Saturday: Ferrari expected better

Mixed weekend for Scuderia Ferrari, just like the sky above the Silverstone circuit. After good practice sessions in the morning with Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen in 5th and 6th place, the team was disappointed by the qualifying results.

The problem remains the same, drivers and team personnel know it. It’s a chronic lack of grip on the F60 that’s the reason for a mediocre session. When you talk about grip, you talk about tires and temperature management. These are the words that have been haunting the Scuderia for many races. In Great Britain, Räikkönen managed to get into Q3 with a 9th place finish, but Massa didn’t make it and will start from the 11th position.

Felipe Massa – 5th and 11th:

« It’s not a great weekend for us, there’s no denying it. Today, I missed Q3 because I made a mistake in the last sector. Up until then, I was only a few tenths off my previous best time. We always have to push to the limit because the car doesn’t give you any margin. The F60 is balanced, but we are not fast enough. Over the last two races, certain teams have made significant progress in their development, whereas our improvements are not sufficient. It will be a tough race, but maybe something will happen that could result in a good outcome for us. On our side, we have to hope for the best. »

Kimi Räikkönen – 6th and 9th:

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much more. This is our current level of performance, and today it was difficult to do better. Every weekend, we do our best: Once again on this track, the F60 is well balanced, but as we’ve seen so often this year, we don’t have enough grip. I did a good lap in Q2, but with the fuel level on board, the car wasn’t as fast as the others. We’ve improved the car over the past two races, but it seems that others have gone faster than us.

Stefano Domenicali – Team Principal:

« It is clear that this is a bad result. There is no need to look for a reason: the cause lies with the tires and their temperature, which is unforgiving on a track with many fast corners. The car doesn’t have enough aerodynamic downforce to generate the required grip. That said, we must not lose heart. We know we have to face it and try to have the best race tomorrow by attempting to bring back some points for the standings. »