Friday: Ferrari is on the same track as Silverstone

A much better first session than the second, this is the conclusion that Scuderia Ferrari can draw at the end of Friday’s day at the Nurburgring circuit. Both drivers finished this morning in the top 6 with a fine third time from Felipe Massa. Kimi Räikkönen is a few places behind in 6th position.

The afternoon is not the same with only the 12th and 16th fastest times. Times that contradict the morning results, which stem from the fact that the cars were heavier with fuel. Tire management is decent, with more difficulties using the harder compounds.

Felipe Massa – 3rd and 12th:

« It’s a day that confirms our expectations. We still have a bit of work to do, particularly finding the right balance for the first timed lap. With these temperatures, the battle for improvement happens lap after lap. In the afternoon, we had a heavy fuel load to be as well-prepared as possible for Sunday’s race. We are not particularly concerned about our position in the standings. »

Kimi Räikkönen – 6th and 16th:

« I think we are more or less in the same position as in Silverstone. We are still struggling a bit to find the best balance on the car, but I am sure we will find a way to resolve this. In the second session, I only used the soft tires because we worked on the car between the two sessions, which cost me a bit of time. We definitely struggle a bit more on the hard tires because the temperature needs to be ideal and the weather makes things difficult. »

Chris Dyer – Team Manager:

It was rather a difficult day, with changing weather conditions and a few small technical issues (Kimi’s gearbox with an oil leak). Therefore, we had to compress our work program. In the end, we managed to almost complete all the tasks on the list, including the assessment of some new aerodynamic elements. There is certainly more work to be done to find the right balance of the car, in order to achieve our objectives of getting both cars into Q3 and having a good race. The low temperatures do not suit us, especially when it comes to making a good time on the first flying lap.