British Grand Prix
Driver Position Time Gap Laps Chassis
K. Raikkonen 4th 1:39.15.496 + 1 lap 59 270
F. Massa 13th 1:39.45.994 + 2 laps 58 267
Weather: air temperature 16/17 °C, track temperature 15/18
°C, overcast, occasional rain, sometimes heavy.
Only five points for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro in the British
Grand Prix, thanks to a fourth place for Kimi Raikkonen, while
Felipe Massa was classified thirteenth. The turning point
in the race was the decision not to change tyres at the first
pit stop. Kimi was particularly penalized by this, having
followed Hamilton into the pit lane, but thereafter being
unable to post competitive lap times up to the point when
he made his second and final stop nine laps later, fitting
a set of new tyres. Felipe was struggling with a lack of grip
on his car right from the start and he too paid a heavy price
for the decision not to change tyres at the first stop. This
result sees Felipe and Kimi both equal on points with Hamilton
in the lead of the Drivers’ classification, while the
Scuderia continues to head the Constructors’ Championship.
Stefano Domenicali: “A Sunday to forget
as quickly as possible in terms of the result, although we
must remember certain elements of this weekend, as there were
mistakes made that we cannot afford to repeat. We could have
won this race with Kimi but we made a key mistake at the first
pit stop, choosing to stay on the same set of tyres. The rain
did not ease off and lasted longer and our drivers –
Felipe had also gone for the same choice – found themselves
in difficulty. With hindsight it’s easy to say we should
have changed tyres, but Formula 1 is not an exact science:
sometimes strategic choices pay off and sometimes they don’t.
All the same, we have to admit that, this weekend, we did
not operate to our usual standard. We made mistakes at every
level and even our performance did not match our expectations
and now we have to work out why, but calmly without panicking.
We have reached the mid-point of the season: both our drivers
are on equal points in the lead with one other driver in the
Drivers’ classification and we head the Constructors’
Championship. We have lost a few opportunities to pick up
a greater number of points, but we always knew this would
be a very closely contested championship. Now we will concentrate
on the coming rounds and will try and do better.”
Kimi Raikkonen: “I am disappointed,
but I am equally aware that things could have been much worse.
We had the possibility to win the race but we made a mistake
at the first pit stop, keeping the same set of tyres, because
we expected the track conditions to improve. It was a joint
decision: we are a team and we win or lose together. Things
are not going too well for me at the moment, given all that
happened in the last few races, but I am leading the championship,
even if it is on equal terms with Felipe and Lewis. We know
we have a great potential, but we have to put everything in
place to get the most out of it.”
Felipe Massa: “This Silverstone weekend
is one to be wiped out. On Friday I had an accident, yesterday
there was the problem in qualifying and today a series of
mistakes at all levels. We have to look ahead, because there
is still a very long way to go in the championship and once
again, we’ve seen that it only takes one result to turn
the situation around. After nine races I am in the lead in
the classification and I have every chance to fight for the
title all the way to the end. Today, I could hardly keep the
car in a straight line and it was always very difficult to
drive. Only after the last pit stop did things improve a bit,
but by then I was a long way back. We have to do a good job
in the forthcoming Hockenheim test to be as well prepared
as possible for the German Grand Prix that takes place on
the same track.”
Luca Baldisserri: “We are very disappointed with the
way things went today. Kimi was having a great race and he
had every chance of fighting for the win, but we made a wrong
choice at the first stop. We had banked on the weather getting
better and it didn’t and in fact the rain actually intensified
for a while, which put our drivers in great difficulty. Clearly,
looking back, one could say we should not have made this decision,
but it was not just a shot in the dark, as seen from the fact
that we were not the only ones to make this choice out of
all the drivers who stopped around this time. Felipe was struggling
right from the start because of a lack of grip and his race
was immediately compromised, and then it is very difficult
to drive in these conditions in the middle of the pack. We
are all very disappointed because once again, we have lost
valuable points. Now we have to stay concentrated and must
work even harder to improver our performance and to make sure
we don’t make any more of these mistakes
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