Ferrari still behind
Just like at Monaco and Montreal, the Scuderia Ferrari was behind the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team. Felipe Massa secured third place during the US Grand Prix while team mate Kimi Raikkonen finished 4th.
Jean Todt: "As expected, we had a very closely fought race and as was predictable, the final classification followed the grid order, confirming how important it is to start from the front if you want to win. Felipe drove a straightforward error-free race, while Kimi lost two places after the lights and then fought back well. Clearly the situation in the classification is getting more complicated but there are still ten races to go. Next week in Silverstone, we will try out some new developments which should help us in getting back to the level we were at from the start of the championship. We cannot deny we are disappointed with how the last few Grands Prix have turned out, but we strongly insist that we really want to turn the situation around."
Felipe Massa: "We can't be satisfied with third place. I did my best and I am happy to have got on the podium. We need to work out how to improve the car to get ahead of our closest rivals. We need to work flat out on the technical development to make up the ground lost over these past three races. In the final stint of the race, Kimi got very close and I was struggling a bit because I was on the hard tyres and he had the softs. I didn't make any mistakes and managed to stay ahead of him."
Kimi Raikkonen: "The car had a very quick race pace but I paid a high price for the positions lost at the start. We lost precious time behind slower cars and it is always difficult to overtake because when you close on a car ahead you lose so much aero downforce. In the final stages I closed on Felipe but there was never a really clear opportunity to overtake him and we were both thinking about the next race where we use the same engine. We must improve, especially in qualifying, because our target has to be to try and win."
Luca Baldisserri: "It was a close race if not very dramatic. Felipe got a good start, maintaining third place and stayed in touch with the McLarens in the first part of the race. Then in the second stint, he lost a bit of time with traffic and that built the gap that remained to the end. Kimi, after losing two places in the rush off the grid, drove a good race, which brought him back up to his team-mate. We have seen that in the race, we are competitive compared to our main rivals. We must do better in qualifying because it is crucial to start from the front to get the desired result at the end."
