’s race will be long and tough. The start will be very important and on the short straight here, the KERS will definitely be a help, but not as much as elsewhere. All the same, it’s good to be back in the fight for the top places and I will give it my best shot to try and win, because that’s the only thing that matters.”

Felipe Massa: “Today’s showing confirms we are capable of fighting for the top places. We were in with a chance of getting into the top three, but I never managed to get a clean lap, partly because of traffic and partly through some small slip ups. These things can easily happen in Monaco and fifth is still a good place to start the race. I am confident for tomorrow. It will be a long race, but the F60 is competitive. Step by step we are getting back to where we are used to being. The accident at the start of Q1? I had new brakes and the harder tyres, which struggled a bit more to get up to temperature, so as soon as I touched the brakes, I locked the wheels and ended up against the guardrail.”

Chris Dyer: “A great result for the team: two cars in the front three rows is a reward for all the work we’ve done. Kimi drove fantastically well, while Felipe was almost always in traffic, which prevented him from doing better. It was a very complicated qualifying session, starting with Felipe’s accident, which meant he had to come straight back to the pits to change the nose and the ensuing red flag period, which had an effect, because for us at least, the tyres were only at their best after the first flying lap. The team and drivers worked really well in managing the situation and the credit for this result goes to them and everyone back at the factory who worked on preparing for this Grand Prix. We are in a good position for tomorrow’s race, in which we will do our best to bring both cars home on the podium.”

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Post by Ed » Mon May 25, 2009 9:58 am

Monaco Grand Prix – 24th May 2009

Driver Position Time Gap Laps Chassis
K. Raikkonen 3rd 1:40.57.724 + 13.442 78 279
F. Massa 4th 1:40.59.392 + 15.110 78 276

Weather: air temperature 25/26 °C, track temperature 42/45 °C, sunny.

First podium of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, courtesy of Kimi Raikkonen who finished third, ahead of team-mate, Felipe Massa. The Brazilian also set the fastest race lap. Thanks to the eleven points picked up today, the Scuderia has moved up to fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, while its drivers are eighth and tenth in the Drivers’ classification, with Raikkonen and Massa respectively.

Stefano Domenicali: “The most important thing to come out of today is the confirmation that our car is back to being competitive, thanks to the great amount of work that everyone at the Scuderia, both back home and at the track, has put in over these past few weeks, without getting distracted by everything going on around us. It's not easy to work in these conditions and I want to thank everyone for what they are doing. Today, we got a third and a fourth place which, given the difficult start to our season, is a nice result, but it’s still not the one we want. Our aim is to be ahead of everyone and we will do all we can to achieve that as soon as possible. Of course the others won’t remain idle but we must continue to push as we have done in these recent times.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “I can’t be happy with third place, as my aim is always to win, but all the same, this podium is very satisfying for the entire team after a very difficult start to the season. However, I am happy that we are back competing at the front again. Over the past few weeks we have made a real step forward in terms of performance and this result confirms it. We still have work to do to catch up with the best, but we are moving in the right direction. This weekend, if some details had worked out differently, the result could have been different – I’m thinking of missing out on pole by a whisker or of my second pit stop when I lost a few seconds. But overall, we have to be pleased.”

Felipe Massa: “I am very happy with today’s performance. The car was very competitive: it’s clear we are on the way up and hopefully we can soon be back to fighting for the win. At the start, I lost a lot of time behind Vettel and then, because I made a mistake, I was also passed by Rosberg. But after that I quickly got back up the order and I think I could also have passed Kimi. In the three laps I had longer than him, at the second pit stop, I found myself right behind Button and so I wasn’t able to exploit the opportunity. Starting on the hard tyres was the best choice: we still lack a bit of aerodynamic downforce to be up with the Brawns, but it is too early to claim to be the second best team in the championship. What is sure is that we are working well and I am sure we will see further results of that soon.”

