Saturday Summary – One problem and everything collapses for Ferrari

A driver on the second row and the other on the eighth: These are the positions of the two Ferraris on the starting grid for tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix.

Felipe Massa finished in fourth place while Kimi Räikkönen, sixth in Q1, was unable to return to the pits and will start only from 16th place.

« This is certainly not the result we were expecting, » commented Stefano Domenicali.

At these words, the task is proving, therefore, difficult for the Scuderia, which must at all costs prevent the silver arrows from taking off, as they are very well placed on the grid. Arriving in the Antipodes with the status of favorite team, Ferrari is the source of the first twist of this 2008 season.

Felipe Massa – 11th and 4th:

« I wasn’t able to make the most of my last set of tires for the day, as I got caught in traffic on my warm-up lap. I therefore couldn’t get the maximum performance from the tires in terms of temperature. »

« I am satisfied with the car, which is well balanced and we know we can maintain a good race pace. It will be a very tough race, especially since the temperatures in the air will be high. Anything can happen and I believe I can fight for very good positions tomorrow. »

Kimi Räikkönen – 14th and 15th (Qualified 16th):

It’s clear, I’m disappointed. I had an issue with the fuel pump’s electronics, which forced me to stop near the pit lane entrance. It was therefore impossible for me to get back to the garage to try to solve the problem.

« This kind of incident can happen, but for the start of the season, it’s infuriating. Now we have to try to do our best to pick up some points tomorrow, because it is important to bring some back after each race. »

Luca Baldisserri – Technical Director:

« I felt like I was watching a replay of last year’s qualifiers, but an even more severe version. We have one car on the second row and another that didn’t manage to take part in Q2. We need to examine the data and the necessary elements to know exactly what happened with Kimi’s car. »

« As for Q3 in which Massa was present, we knew from this winter that we were going to struggle with that infamous quick lap that demands so much attention, and indeed the difficulties arose this afternoon. However, we are competitive in terms of the race and we can be reasonably confident about tomorrow, even though Kimi is clearly facing one of the most difficult tasks given his position on the grid.