Saturday: Scuderia Ferrari works at two paces

The Scuderia continued to play on two fronts on the second day of the European Grand Prix in Valencia. After a slight improvement on Friday afternoon, Luca Badoer found himself back in last position during the third free practice session this morning. No miracle during qualifying, the Italian, who stepped in for Massa at the last minute, was unable to raise his performance level – two seconds behind his teammate – and will start in last position tomorrow for the race.

For his part, Räikkönen showed the real level of the Ferrari F60, after the recent improvements seen in Hungary. The Finn will start tomorrow in sixth position and is once again counting on his KERS to gain a few places right from the start.

It is therefore an unusual Scuderia Ferrari that will be seen racing in Valencia, balancing understanding and fatalism on one side, and ambition on the other.

Kimi Räikkönen – 14th and 6th:

Honestly, it has been one of the best qualifying sessions of the season, even if we are not as fast as those on the front row. Our final result will depend on how the start goes. It will be very important to gain a few positions because if we are stuck behind a slower car, the race will be compromised. I think we are reasonably competitive in race conditions, as we saw in Q3, whereas we have a bit more difficulty with a light fuel load. For now, it’s a good weekend and I am happy with the performance of the F60.

Luca Badoer – 20th and 20th:

Obviously, I am a bit disappointed because it’s never pleasant to be last in any situation, but I always knew it would be difficult. As I have already said, this weekend is a sort of test for me and the team, and that’s how we are approaching it. However, I feel that the situation is better than yesterday and the more laps I do, the more confidence increases and the better the result. Tomorrow it will be important to finish the race and that will be my objective. I feel good physically and I have no problem on that side. Of course, if I had had two days of testing behind me, it would have been a different story.

Stefano Domenicali – Team Principal:

« Kimi Räikkönen’s sixth place can be considered a good result because it probably reflects our current potential. As for Luca’s last place, it was largely predictable: Returning to racing after so much time, especially on a circuit he doesn’t know, where it’s difficult to find grip, is a huge task for him. Tomorrow, our race will be divided into two: on one hand, we aim for a good result to defend our third position in the constructor’s standings – which should be within our capability – while with Luca we will try to finish the race, to gain enough experience and tackle the upcoming races in a different way. »