Felipe happy, Kimi hoping for something betterFerrari's Felipe Massa was simply relieved at being able to exonerate the ghosts from the previous week's Malaysian Grand Prix, where he was outfoxed by both McLarens as he relinquished his pole position for a fifth place finish.
"A truly perfect weekend for Felipe," was team boss Jean Todt's verdict.
The Brazilian's third win of his Formula One career also clawed him back into the championship race and he now sits just five points behind the leading trio composed of team mate
Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren drivers
Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.
"Hopefully we are now back in the fight," he added. "Getting the victory was very important."
Massa, who won last year's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix in his native Sao Paulo, was quick to rank this latest win close to that achievement, his finest in the sport.
"In terms of how important it was, I think Brazil was the most important for me," he added. "But Brazil was not the most difficult race for me. Here the driving was much more difficult."
Massa had been strongly criticised by the Italian press after his Malaysian performance for attempting a risky overtaking manoeuvre on Hamilton that forced his car to leave the track and lose ground on the leaders.
The Brazilian admitted that his victory here in Bahrain gave him a feeling of redemption. "The results of the first two races were not as I expected, I think something was missing. This time we put everything together," he said.
In stark contrast to a delighted Massa,
Kimi Raikkonen was downbeat after his third-place finish. However, the Finn is confident that Ferrari will use the month break until the next Grand Prix in Spain to re-open the gap over McLaren.
"This whole weekend has been quite difficult," he said. "Hopefully at the next test we will find something and some parts that improve the situation for me so we can try to start being at the front again."
Source AFP
