Kimi Raikkonen - 10th: “I couldn’t do any better. The car was sliding everywhere and I had no grip. In the final part, with the softer tyres, the situation improved a bit, but by then it was too late. I closed up to Nakajima and, a few times, I tried to risk a passing move, but here it’s really difficult to overtake unless the guy in front makes a mistake. I don’t expect the situation to be much different next week in Suzuka: it is a very demanding track for the car, from an aerodynamic point of view and we are lacking in this area. Having said that, I will be trying my hardest.”

Giancarlo Fisichella - 13th: “It was a very tough race, both physically and mentally. The pace was not up to Ferrari’s standard and we have to take that on board. I was struggling to keep the car on track because of a lack of grip. At the end, on the softer tyre, the car’s handling improved and I managed to do some good lap times. We brought my first pit stop forward to try and get me out of traffic, given that I was stuck behind Sutil, but then with the safety car the move didn’t give the result we’d hoped for. Here, KERS was less of a factor than at Monza: at the start I managed to pass a car and then it was mainly useful to defend my position. Now we go to Suzuka, a real track: given how things have gone this year, with cars being strong in one race and weak the next, it’s difficult to make any predictions.”

Stefano Domenicali: “Honestly, I don’t think we could have done much better. When you start this far back on a track like this, it’s difficult to climb up the order. Kimi and Giancarlo did their best, trying to exploit what their cars had to offer. We have to accept the fact that many other teams have made yet another step forward in terms of performance, which makes our technical situation even more difficult, given that development on the F60 stopped a while ago now. When we took that decision, we knew we would pay for it more and more as the end of the season approached, but let’s be clear on one thing, we are not giving up: there are still three races to go and we will tackle them with maximum effort because we want to do all we can to finish third in the Constructors’ classification. In a strange season like this one, anything can happen. Again today, for example, we saw teams that used to be a long way back, now at the front end, while others did the opposite.”

Chris Dyer: “It was a very difficult race, for both Kimi and Giancarlo. Contrary to what has happened in recent races, we were unable to make the most of the start, which has been one of our strong points this year. We were already a long way back on the grid and so our situation was immediately more complicated, especially as overtaking is virtually impossible here. Today, several cars failed to finish, or were struggling with brake problems, but we were not able to exploit that to make it at least into the points. As for the tyre performance, the softer compound, in the final part of the race proved to be better than expected in terms of consistency, but it was not clear enough to decide to use it as from the second stint, which was the longest one. It’s easy to say things after the event, but I do really think we made the right choice.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Lewis Hamilton was unstoppable as he won the Singapore GP as his nearest challengers fall foul of penalties. Nico Roberg crossed the white line when exiting the pitlane after his first stop and Vettel was also given a drive through for speeding in the pitlane The Red Bull driver did a brilliant job to recover to fourth place even with a damaged car.

Glock drove a brilliant race to finish second with Kimi Raikkonen missing out on any points thanks to more misjudged tactics by his team and a missed opportunity with his pitstop during the safety car period. The Ferrari driver finished back in tenth.

Results
01 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:56:06.337
02 T. Glock Toyota + 9.634
03 F. Alonso Renault + 16.624
04 S. Vettel Red Bull + 20.261
05 J. Button Brawn GP + 30.015
06 R. Barrichello Brawn GP + 31.858
07 H. Kovalainen McLaren + 36.157
08 R. Kubica BMW + 55.054
09 K. Nakajima Williams + 56.054
10 K. Räikkönen Ferrari + 58.892
11 N. Rosberg Williams + 59.777
12 J. Trulli Toyota + 1:13.009
13 G. Fisichella Ferrari + 1:19.890
14 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 + 1:33.502
Did not finish
15 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso + 14 lap(s)
16 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso + 14 lap(s)
17 M. Webber Red Bull + 16 lap(s)
18 A. Sutil Force India F1 + 38 lap(s)
19 N. Heidfeld BMW + 42 lap(s)
20 R. Grosjean Renault + 58 lap(s)

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Giancarlo Fisichella - 18th: “Obviously, I am disappointed with this result. I really wanted to do well, but I still haven’t managed to find the right level of confidence in this car: it’s almost as if it is driving me rather than the other way round. Especially on such a difficult track, I don’t have the confidence to go right to the limit. Naturally starting from eighteenth place means I can expect a very difficult race. I will try and make up some places at the start and then make the most of the race pace. Getting into the points would be the maximum, but even that will be a very tough target to reach.”

