Assessment: Ferrari loses ground

An extremely mixed day for Ferrari, which saw all its chances diminished from the very first corners during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, thereby losing the third place in the constructor standings of the F1 World Championship by just one point to McLaren.

Kimi Räikkönen experienced a very dramatic afternoon with an obligatory detour onto the grass, followed by an unexpected pit stop and then a giant fireball. With fuel in his eyes, the 2007 World Champion made an impressive comeback to reclaim sixth place.

Giancarlo Fisichella feels very frustrated after this chaotic Grand Prix, with also being forced onto the grass in the first corners, a very temperamental KERS limiting his strategy, ending up out of the points.

Giancarlo Fisichella – 11th:

« Obviously, starting from the last row, my race was already compromised. Then there was also the incident with Kovalainen, who spun in front of me, forcing me onto the grass, which prevented me from trying to regain some positions in the first lap battle. We opted for a one-stop strategy, and it was good, but in the final part of the race, the soft tires began to develop some graining, so I was not able to maintain the pace of those in front of me, causing me to lose a place. On top of that, the KERS was working intermittently. Given my experience with Ferrari so far, I won’t hide that I feel a bit frustrated, because there hasn’t been a single weekend where everything went as planned. Now we go to Abu Dhabi, which will be a new venue for everyone, so I will do my best to help the team regain this third place that slipped away today. »

Kimi Räikkönen – 6th:

« What happened during the first lap ruined my race. First, I was hit on the side, then while trying to pass Webber, I was clipped, losing my front wing. At the pit stop, I ended up with a few drops of fuel in my eye from the refueling hose stuck on Kovalainen’s car, and then I was prey to flames while blinded: I was about to stop, but fortunately, the flames quickly died down. Even now, my eyes still burn, but I’m fine. After the restart, I could only try the overtaking strategy, and at least I brought back a few points. I’m disappointed because today, I’m sure we could have made it to the podium. There’s still one race to go; we’ll see what we can do in Abu Dhabi to reclaim that third place. »

Stefano Domenicali:

« First and foremost, on behalf of the entire team, I would like to congratulate Jenson Button and Ross Brawn on winning two world championships today. I am especially happy for an old friend like Ross. As for us, obviously, we are very disappointed, because today we had the chance to extend our lead in the constructors’ standings, but we ended up with one point less. What happened on the first lap heavily penalized Kimi, so he had to start again at the back of the pack. It’s a shame because today our driver could match the pace of the best and could certainly have fought for a podium position. Once again, he had a superb race. After yesterday’s qualifying, Giancarlo started from the last row and faced a difficult race. He did his best, but he couldn’t reach the points. Now, we look forward to the last Grand Prix of the season at the new Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. There, we will have to do everything possible to bring home third place in the championship, which means a lot to us, and I am sure that all of us, drivers and team, will do everything in our power to try to achieve this goal. »