British GP - Ferrari - PreviewFerrari dominated the French Grand Prix, taking a one-two result with
Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa finishing half a minute ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Rivals McLaren may have shot themselves in the foot over their race strategy, but their was
no denying the fact that Ferrari brought the more competitive package to the Magny Cours circuit.
Heading to Silverstone, the team are confident that they can maintain the form with further revisions to the F2007 package. Massa and Raikkonen are third and fourth in the championship standings and believe they can narrow the gap a little more at Silverstone.
Felipe Massa
"I think it will be very good for us. We have a car that is fantastic on this track and it was very quick all through the test we did there before the French race. I am convinced we will again have a very competitive car."
"Of course, we need to keep an eye on McLaren, but I think we could have a little bit of an edge over them. There is a good chance we will have to cope with a wet track this weekend and I like to drive in the rain, even though a wet track can make things a bit of a lottery. Whatever the conditions, I am sure we can be very competitive."
"Overtaking will again be very difficult at this circuit, almost impossible in fact, but all the same it is a great track to drive and one of the most challenging of the season for us drivers, with some very fast corners.
For my driving style and my experience of quick corners, I love the challenge of Silverstone, which reminds of other great fast tracks like Spa."
Kimi Raikkonen"If we manage to bring all the latest developments onto the track, then I think that Ferrari will be even more competitive than in Magny-Cours. We know that we are heading in the right direction; and I have a real good feeling with it, too. I can't wait to get back on the track and stepping once again on the podium."
Rob Smedley, Race Engineer Felipe Massa
"As usual, Silverstone is a great challenge for drivers and for the engineers especially, as there is such a disparity between some very high speed corners and some low speed sections. It is both a challenge and a headache, but if you get it right you get the rewards. Silverstone is a reasonably high downforce track because there are so many corners, but you have to find the right compromise over the weekend and its character actually changes very slightly over the course of the three days, so you have to make sure you have the right settings on the car at the right time."
"We tested at Silverstone prior to the French Grand Prix and tried a new aero package, which we ran in France and will now use in England with some further modifications to suit the more high speed nature of Silverstone. The test was very encouraging and very positive, especially after the results of the races in North America. Since then, we have also changed some of our preparation aimed at getting the most out of the car on a first timed lap on new tyres and that has helped, while the characteristics of Silverstone circuit are also more predisposed to helping us to get a strong first lap."
"It is a reasonable track to deal with when it rains, but the added factor in wet conditions can often be the wind that has brought the rain. It can make life tricky as, on top of the obvious lack of grip in the wet, you can also get quite high cross winds in the high speed corners that can put you in trouble in terms of how difficult the car is to drive. This can push you to change set-up and even strategies of how you run the car. Felipe is really good in the wet and I also think that his driving style is particularly well suited to the Bridgestone rain tyre. In addition, we know how to give him a good car to run in wet conditions and we know what kind of car he likes. We are usually in good shape in the rain as we have seen during winter testing, although we have yet to see this in race conditions this year."
Source Ferrari
