Summary: Ferrari considers itself lucky

Ferrari considers itself lucky to finish on the podium this Sunday at Monza. Indeed, if Lewis Hamilton hadn’t lost control of his car in the last lap, Kimi Räikkönen would have finished his race just off the podium. However, to achieve this result, the Finn delivered, in the words of Stefano Domenicali, a fantastic race. He got off to a good start and was in second place during the first stint, and subsequently managed to withstand the pressure exerted by Adrian Sutil throughout the race.

On the other hand, Giancarlo Fisichella is not completely satisfied with his weekend. He believes he squandered his chances of scoring points right from the qualification session. Despite starting 14th, he finished just outside the points, only a few seconds behind Sebastian Vettel.

Kimi Räikkönen – 3rd:

«I am happy to have managed to be on the podium again, even if this time we needed quite a bit of luck. It’s a satisfying result, for the championship, for us and for our supporters, here in Monza. I had an excellent start and almost managed to overtake Hamilton as well, but even if I had gained the advantage, the result would have been the same in the end. I am disappointed, I couldn’t fight for the victory, we didn’t have enough speed.

In summary, the strategy we chose before the race was the best for us. In my battle with Sutil, I was never really in trouble: I knew I couldn’t afford any mistakes and had to get the best out of the car. The tires? The softer ones suited us better, since we were struggling when using the harder ones, especially at the start of a stint. In the upcoming races, we will try and do our best: maybe in some, we could even compete for victory.

Giancarlo Fisichella – 9th:

«I am happy with how things went for my first race weekend with Ferrari. At the start, I managed to gain a few positions and then had a tough moment with Vettel, who closed the door on me entering Ascari in a very, let’s say, assertive manner. In the first part of the race, I was comfortable on the soft tires, while I struggled a bit more with the hard ones, especially after the pit stop. It’s a shame I just missed out on the points, but I did the best I could this afternoon. I’m disappointed about going off the track during the third free practice session; it prevented me from being as well-prepared as possible for qualifying: starting a bit higher on the grid might have allowed me to finish in the top eight. Starting tomorrow morning, I will focus entirely on preparing for the Singapore race, a circuit I really love. »

Stefano Domenicali – Team Principal:

A podium once again, the fifth in a row, this time with a good dose of luck, which perhaps wasn’t always on our side. Once again, in this second half of the season, Kimi [Räikkönen] had a fantastic race – in fact, I would say he was fantastic all weekend. He made no mistakes, giving his maximum and, with the team, was able to get the best out of the car. Giancarlo [Fisichella] had a good race, narrowly missing out on points: his weekend was full of ups and downs. I am sure that, for the next race, he will be able to give the team what it needs in terms of points. Today, we weren’t fast enough, but we still managed to get a driver on the podium, a result that is good for morale and, I believe, pleases all our fans. The European campaign of the season is over and there are still four races to try and finish this unusual season in the best way possible.