Chris Dyer: “That was a very interesting race today. In the end, we are a bit disappointed, but that’s a good sign, both because it shows how much we want to get back to being ahead of everyone and also because, when you begin to think you should have been able to do better than a third and fourth place finish, it means that you are back to being really competitive again. If we had not lost position at the start, probably we could have attacked Rubens, if we hadn’t encountered a problem changing the right rear wheel at Kimi’s second pit stop. What is reassuring is the pace shown by the F60, especially in the second part of the race, when despite having more fuel than the leaders, we were always quicker. We are very happy with the performance of the car and we are confident we can improve it further with coming developments.”

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Post by Ed » Sat Jun 06, 2009 1:53 am

Grand Prix of Turkey – 5th June 2009
Free practices

First Session Second Session
Driver Pos. Time Laps Pos. Time Laps Chassis
F. Massa 5th 1.29.342 22 11th 1.29.416 38 276
K. Raikkonen 7th 1.29.398 25 15th 1.29.520 33 279

Weather
First session: air 22/23°C, track 30/34 °C, sunny.
Second session: air 25 °C, track 41/37 °C, sunny then partially cloudy.

The lesson from the first day of practice for the Turkish Grand Prix is that everyone is closely matched, given that the first sixteen in the second session are all within just over seven tenths of a second. The F60s of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa covered a total of 118 laps, without encountering any technical problems.
“Today’s results are even more difficult to interpret than they usually are on Fridays,” commented Stefano Domenicali. “Apart from the normal unknowns relating to fuel loads and tyre useage, the track conditions also played a part, as they changed a lot during the two sessions. Having said that, we are reasonably happy with the work we did today, also taking into account our fuel loads. There is still work to do to improve the handling of the car, but all in all, I think we are going in the right direction.”

Felipe Massa: “The track surface today was very dirty, as could be seen by the number of off-track excursions. As for us, we concentrated on finding the best set-up for Sunday’s race and it’s difficult to say where we are compared to the rest. On top of that, everyone is very close in performance terms, so I think we’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning to understand something. The harder tyres give little grip, as we expected, while the softer ones seems to suffer significant degradation, even though, as the track evolves, that situation should change. The new aerodynamic elements we have here are definitely not worth a second, but they are a small help, which when put all together, improve our performance.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “At this track, conditions change very quickly, so it is difficult to judge the performance of the various cars on the basis of today’s results. The track is very dirty and, after making some changes to the set-up, the car seemed to handle a bit strangely, but then it was back to normal for my final run in FP2. There is still work to do on the car but I am confident: I think we will find the right solutions to be competitive tomorrow and on Sunday.”

Chris Dyer: “It was a rather complicated day, because of the track conditions, it being dirty and also because of the wind. We got through our programme without the slightest problem, concentrating on tyre choice for the race, finding the best set-up on the car and on evaluating new aerodynamic solutions which are making their track debut today. Both the compounds that Bridgestone brought here seem to be pretty critical in terms of grip, at least from what we could see today. But we know the situation will improve bit by bit as the track gets rubbered in. All in all, we are reasonably satisfied with what we’ve seen today. I think that again here in Turkey, we will be able to confirm the progress seen in Spain and Monaco.”

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Post by Ed » Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:33 pm

Grand Prix of Turkey – 6th June 2009

Qualifying session
Session Driver Pos. Time Laps Driver Pos. Time Laps
Q1 MAS 5th 1.27.508 9 RAI 8th 1.25.536 9
Q2 MAS 4th 1.27.349 7 RAI 5th 1.27.387 8
Q3 RAI 6th 1.28.815 7 MAS 7th 1.28.858 7

Chassis: F. Massa 276, K. Raikkonen 279

Weather: air temperature 28 °C, track temperature 45/44 °C, sunny.

Sixth and seventh places for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro’s two F60s in qualifying for the fifth running of the Turkish Grand Prix, with Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa respectively. “This was a reasonable qualifying, even if it did not quite come up to our expectations,” commented Stefano Domenicali. “From what we saw over the course of the day, we can say that we did not get the maximum out of the potential available to us, especially in Q3. Having said that, we can expect a very tough and open race: we have a good strategy and we will try to exploit that to pick up a good result.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “In qualifying the car was better balanced than in free practice but, even on a light fuel load, today we were a bit slower than the best. All weekend we have struggled a bit to get the tyres working at their best on the first lap. For sure, starting from the dirty side of the grid won’t be easy, especially on a track like this, which is hardly ever used for racing, which means the track surface offers little grip off the racing line. We have made progress recently, but the others have also done the same, which is what always happens.”