Kimi Raikkonen - 13th: “Unfortunately, today we were just not quick enough to get into Q3 and there was not much we could do about it. It’s logical that, as other cars improve, race after race, we pay a higher price for our decision to stop developing the F60. Tomorrow, we can expect a tough race as it is very difficult to overtake here, so getting into the points will be very difficult. It’s true that anything can happen on a track like this and we will have to do our best to make the most of every opportunity, maybe getting some help through a good start as we have usually managed in the last few races. As for the tyres, I think that tomorrow, there could be a problem with wear on the softer tyre, even if the situation could improve during the race.”

Stefano Domenicali: “Our target today was to get at least one car through to Q3 and the other to Q2, but we did not succeed and we have to accept that our package just wasn’t quick enough in this qualifying session. Furthermore, if so many of our competitors continue to develop their cars, while we stopped doing so with ours several weeks ago, then the more time goes by, the more we will find ourselves in an ever more difficult situation. However, what really matters is the race result, where reliability is always the key factor, especially in a race that looks like being very tough and where all sorts of things could happen. Clearly, we will be trying to fight our way towards the front, which means it will be difficult to reach our minimum target of finishing in the top eight.”

Chris Dyer: “A really difficult qualifying for us, even more so than we expected. We knew it would be tough, but we felt we could have made it through to the final part of the session. But honestly, today we did not have the performance to do that. Kimi did two good laps in Q2, but it was not enough. Tomorrow’s race will be very long, so let’s hope we can make up some places at the start and then try and get into the points.”

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Kimi Raikkonen - 14th: “It was a Friday like any other. We had a number of little problems with the car, but overall, we were able to get through the programme we had set ourselves. As for the times, there is always a question mark over the various fuel loads: we will see tomorrow what we can do in qualifying. Today is too soon to say if we can be in a position to fight for a podium finish as we have done in recent races. The softer tyres degrade more quickly, at least from what we could see today. It’s hardly surprising and usually, bit by bit, as the track rubbers in, the situation improves.”

Giancarlo Fisichella - 16th: “It was a rather difficult day. The car is very nervous and I have yet to find the ideal set-up. Now, I must sit down with the team to try and prepare as well as possible for qualifying and the race. My aim is to improve on my result from Monza, but I know that won’t be easy. The track was very slippery and sometimes I had a bit of graining on the tyres. Unfortunately, I never managed to do a long run with the soft tyres, because of the red flags following Webber’s accident: this compound is definitely quicker by three to four tenths, but there is a question mark over the consistency of its performance.”

Chris Dyer: “Today’s performance was definitely nothing to get excited about. The interruption to the session complicated the running of our planned programme, but overall we have gathered sufficient data to be as well prepared as possible for qualifying and the race. Tomorrow, our aim is to get both cars through to Q3: it won’t be easy, but we will do our best. Both types of tyre showed some signs of degradation today, which makes the choice for the race even harder. From what we have seen, I also expect to see different tyre strategies employed in qualifying.”

