Friday: Ferrari prepares for battle
This morning, Ferrari worked in case rain was part of the equation this Sunday. Both drivers were satisfied with the car in these conditions. Kimi Räikkönen finished the two sessions in 8th and 11th places. Note the brilliant performance of Giancarlo Fisichella in the rain, who took the 4th time in the first session and […]
This morning, Ferrari worked in case rain was part of the equation this Sunday. Both drivers were satisfied with the car in these conditions. Kimi Räikkönen finished the two sessions in 8th and 11th places. Note the brilliant performance of Giancarlo Fisichella in the rain, who took the 4th time in the first session and 15th time in the second.
The Maranello team knows what it must do to keep the 3rd place in the constructors’ championship. But the McLarens seem determined to fight.
Kimi Räikkönen – 8th and 11th:
« The conditions were very difficult today: let’s hope the situation changes for tomorrow and that we will be able to drive on a dry track. This morning, the track was constantly changing, so it’s hard to understand where we stood compared to others. I focused mainly on the car. We will have to try everything to defend our third place in the constructors’ championship, but it will be difficult because McLaren has been very strong in Singapore. They had a great result, even though they haven’t yet gained an advantage over us. How was the track after three years? It’s impossible to compare; the tires and cars are too different compared to 2006. »
Giancarlo Fisichella – 4th and 15th:
« I am happy with the way the session went this morning because I quickly had good sensations with the car in the rain and I managed to improve with each lap, keeping pace with the best. We hope to improve compared to Singapore, but we know it will be difficult. »
Chris Dyer: Chief Engineer of Kimi Räikkönen.
« This morning we managed to do a good job on the wet, first on the extreme tires and then on the intermediates. Both drivers were reasonably satisfied with the car’s behavior in these conditions. If the bad weather comes for the race, we have a good base to work from. In the afternoon, the rain was very heavy for almost the entire session, and the track conditions were very difficult, to the point that it wasn’t really worth going out and risking damaging the car. »
« Giancarlo felt particularly comfortable in these conditions, which confirms his level of competence. Now, we need to take into account that the number of wet tire sets at our disposal for the weekend is very limited, and we must manage them carefully to avoid getting into trouble at the crucial moment. We only did a handful of laps at the end on used tires and took the opportunity to do a start on the grid. »
