Turkish GP - Ferrari - PreviewThe short holidays in August for the Formula One teams are over and tomorrow they all meet in Istanbul for the start of the upcoming Turkish GP, the twelfth race of the season 2007.
Kimi Raikkonen is third in the standing on 60 points,
20 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton and 13 behind
Fernando Alonso. Ferrari Team-mate and last year's winner in Turkey Felipe Massa is fourth in the standings, just one point behind Raikkonen.
The Ferrari duo are looking forward to this weekend's race, and know that they need a one-two result to stay in championship contention.
Kimi Raikkonen"The holidays are over and they were as I hoped them to be: I enjoyed the Finnish summer with my family and my best friends. We went to the sea, did some motocross, played tennis and, the most important thing, chilled out. Now I'm ready to get back on the track. We have to confront the last part of the season, the one in which everything will be decided."
"There are three races in four weeks, plus a test: this is certain to be a very busy period, but we are racing on tracks, which are amongst my favourites - Istanbul, Monza and Spa Francorchamps. I think that these are tracks where Ferrari should be very competitive: there are no characteristics, that are against us.
The whole team is working together, to try to recuperate the gap in the points: in Maranello they didn't stop working over the last days! I spoke to the technicians and they told me that we have a couple of new developments in the car."
"I will confront these last races in the same spirit I confronted the ones before: I'll try to win and collect as many points as possible and then we will do the maths in the classification. We have to give our best and hope that those who are ahead of us, have slight problems: I don't have much to lose so I can risk more than my colleagues at McLaren. Six races can seem to be only a few, but for the ones who are leading it's a lot."
"We are optimistic for Turkey: I won the first race ever held here, which gave me a very special feeling. The track is similar to the one at Silverstone and Spa Francorchamps, where the aerodynamic efficiency counts a lot. And then we drive anti-clockwise: nothing changes in terms of the technics, but the driver's necks will suffer slightly. Everybody is talking about turn number eight: it doesn't have the fascination of the Eau Rouge but is very demanding in it's own way. It is really nice to have new kinds of fast corners to drive through at the max: everybody always wants to have more."
Felipe Massa
"The summer break is nearly over and although I've had a great time, I am really looking forward to going racing again, starting with Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix. Of course there is the serious side of trying to win the championships, but I have to say I am also looking forward to the enjoyment of driving a Formula One car again."
"I am looking forward to Turkey, which will always have a special significance for me, as it was in Istanbul last year that I got my first ever Grand Prix victory. It is still fresh in my mind and it is a great memory and a nice feeling to be carrying back with me to this year's race. It was a great victory for me. I love the track and the city and I really hope to repeat the great result from last year, when I was very strong all weekend, starting from pole position and winning on Sunday. I hope we can do it again. Istanbul Park is a really great track and everyone talks about turn eight, which is definitely one of the best corners of the season."
"I like this corner, and it is really challenging. To be quick at this point on the track, your entry has to be perfect and then you have to make sure you make no mistakes all the way through the middle and then the exit. It is a tricky corner to get right and it also plays an important part in the race itself as it is very tough physically to go round it quickly on every lap."
"I have been keeping in touch with my engineer back in Italy to find out how things are going. The team has had a chance to rest a bit but there has been a lot of hard work going on as well in the factory. In fact, for this race, I will have a new chassis, which is not especially significant, as it is normal for us to change chassis after a certain number of races."
"Turkey last year I was a first time race winner and in the space of twelve months things have changed as I am now chasing a title. As a team, we try and have a package that is competitive at every circuit, but Istanbul is the first of a series of quick tracks and I think these will suit us particularly well. Last year, from Turkey onwards I had a great championship, so that is an encouraging sign. In fact, I like the all the tracks that are coming up now, so I hope we end the season in style."
Source Ferrari