Felipe Massa: “On low fuel, the car was well balanced and had good grip, while once we had the race fuel on board, the situation got worse and we suffered oversteer, mainly on the softer tyre. Honestly, I’d expected to start higher up the grid, especially as we were pretty competitive in Q1 and Q2. Starting from seventh, it becomes tough to aim for the top, so we have to be realistic. However, we mustn’t forget this will be a long race and anything can happen. As usual, I will give it my best shot.”

Chris Dyer: “It was a very close qualifying, especially at the top end of the time sheet. The cars ran trouble free all day: the major difficulty concerned tyre choice. In the end, we opted for the softer compound and all in all, we believe that was the right choice, even if the difference in performance between the two over the first timed lap was not as marked as on other occasions.”

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Post by Ed » Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:08 am

Grand Prix of Turkey – 7th June 2009

Driver Position Time Gap Laps Chassis
F. Massa 6th 1:27.04.844 +39.996 58 276
K. Raikkonen 9th 1:27.15.094 +50.246 58 279

Weather: air temperature 31/30 °C, track temperature 50/47 °C, sunny.

Only thee points picked up by Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro in the Turkish Grand Prix, thanks to a sixth place for Felipe Massa: Kimi Raikkonen finished ninth. The opening lap of the race was the decisive one. After a good start, Felipe was fifth, but then, while trying to pass Trulli at the end of the main straight, he was also passed by Rosberg. The last corners on the track were also the key ones for Kimi, who having run wide at turn 9, was passed by Alonso going into Turn 12 and then after hitting a rear tyre on the Renault the external part of the left hand front wing was damaged and he was then also passed by Kubica. After that, the race pace of the two F60s was not quick enough to regain position and the classification at the end of the first lap stayed the same for the two Ferrari men to the end.

Stefano Domenicali: “We definitely expected more from this weekend, especially given what we had seen up to the end of Saturday morning, when our level of competitiveness was pretty good. We have to understand why the performance of our car evolved in a negative fashion over the course of the three days: the race pace we saw this afternoon was not only not up to the level of the best but it was also not as good as many of the others. We must continue to work on the development of the car to try and make up ground, by continuing to stay focused and without getting discouraged by this setback.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “It was definitely not the race we were expecting or the one we wanted. The first lap was decisive for me: I lost valuable places and then it wasn’t possible to get them back because today we weren’t quick enough. Over recent weeks, we have improved our performance a lot, but we are not yet at the level of the best, especially at tracks like this one. It is never easy to catch up, because in the meantime, the others are not exactly stopping their own development. We must not be negative about this after a weekend like this one, but we should continue to concentrate and to push: I am sure we can soon return to fighting for the top places. It won’t be easy but I have confidence in this team.”

Felipe Massa: “A very difficult day for us. We have to accept the fact that sixth place was the best we could do, because we were not quick enough to fight against those in front of us. We must continue to push on the car development front to make up for what we lack in terms of performance, starting with the race at Silverstone. From Friday it was complicated to find a way to make the tyres work well: for example, today the softs seemed to go better than on previous days, but using them right from the start would have been a risk because the degradation, up to yesterday seemed to be pretty significant.”

Chris Dyer: “We are very disappointed because we expected to be in the fight for better places. We have to really understand why we lost so much speed from one day to another. Today we weren’t competitive, not just up against Brawn GP and Red Bull but also when compared with Toyota and Williams. On top of that, the way the first lap went cost us dear: it’s not by chance that the classification of our cars at the end of lap 1 was the same as they passed the chequered flag.”

