Report – Friday – La Scudería, Queen of Flamenco!

Ferrari has just made a strong impression on the Montmelo circuit in Spain during the first day of testing. And for good reason, it dominated both sessions from start to finish.

It is Räikkönen, who this evening, is favored by the predictions. The Finn is leading in both sessions. His teammate, Felipe Massa, is not far behind as he is ranked in the Top 5. A small problem with the tires reduced his morning session.

As a rule, both drivers completed far fewer laps during free practice 1 than in the afternoon.

Kimi Räikkönen – 1st and 1st

« I am happy with this first day of testing. We did the work we needed to do and we didn’t have any issues. This is probably the most positive aspect. »

« The balance of the car is good, even though it is always possible to improve it. The two types of tires posed no problems for us. As usual on Friday, it is difficult to judge our position compared to our competitors. I think we should expect a very close battle. The new nose? We wouldn’t have done it if using it didn’t bring us something extra! »

Felipe Massa – 2nd and 5th

« It was a good day. From what we’ve seen, I think we’ll be competitive this weekend. We are working, in any case, in the right direction. Track conditions will improve over the next two days. »

In fact, while I was driving this morning, I noticed a problem with the rear left tire and that’s why I didn’t do many laps in the first session. I could have set a better time in the afternoon, but I was in traffic during my first lap. It’s my birthday today and I hope a nice gift arrives on Sunday.

Luca Baldisserri – Technical Director

« We had a good starting point thanks to the work done here last week, and we mainly worked to confirm the results of this test. We didn’t have any technical problems, meaning we went through all our programs. It is always difficult to make predictions based on what you can see on a Friday, but I think we can be reasonably optimistic regarding the rest of the weekend.”