French Grand Prix – Magny-Cours,
Kimi Raikkonen: 1st 1:30.54.200 70 laps chassis 262
Felipe Massa: 2nd +2.414 70 laps chassis 260
Weather: air temperature 22 °C, track temperature 32/34
°C, overcast.
Fourth win of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, the
second courtesy of Kimi Raikkonen. For Kimi, this was win
number eleven from 113 Grand Prix participations in his career.
For Ferrari it is victory number 196 from 749 races, the sixteenth
in the French Grand Prix.
Jean Todt: "What a great one-two! I
could not have a nicer present to celebrate the fourteenth
anniversary of my arrival at the helm of the Scuderia. Today,
everything went perfectly, which is what is needed to get
a result like this. Both drivers got great starts, then they
drove exceptionally well and fought it out between themselves
for the win. Only traffic and strategy finally decided which
one got the upper hand. In any case, what matters is that
two red Ferrari cars finished ahead of the rest. The team
did an impeccable job and the F2007s were up to the job in
hand. We fought a very strong opponent and this one-two is
crucial for the rest of both championships. There are still
nine races to go and everything is still possible. We should
try and repeat this result already next week in Silverstone,
at the home of our main rivals.”
Kimi Raikkonen: "Finally! Everything
went the right way in my race. It was vital that I managed
to get past Hamilton at the start and then I always tried
to stay with Felipe. I knew I had a few laps in hand but,
at my first pit stop, I had a bit of traffic and I was unable
to get in the lead. Then at the second stop, the situation
was turned around and I came out in front. Right from the
start of the weekend we have been strong and this win is the
reward for all the hard work carried out over the past few
weeks. Now we must continue to improve the car because there
is still room to do so, starting with the next race which
we should tackle with the same approach that we used here
in Magny-Cours.”
Felipe Massa: "First of all I want
to say I am happy for the team, as it needed this sort of
result after a difficult spell. Of course, I would have wanted
to win but I was delayed by traffic in the decisive phase
of the race, when I knew I had to build up a bit of a lead
over Kimi to stay ahead of him during the pit stops. The way
the cars are today, you start to get some turbulence from
the cars that are a certain distance ahead of you and so it
is difficult to overtake even the slower cars if they don’t
really move over for you. My car was almost perfect and when
I had a clear track ahead of me I was quickest on track. In
any case, we have made up ground in both championships and
we must continue down this path, starting already in Silverstone.”
Luca Baldisserri: "A really great victory!
After a strong showing in qualifying, today we had further
confirmation that we are competitive in race trim, with the
F2007 running completely trouble free. Both drivers fought
it out on equal terms, only the traffic making the difference.
We have worked so hard these past few weeks, both in the factory
and on track. This one-two shows how much Formula 1 is a sport
where every detail is important if one is to be the best.
We did not die in Indianapolis, so it is not a miracle that
we are back today. We worked on all areas and we managed to
put together all the pieces of the jigsaw to produce a perfect
weekend.”
|