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Post by Ed » Fri Jun 12, 2009 10:25 pm

PRESS RELEASE

Ferrari shall not take part in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship until the conditions of its entry are satisfied

Following publication of the list of entries for the 2010 Formula One World Championship, which includes Ferrari as an unconditional entrant, Ferrari wishes to state the following:
• Ferrari submitted on 29 May 2009 an entry to the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship which is subject to certain conditions. As of today, these conditions have not been met;
• notwithstanding this and despite Ferrari's previous written notice to the FIA not to do so, the FIA has included Ferrari as a unconditional participant in next year's Formula One World Championship. For the avoidance of any doubt, Ferrari reaffirms that it shall not take part in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship under the regulations adopted by the FIA in violation of Ferrari's rights under a written agreement with the FIA.

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Post by Ed » Sat Jun 20, 2009 7:30 am

British Grand Prix

Free practices First Session Second Session
Driver Pos. Time Laps Pos. Time Laps Chassis
F. Massa 6th 1.20.471 23 17th 1.21.005 37 277
K. Raikkonen 14th 1.21.179 27 18th 1.21.132 38 279

Weather
First session: air 22/23°C, track 30/34 °C, cloudy.
Second session: air 25 °C, track 41/37 °C, cloudy.

It was a busy day for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, with its two drivers completing a total of around 650 kilometres. Felipe Massa did a full Sunday race distance, while team-mate Kimi Raikkonen did five laps more. “It is always difficult to interpret the results of Friday free practice, as we don’t know what schedule the other teams are working to,” commented Stefano Domenicali. “We knew the characteristics of this track would not be ideally suited to our car and now we have to try and analyse all our data from these three hours to see how to improve our performance. We can expect a difficult weekend, but we will do our best, as usual, to bring home a good result.”

Felipe Massa: “I am not very happy with the way these two free practice sessions went. The track was rather dirty and the wind also had an effect. We didn’t manage to find the right way to go to improve the balance of the car. There is definitely a lot of work awaiting us in preparation for qualifying, where the most realistic target at the moment is to get into the top ten.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “Difficult to say where we are in respect to the others: we will have to wait for tomorrow’s qualifying to find out. Clearly, looking at today’s results, we are definitely not in for an easy weekend. The car’s not bad in terms of balance, but doesn’t seem to be quick enough. The tyres are the same as in Turkey, but of course it is much cooler here: on the first lap, the performance between the two types is quite different, but then over a longer run, they tend to be similar. As predicted, there’s a wind blowing on the track, but it’s not as damaging as I’d expected.”

Chris Dyer: “We had a few little problems on both cars: nothing particularly serious but enough to slow us down in completing the programme we had planned for the two drivers. We have various new components on the F60 and now we will have to analyse the car’s behaviour to try and tackle a weekend that certainly looks like being a tough one, in the best way possible.”

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Post by Ed » Sun Jun 21, 2009 2:24 am

Grand Prix of Great Britain – 20th June 2009

Qualifying session
Session Driver Pos. Time Laps Driver Pos. Time Laps
Q1 RAI 6th 1.19.010 10 MAS 7th 1.19.148 10
Q2 RAI 5th 1.18.566 7 MAS 11th 1.18.927 9
Q3 RAI 9th 1.20.715 7 - - - -

Chassis: F. Massa 277, K. Raikkonen 279

Weather: air temperature 17/18 °C, track temperature 21/22 °C, cloudy.

Ninth and eleventh places for Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa respectively: that was the outcome of qualifying at the British Grand Prix for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro. Thanks to a good performance in Q2, Kimi managed to get through to the final part of the session, but then was unable to do better than ninth, while Felipe didn’t get into Q3, because of a mistake in the third sector of the track, which cost him precious time. “Clearly this is a bad result,” but frankly we hadn’t expected much better,” commented Stefano Domenicali. “It’s pointless to look for one specific element to blame: this is our current rating in this sort of temperature range and on a track with so many fast corners. The car does not have enough aerodynamic downforce to generate the required grip through the tyres. Having said that, we must not lose heart. We know we face having to try and race our way up the order tomorrow, trying to bring home some useful points for the classification.”

