Friday: Slow start for the revised Ferrari F60

Ferrari was one of the most anticipated teams on this Friday of free practice at the Barcelona circuit. And for good reason, the Scuderia is bringing a revised F60 that aims to make up for this disastrous start to the season. Only three points have been scored since the beginning of the season (Kimi Räikkönen in the last GP in Bahrain).

The potential for improvement is significant since the Finnish driver and his teammate, Felipe Massa, have already felt improvements in aerodynamic support. They had a good first session, finishing in 9th and 11th places before dropping slightly in the afternoon to 10th and 15th positions due to a change in tire type.

Kimi Räikkönen – 11th and 10th:

« We have certainly taken a step forward in terms of performance on the car: You can feel it with a greater level of aerodynamic downforce, and that’s what we needed. Yes, it’s Friday and it’s always difficult to draw conclusions, but the feeling is that we have closed the gap with some cars. Here, just like in the last race, the hardest thing to manage is the tires. The situation is more difficult with the Hard tires than with the Soft ones. Tomorrow morning, we will work on the qualifying session, given that today, we focused on race preparation. Overall, I am happy with how things have progressed today. »

Felipe Massa – 9th and 15th:

« We have done a good job over the past few weeks and the car has improved, but of course, others haven’t been idle during this time. Starting tomorrow, we will see if we have managed to make a breakthrough because today, the standings are difficult to interpret and I believe they do not reflect the true hierarchy. We have worked with an eye on Sunday’s race. In my last laps, I was in traffic and it cost me a bit of time. I will do my best to get through the first qualifying sessions and then aim for a good place on the grid.

Chris Dyer – Chief Engineer

« We are reasonably satisfied with how things went on this Spanish Grand Prix Friday. The team has made a great effort to develop this aerodynamic package, and the level of reliability is improving, which is already a positive element. The track has confirmed our initial impressions that the handling of the car has improved. From an initial analysis of the situation, we are in better shape than in previous races. Tomorrow, our goal is to get both cars into Q3 and have a good race on Sunday. The tires are behaving as expected: the hard ones with difficulty, while we are doing well on the softs, both in terms of grip and consistency. »