US Grand Prix - Indianapolis,
Felipe Massa: 3rd +12.842 73 laps chassis 260
Kimi Raikkonen: 4th +15.422 73 laps chassis 262
Weather: air temperature 33/34 °C, track temperature 45/46
°C, sunny.
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.”
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