Unusual Friday struggle for Ferrari
It was a rather difficult day for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, tackling the first two free practice sessions for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Watched by Felipe Massa, making his return to a race meeting, the two F60s ended up towards the back end of the FP2 classification.
Giancarlo Fisichella:
First Session: 15th, 1.13.619, 23 Laps, Chassis 280
Second Session: 20th 1.13.275, 38 Laps Chassis 280
“Eighteenth and twentieth places in FP2 is not a result we can be happy about but, to use a footballing expression, it’s all looking very tight, as it has been in fact for much of the year. On top of that, we are also working a lot for 2010 which makes it even harder to understand precisely where we stand compared to the others. We are really struggling in the second sector, where what counts the most is aerodynamic downforce, an area in which the F60 does not really excel. Tomorrow, it will be vital not to make the slightest mistake to try and get a good qualifying result: here it will only take a tenth or even less to fail to make it past Q1.”
Kimi Raikkonen:
First Session: 10th, 1.13.321, 24 Laps, Chassis 279
Second Session: 18th 1.13.026, 42 Laps, Chassis 279
“I’d say this Friday was not too different to others we have experienced this season, especially in recent races. It’s all very close so it will only take a small step forward to climb back up the order, but we are definitely facing a difficult weekend. The tyres suffered with a bit of graining, which made itself felt especially in the second sector, but I believe that, as often happens here, once the track rubbers in, the situation will improve.”
Chris Dyer:
“It was a pretty difficult Friday, with very changeable weather, which prevented us from getting through all our planned programme. Furthermore, we had a problem with Fisichella that prevented him from doing his final planned run in FP2. There’s a lot of work to do to try and improve the car, which lacks grip, which is particularly noticeable in the second sector, where we are not really competitive. We were also experimenting with some mechanical elements aimed at next season: without any winter testing available before the new car makes its debut, we have to exploit every opportunity, especially given the situation in the championship.”
Stefano Domenicali:
“Clearly, we cannot be satisfied with the way things went today. We definitely have a lot of work to do to try and improve the set-up of the car within the limitations of what we have to work with. However, we should also take into account how close the times are, with all twenty drivers out on track this afternoon setting times within the same second. It takes almost nothing to make the difference between being at the front or at the back of the pack. This means that everyone, drivers and team, will have to carry out their work perfectly if we aspire to getting a good result this weekend, starting with tomorrow afternoon’s qualifying.”
Weather:
First session: air 19/21 °C, track 21/25 °C; covered skies, intermittent rain.
Second session: air 22 °C, track 23 °C; covered skies.
