German GP - Ferrari - PreviewThe tenth round of this year's championship takes place on Sunday at the Hockenheimring, with Formula One visiting the famous track for the first time since 2006.
Along with its rivals, Ferrari tested at the circuit last week completing
its entire planned programme: this included testing some minor aero updates as well as new mechanical components. Both
Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa were happy with the balance of the F2008, feeling they had established a good basis from which to start work this coming Friday morning.
Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa are tied at the top of the championship standings with Lewis Hamilton on 48 points, while Ferrari lead the constructors' championship with 96 points, 14 clear of BMW Sauber.
Kimi Raikkonen"I hope it will be hot, as it usually is at Hockenheim. Our car goes really well at high temperatures and also the tyre-wear is not too high. So I really hope it will be hot. It's hard to overtake, but the qualifying doesn't determine the result as on other tracks: although starting from the first row will make life much easier."
"I've always said that the championship will be very uncertain. I had the possibility to win the last three races, but for one reason or the other things didn't go the right way: but that's racing and I'm sure I'll win again soon. Every point will be important, just like last year.
Three drivers tied on the top spot and a fourth, who is three points behind: that's a very interesting situation. I had some really good impressions of the F2008: I'm convinced that we'll be at the max."
Felipe Massa
"We haven't been racing at Hockenheim since 2006: back then I came in second behind Michael. I like this track, although I've never raced on the old one with its long straights. I had some pretty good races there and in 2006 I was really fast: I hope that I'll be in the same position and maybe even make a step forward in the final result."
"There are some parts, which remind of Magny-Cours and there's always a great atmosphere, especially at the Motodrom, where you can feel the fans really close from inside the car. Now that there's only one race in Germany, it is a very important event for Formula 1 in general and, even if Michael won't be here for the first time, I'm sure that there will be lots of fans and we'll have fun. I'm sure Michael will be at the Ferrari box, although not for driving..."
Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal
"Now we embark on the second half of the season, after a positive first half, given that our two drivers, along with one another, are jointly leading the Drivers' classification, while the Scuderia heads the Constructors' Championship."
"However, while we can only be happy with this situation, we know we missed several opportunities to score more points. In pure performance terms, the team, the drivers and the car have proven to be competitive at all circuits and in every track condition, but for a variety of unusual reasons, we have not always found ourselves in a position to capitalise on this. With this in mind, we have analysed all those reasons and reached the conclusion that we have to pay even closer attention to ever single detail. Methods for doing this have occupied our time in Maranello since the last race."
Ferrari