Felipe Massa: “Not a great weekend for us, there’s no point denying it. Today I missed out on getting into Q3 because I made a mistake in the final sector. Up until then, I was a few tenths up on my previous best time. We must always push to the limit because the car doesn’t give you a margin to make it through in qualifying and that can lead to one making mistakes. The F60 feels balanced but we are not quick enough. In the last two races, some teams have made significant progress in their development, while we haven’t improved our performance enough. It will be a hard race, but maybe something will happen that could see us getting a good result. From our side, all we can do is give it our best shot and try all the time.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “To be honest, I didn’t expect much more. This is our current performance level and today it was difficult to do any better. Each weekend we try our best: again on this track, the F60 was well balanced but, as we have seen so often this year, we don’t have enough grip. I did a good lap in Q2 but, with race fuel on board, the car was not as quick as the others. We have improved the car in these last two races, but it seems the others have taken a bigger step forward than we have.”

Chris Dyer: “Definitely not a very exciting result, but it matches what we had expected from yesterday. We have improved the performance of the car since then, but not enough to fight it out with the best. Tomorrow’s race will definitely be very difficult for us. We will try and do our best to get both cars home in the points.”

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Post by Ed » Mon Jun 22, 2009 1:38 pm

Grand Prix of Great Britain – 21st June 2009

Driver Position Time Gap Laps Chassis
F. Massa 4th 1:23.34.371 + 45.043 60 277
K. Raikkonen 8th 1:23.58.950 + 1.09.823 60 279

Weather: air temperature 17 °C, track temperature 25/23 °C, cloudy.

Six points in the bag for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro in the British Grand Prix, thanks to a fourth place for Felipe Massa and an eighth for Kimi Raikkonen. With this result, Felipe has moved up to sixth place in the Drivers’ classification, while Kimi stays tenth: the Scuderia has consolidated its fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Stefano Domenicali: “After the less than brilliant qualifying yesterday, our aim was to get both cars home in the points and we did it. Felipe drove a fantastic race: starting eleventh and finishing fourth with no one in front of him on the grid retiring is a great performance. Kimi got a great start, making the most of the KERS, but after that he was unable to make the most of having moved up the order, because of traffic. Today, we saw one team clearly ahead of the rest, but we showed we could match the pace of all the others, including those who only two weeks ago, were clearly better. We will have to study in depth everything that happened this weekend to understand how the performance level can change so suddenly, one way or the other, without there having been any changes made to the cars.”

Felipe Massa: “I almost feel as though I won the race! To start eleventh and finish fourth is a really great result. We weren’t expecting it and so we are doubly happy. We had a good strategy and I pushed to the maximum at the key moments. Today, the KERS was a great help, especially at the start, but the whole car was also working well. The team did a great job and the results speak for themselves. We have to continue down this route. It will be interesting to understand how the car’s performance improved from one day to the next. Maybe it just needed those few extra degrees of track temperature to get the tyres working better.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “I got a good start, but then I was unable to push as much as I could have done because I was always in traffic. Obviously, my grid position, given my fuel load, penalised me in terms of strategy. After the first run of pit stops, I found myself right behind Trulli and from then on, my race was pretty much over. I tried to pass him getting very close sometimes, but it wasn’t really on as overtaking is still very difficult. I ended up fighting with Glock but I could defend my position comfortably, both thanks to the KERS and to the fact that I actually had quite a good pace. It’s a shame, because given where I was at the end of the first lap, I could have got a better result. A single point is definitely nothing to get excited about, but it’s better than nothing. The car wasn’t bad today, much better than it had been in qualifying yesterday.”

Chris Dyer: “We got the most out of a weekend that was definitely not brilliant in terms of performance. Both our drivers had great starts, getting the most of out the KERS. Then Felipe picked up a good pace that, along with the strategy, allowed him to move up quite a few places. As for Kimi, he was slowed by traffic and the key moment in his race was when Trulli came out on track ahead of him when he made his first pit stop. He was unable to pass him on the track and then, during the run of pit stops, other drivers were able to get ahead of him. Yesterday, we were rather disappointed both with our result and with our performance, but today things were definitely better: however, we have to admit there is still a great deal of work to do to be competitive at the highest level, which is where we want to be.”