Stefano Domenicali: “Clearly, when evaluating today’s free practice times, one has to consider the various unknown factors, but it is equally clear that our situation looks pretty difficult. Besides, if so many other teams continue to bring significant technical updates to the track, while for the past two months we have frozen the development of the F60, then we can expect to find ourselves in this situation. All the same, we must now concentrate on ourselves and try and make the most of the package we have, as indeed we have done in the past few races: if we do a good job, we have seen that the results can follow.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Having bid farewell to the European season with yet another podium at its home race in Monza, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro now embarks on this year’s final quartet of races, starting with the second running of the Singapore Grand Prix. The 2008 event was not only the first time that the Formula 1 World Championship had staged a race here, but it was also the first ever night race for motor sport’s premier series. Although that race was packed with incident and spectacle, the two biggest concerns for all the teams proved to be less difficult to deal with than expected: firstly, the floodlighting was of such a high standard that there were no complaints on the visibility front from the drivers, indeed some felt it was better than racing in daytime as there was no sun to cause blinding or shadows on the track and secondly, spending the week on “European Time” to adapt to the night schedule actually seemed to give everyone more sleep than at a conventional race. One other concern was not addressed last year, namely the effect on night time visibility in the event of rain. Inevitably, in this part of the world, the weather forecast for the week mentions the chance of thunderstorms, but it remains to be seen if these will arrive during times of on-track action. Temperatures are due to be in a range of 25 to 31 degrees Celsius.

The inaugural Singapore Grand Prix was generally well received by the teams, although there were some complaints about the track surface and some kerbing and these issues have been addressed with modifications, including some to run off areas at the first two corners and to the pit lane exit, which came in for some criticism last year. Even with these changes, it is clear that the Safety Car can play a significant role in determining the outcome of the race, given that this track has far more in common with Monaco than with Valencia for example, the latter having larger run-off areas at key points on the track. The other factor it shares with other street circuits is that a good grid position is more important here than at more flowing circuits. This is an important point for those running KERS, as the run down to the first corner after the start is relatively short and therefore, the power boost is unable to be used as effectively as at the last few races, although it can still be of help in overall performance terms.

Right from the very first round of the championship in Melbourne, back in March, it has been difficult to predict the outcome of races and the picture has got even more complicated on this front as the season has progressed. Therefore, a rough guide to which cars are well suited to the track will only be available after Friday’s free practice. The F60s driven by Raikkonen and Fisichella will be essentially unchanged since the last race, apart from the downforce levels on a track that is usually hard on the brakes and the tyres. Bridgestone is bringing its Soft and Super-soft tyres, which are well suited to the characteristics of the F60. As far as the engine cycle is concerned, the team can now count on running each engine for just two races to the end of the year, which is a tribute to the good work of all those in the engine department in Maranello, given that some other teams are struggling on this front.

Since the Italian Grand Prix, Kimi has spent his time at home, in Switzerland. Giancarlo Fisichella had a busier week, spending last Monday working on the simulator at the Fiat Research Centre in Turin and the Roman was in Maranello on Wednesday, in meetings with the engineers, before taking to the track at Vairano on Thursday, for the last of this season’s aero tests, which gave him a further opportunity to feel at home at the controls of the car, working through various procedures.

Last year, starting from pole, Felipe Massa appeared to have the race win in his grasp, until the Safety Car intervened and the Brazilian’s pit stop went seriously wrong, as he left his position outside the garage, with the fuel hose still attached. Having started from third, Kimi Raikkonen was chasing Hamilton, who was struggling with his tyres and would have got ahead in the run of pit stops, except that the Scuderia had to bring both its drivers in together for a double pit stop, as a result of the Safety Car. Then, when lying fifth, while chasing Glock, he crashed within a few laps of the chequered flag. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro and its drivers are looking forward to the Singapore Grand Prix, which provided an interesting and novel experience last year, although there are additional pressures after the event, as this year, it is the first of two back-to-back races, with Japan. This means that Sunday, already a late night, will become even longer for the crew, thanks to the need to pack up all the cars and equipment for immediate freighting to Suzuka. Unusually, having spent at least a week in a Far East time zone, most people in the paddock will still have to adapt to a major time difference, having exchanged day for night in Singapore.

