27/04/2008
NEWS STORY
Third win and second consecutive one-two finish of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, with Kimi Raikkonen on his second victory in first place and Felipe Massa second. This is win number 204 from 762 Grands Prix entered by Ferrari, the seventeenth from 126 races for Kimi.
Stefano Domenicali: "We are obviously delighted with this result, the best one possible. It comes as a result of the work done in preparing for the race throughout the weekend and I want to thank the whole team, both those who are here at the track and those back in Maranello, for their efforts. We have to continue in this way, paying great attention to every little detail. We are up against very strong opponents and it takes just the slightest thing for a good result to slip through ones fingers. We are leading both championships and we have to keep on down this path."
Kimi Raikkonen: "It would be hard to do better than this! Yesterday pole, today the win, rounded off with a second place for Felipe. We are leading both championships which I'm happy about. The whole weekend went well and we managed to get the result we came here for. It was not an easy win, but what matters is the ten points, not the lead you have when you cross the line. I did not get a perfect start, but it was enough to keep the lead and then we tried to control the situation. The two Safety Car periods complicated things slightly, wiping out the lead we had built up in the first part, but we never lost the lead of the race. The car handled very well and had a great balance. We are leading the world championship, but we know we cannot let up at all: it takes nothing to drop down the order. Heikki's accident? I was very happy when the team told me he was alright and that's the most important thing."
Felipe Massa: "These are eight very important points. It is not always possible to win as I did manage in Bahrain a fortnight ago. I made a great start and managed to pass Alonso, getting very close to Kimi. I knew I was stopping a lap before my team-mate and that therefore it would have been very difficult to get ahead of him. That's why I think that today, I did the most I could have done in this situation, bringing home valuable points for myself and for the team. Even this year, despite the banning of electronic driver aids, overtaking is pretty much impossible and the result of qualifying, along with strategy, remains crucial for deciding the finishing order."
Luca Baldisserri: "A very satisfying one-two, the second of the season. Usually, the Spanish Grand Prix is the litmus test for the pecking order down the grid after the first run of races outside Europe: from what we saw, it seems we are maintaining a slight advantage, which means we can be reasonably confident about the rest of the season, as long we don't make any mistakes and continue to develop the car. All the same, this race was very closely contested. All key elements worked well – the team, the drivers, the car – and when that happens, the results follow. We have to continue like this."