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Post by Ed » Sat Jul 11, 2009 2:11 am

Grand Prix of Germany – 10th July 2009

Free practices First Session Second Session
Driver Pos. Time Laps Pos. Time Laps Chassis
F. Massa 3rd 1.33.745 21 12th 1.33.052 34 277
K. Raikkonen 6th 1.33.840 23 16th 1.33.182 29 279

Weather
First session: air 13/18 °C, track 13/18 °C; overcast, occasional rain.
Second session: air 15/16 °C, track 17/18 °C; overcast, occasional rain.

Formula 1 returned to the Nurburgring after a one year break, on a day when the weather was certainly not summery, with even a few rain showers. The two Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro drivers completed just over 100 laps (Felipe 54, Kimi 52,) working mainly on preparation for Sunday’s race and on the comparison of the two types of tyre brought here by Bridgestone. “The situation is reasonably similar to that at the last race,” commented Stefano Domenicali. “Tomorrow, our aim is to get both cars into Q3 and then try for a good result on Sunday. We know that won’t be at all easy, but, as always we will do all we can to succeed.”

Felipe Massa: “It was a reasonable day, which confirmed our expectations. We still have a bit of work to do, especially in finding the right balance for the first timed lap: with these temperatures, the fronts struggle at the start before improving lap by lap. In the afternoon, we had a heavy fuel load, so as to be as well prepared as possible for Sunday’s race, so we’re not particularly bothered about our position in the classification.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “I think we are more or less where we were at Silverstone. We are still struggling a bit to find the best balance on the car, but I am sure that we will find a way of fixing that. In the second session, I only used the softer tyres because we had to work on the car in between the two sessions, which cost me a bit of time. We certainly struggled to get the harder tyre up to the right operating temperature, as was to be expected given the weather.”

Chris Dyer: “It was rather a difficult day, with changing weather conditions and a few little technical glitches (Kimi’s gearbox had an oil leak) which meant we had to compress our work programme. However, in the end, we managed to complete almost all the tasks on our list, including the evaluation of some new aerodynamic components. There is definitely more work to be done to get the balance right on the car, in order to achieve our objectives which are to get both cars into Q3 and to do well in the race. The low temperatures do not suit us, especially when it comes to doing a good time on the first flying lap.”

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Post by Ed » Sun Jul 12, 2009 1:34 am

Grand Prix of Germany – 11th July 2009

Qualifying session
Session Driver Pos. Time Laps Driver Pos. Time Laps
Q1 MAS 8th 1.31.600 8 RAI 11th 1.31.869 9
Q2 MAS 9th 1.41.708 8 RAI 10th 1.41.730 8
Q3 MAS 8th 1.34.574 6 RAI 9th 1.34.710 6
Chassis: F. Massa 277, K. Raikkonen 279

Weather: air temperature 17 °C, track temperature 19/18 °C, overcast, occasional rain. In a session affected by light and intermittent rain, both Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro drivers made it through to the third and final part of the session, ending up eighth and ninth on the grid with Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen respectively. “All in all, especially in light of the changing weather conditions, this is a reasonable result,” commented Stefano Domenicali. “Getting both cars into Q3 was our primary objective. It was not at all easy, because apart from the two teams fighting for the title, all the others are very evenly matched, with some teams seeming to have made a significant and surprising step forward. Tomorrow’s race could be rendered even more uncertain by the weather: realistically, we would like to get both our drivers home in the points and we will have to exploit every eventual opportunity that might present itself.”

Felipe Massa: “This qualifying was a bit of a lottery: first dry, then rain then dry again. It could have gone better, but it could also have gone much worse. I’m not jumping for joy over eighth place, but it’s not so bad. We have a good strategy aimed at getting us into the points, although a podium seems hard to reach to be honest.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “It was a pretty complicated session, with track conditions changing all the time. Therefore, it’s difficult to say if this result reflects the real standings down the order. Clearly, we were penalized by not having a single set of new tyres for Q3. I believe that in normal conditions we could have got a better grid position. Having said that, we are not in bad shape for the race: we have a good strategy and we will try and make the most of it.”