With four races to go, the target for Ferrari is the one it set itself quite a while ago, from the time when it became apparent that Championship titles were no longer a realistic goal. Maintaining third place in the Constructors’ classification is the revised objective and, as has been demonstrated in recent races, if all elements of the package come together, then a podium is within reach. If the more obvious candidate to achieve this from within our ranks is Kimi, after making good progress throughout his debut in Monza, Giancarlo himself and the team expect to see the Roman make a contribution to the points tally this weekend.

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

16th September 2009

Before we arrived at the Italian GP I said that a place on the podium was our goal and that for reaching it we have to do everything 100 percent. My forecast was correct: we got out the cars potential and me made it. The qualifying went very well. The F60 was set up well and the KERS was lots of help: in Q3 I had one of the best laps this season and I was very happy. Third on the grid was very important for a good result. We knew that many had opted for a one-stop strategy. The difference between the two strategies is extremely small on this track and those who did not use the KERS had a valid option with the one-stop strategy.

I had a very good start, but because Hamilton was not as fast I had to lift my foot and move to the left, where I touched the grass with two wheels. I managed to pass Sutil and that was the decisive move so that I was able to fight for the podium. We did not make any mistakes for the whole race: it was a piece of luck that we gained the third place, but in the end it is the result that counts. It was a perfect weekend, because we could not have done any better.

I am really happy for another place on the podium, especially because we gained it in front of the numerous Ferrari fans: when you see all the flags of the Prancing Horse in the wind you understand how much passion there is. That was a great feeling for me.

The Brawns seem to be there again, fighting for the title, while Red Bulls situation is more complicated. Webber and Vettel won’t give up, but they have to hope that the two Brawns will have some problems if they want to catch up. My goal is to help the Team keeping the third position in the Constructors standings and gaining as many points as possible.

The next race will be held in Singapore, where I did not finish the race last year. Nevertheless it is a place I really like a lot. We have to do the same we did in Monza: trying to get the best out of the F60 and gaining a place on the podium for the fifth time in a row. The more the championship proceeds the more difficult it is for us, because the others continue developing their cars, while we do not have any innovations coming up anymore.

Source - Kimi’s Official Website

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Report to follow…

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time

1.  Barrichello   Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1h16:21.706

2.  Button        Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  +     2.866

3.  Raikkonen     Ferrari               (B)  +    30.664

4.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +    31.131

5.  Alonso        Renault               (B)  +    59.182

6.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +  1:00.693

7.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            (B)  +  1:22.412

8.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +  1:25.427

9.  Fisichella    Ferrari               (B)  +  1:26.856

10.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       (B)  +  2:00.000

11.  Glock         Toyota                (B)  +  2:43.925

12.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +     1 lap

13.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +     1 lap

14.  Trulli        Toyota                (B)  +     1 lap

15.  Grosjean      Renault               (B)  +     1 lap

16.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       (B)  +    2 laps

Fastest lap: Sutil, 1:24.739

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap

Liuzzi        Force India-Mercedes  (B)    23

Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)    20

Kubica        BMW Sauber            (B)    16

Webber        Red Bull-Renault      (B)    1

Join the forum discussion on this post - (3) Posts

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

Join the forum discussion on this post - (2) Posts

12th September 2009

Kimi Raikkonen: 3rd 1.24.523 8 Laps. Giancarlo Fisichella: 14th 1.23.901 9 Laps Chassis: K. Raikkonen 279. G. Fisichella 280. Weather: air temperature 27 °C, track temperature 38 °C, partially cloudy.

One Ferrari on the second row and the other on the seventh: that was the outcome of qualifying for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, with Kimi Raikkonen starting from third place and Giancarlo Fisichella from fourteenth. Given how the day started, we can be reasonably happy with how things turned out, said Stefano Domenicali. I am very happy for Kimi, who produced an amazing performance. Giancarlo did the best he could given the circumstances: he was unable to prepare for qualifying as well as possible during FP3, which was a significant handicap on his Ferrari debut. Tomorrows race will be tough and difficult, fighting against very strong opposition, which now includes Force India, hardly a surprise any more. The choice of strategies could be different from one driver to the next, so it will be vital to fully exploit every opportunity. Our aim is to pick up as many points as possible to consolidate our third place in the Constructors’ classification, but it would be very nice to produce a crowd pleasing result in front of all our fans at this our home race.