Chris Dyer: “This morning, we were fairly satisfied with the performance of the car in the dry. Then, in qualifying, we found ourselves up against rapidly changing conditions and it was therefore a good result to get both cars into Q3. At that point however, we no longer had any more new soft tyres available and that cost us very dear. We therefore opted to start with a good amount of fuel on board to try and make up ground in tomorrow’s race, when I think we will nevertheless be competitive, whatever the weather. We also hope to make the most of the KERS at the start, given that the main straight is very long.”

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Post by Ed » Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:07 am

Grand Prix of Germany – 12th July 2009

Driver Position Time Gap Laps Chassis
F. Massa 3rd 1:36.59.216 + 15.906 60 277
K. Raikkonen R 55.53.781 DNF 34 279

Weather: air temperature 19/20 °C, track temperature 21/23 °C, cloudy, with occasional bursts of sunshine.

Second podium of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, with a third place in the German Grand Prix for Felipe Massa. Kimi Raikkonen had to retire after 34 laps because a radiator was damaged by debris and this led to a loss of engine cooling fluid from the system. Thanks to this result, Felipe moves up to fifth place in the Drivers’ classification while the team has consolidated its fourth place in the Constructors’, reducing the gap to third.

Stefano Domenicali: “It’s a nice feeling to be back on the podium and this result for Felipe is a good reward for all the effort put in by him in producing a perfect race and by all the team, at the track and in Maranello. A shame for Kimi who could have secured a good finish: it was really unlucky. Our aim, as we’ve already said is to finish third in the Constructors’ championship and today’s result has helped us make up some ground on the squad ahead of us. However, we have to work very hard to succeed, because this season is still very hard to interpret: once again this weekend we have seen an incredible see-sawing in performance between some of the teams compared to the previous race and within this Grand Prix itself. There are many variables, especially those linked to the behaviour of the tyres which does not seem to be completely under control: getting to grips with this could be very important for the rest of the championship.”

Felipe Massa: “It’s been such a long time since I made it to the podium! I really wanted it after a very difficult first half of the season. Little bit little, we are improving and we will do all we can to get back to winning ways this season: I want to start hearing the Italian and Brazilian national anthems as soon as possible! A great start and the strategy were the keys to this result. In the first fifteen laps I was struggling to keep Vettel behind me, but than I think he too was also struggling a bit with the tyres. Maybe I could have managed to get one place higher, if we had brought the pit stop forward a bit, because I too was struggling with my tyres, but it's easy to say these things with hindsight. Before the race however, I didn’t think I’d end up on the podium as a place in the top five already seemed a lot to ask. But then we saw that cars that in theory are quicker than us ended up behind us and so we realized we had a good chance. We have to continue in this direction.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “Germany definitely doesn’t seem to bring me luck. I don’t know how many times a problem beyond my control has forced me to retire and this time it was down to debris. A shame, as I think I could have got a good result. The car was a bit difficult to drive at the start, but I think it was the same for everyone. Around lap 14, we began to see that something wasn’t right and we tried to manage the situation. Then I started to lose a lot of power and the team asked me to pit because there was nothing that could be done anymore. The incident with Sutil? These things happen in racing, we spoke to one another and I think that he also sees it that way, as indeed did the Stewards.”

Chris Dyer: “This podium from Felipe is a really great reward for the whole team, who did a great job this weekend and in preparing for this race. However, we are also very disappointed about what happened to Kimi, who could have brought home some important points. This result is a great motivation for the rest of the season. We must continue to work with the same intensity to get back to where we want to be. The choice to stick with the softer tyre for the second stint of the race was based on what we had seen in the first stint, where it’s true that Felipe had suffered a bit, while Kimi had no problems. We were also concerned about how the harder compound would work in these temperatures.”

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