Giancarlo Fisichella - 14th: “Overall, I am reasonably happy, even if I’m aware that a fourteenth place on the grid is not up to the Ferrari standard. Yesterday, I drove the F60 for the first time and this morning, because of a mistake by me, I lost valuable time to prepare for qualifying, as I crashed into the barriers. I want to thank all the mechanics who did a fantastic job of rebuilding the car for qualifying. I was a bit tense before the session, as I knew I didn’t yet have enough confidence in the car. Unfortunately, in Q2, I never managed to put together a perfect lap and so I couldn’t make it through to Q3. It’s a shame, as the potential was there, but tomorrow there is still time to have a good race nevertheless. Maybe, I can try and immediately make up some places at the start thanks to the KERS.”

Kimi Raikkonen: That was one of my best qualifying sessions of the year and we hope that tomorrow things can go even better. I am pleased with this result, for the team and for our fans. The car is not yet perfect, but it is good all the same. We knew the hardest task would come in Q2 as after that, the car is always very competitive with a race fuel load on board: all the same, it was a pleasant surprise to see how it handled in the final part. I am confident for tomorrow: at the start it will not be as easy to make up a lot of places as it was at Spa, because there are other cars fitted with KERS near me, but if everything goes well, we can fight for a place on the podium.

Stefano Domenicali: “Given how the day started, we can be reasonably happy with how things turned. I am very happy for Kimi, who produced an amazing performance. Giancarlo did the best he could given the circumstances: he was unable to prepare for qualifying as well as possible during FP3, which was a significant handicap on his Ferrari debut. Tomorrow’s race will be tough and difficult, fighting against very strong opposition, which now includes Force India, hardly a surprise any more. The choice of strategies could be different from one driver to the next, so it will be vital to fully exploit every opportunity. Our aim is to pick up as many points as possible to consolidate our third place in the Constructors’ classification, but it would be very nice to produce a crowd pleasing result in front of all our fans at this our home race.”

Chris Dyer: First of all, I want to compliment Giancarlo. After this mornings accident, the task facing him in qualifying was not an easy one and managing to take fourteenth place despite this is a good way to start his career with Ferrari. Compliments also go to all the mechanics who did a great job of repairing the car in a very short space of time. Kimi had a great qualifying, especially in Q3. Possibly, other drivers behind him have more fuel and that means we will try and make the most of the first stages of the race to make up ground. Yesterday, we saw that we have a good race pace and I think we can fight for a place on the podium.

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

Join the forum discussion on this post - (2) Posts

Kimi Raikkonen: “Overall, I’m reasonably pleased with the way things went in these three hours of free practice and the initial impressions are good. There is still room to improve the handling of the car, which we hope to do in tomorrow morning’s free practice. The new kerbs don’t allow you to cut them with impunity, which is not a bad thing given the difficulty we have experienced in this area in the past. Our pace on a long run isn’t bad and we will do our best to fight for a place on the podium. As for the tyres, the softer compound is definitely quicker, but it’s also quite consistent in terms of performance.”

Giancarlo Fisichella: “I feel satisfied with this first day, which was particularly tough from a driving point of view. The major difficulties are in adapting to the different positions of the buttons and gaining confidence with the KERS. This morning, braking heavily at Ascari, I flat-spotted the left front tyre and that meant I had to fit the softer tyres earlier than planned: I felt more confident with those and I managed to drive at a strong pace. In both sessions, we didn’t go looking for performance and I had a lot of fuel on board. The potential is there to get onto the front few rows, but I need a bit more time to improve, especially in terms of braking and cutting the kerbs.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts