07/09/2008
NEWS STORY
Ten points for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro in the Belgian Grand Prix, thanks to Felipe Massa's fifth win of the season, the team's seventh in this championship. Kimi Raikkonen had to retire on the 42nd lap, when he ended up in the barriers having spun on a track made slippery by the rain. This was Felipe's tenth career win and brings the Scuderia's total to 208 from 771 Grands Prix entered. The Brazilian is now second in the Drivers' classification, two points down on the leader, while Kimi is third, 19 down. Ferrari maintains its lead in the Constructors' classification with a lead of ten points over its nearest competitor."
Stefano Domenicali: "I have often said that the race is not over until the official results are published and that was the case today. As usual, Ferrari will not comment on the Stewards' decision. After the race, we were called to the Stewards and we explained our position. We are very disappointed for Kimi, who had driven a great race and deserved the win, especially at this rather difficult time. This result is obviously very important for our Championship hopes: now we must maintain maximum concentration and prepare as well as possible for the forthcoming races, starting at Monza where we will be racing in front of our home fans. We will also need their support at such a delicate point in the season."
Felipe Massa: "This was a very strange race, with the start and finish taking place in rather difficult conditions. After the start I thought Eau Rouge might be wetter and so I was a bit cautious. Kimi attacked and managed to get by. From then on I realized it would be hard to pass the two guys ahead of me, even if the lap times were quite similar. I tried to manage the situation, especially towards the end. When it started to rain, I had a pretty good margin over my closest pursuers and I preferred not to take any risks, especially given what was going on in front of me. Today the car wasn't perfectly balanced. On Saturday morning, we had slightly reduced the aerodynamic downforcc, as you usually do for the race here, but today's track conditions definitely did not suit this choice. The hard tyres? They were definitely slower than the soft ones and lacked grip, which made the car a bit inconsistent in terms of balance."
Kimi Raikkonen: "I came here to win and I came close. In the final laps the track conditions were very critical and unfortunately, I ran wide and when I tried to get back on track, I spun and ended up in the wall. It was a shame because today the car was working really well. I got a good start and managed to pass Felipe on the straight and then overtook Hamilton when he spun at the start of the second lap. On the soft tyres, I could run at a good pace, while the final set, the harder ones, was not quite there – definitely not as good in performance terms as those I'd used in the past couple of days – and the balance of the car was not as good as earlier. The arrival of the rain definitely did not help. In these conditions, if you are in front you have to be more cautious as you don't know how much grip you'll find in each braking area. That's how Hamilton managed to close on me and then happened what you all saw. It's the second race in a row that I've failed to score points. Clearly the championship situation is what it is, but I'm not the sort to give up that easily."
Luca Baldisserri: "This was a very intense weekend, which only ended two hours after the chequered flag. Kimi drove a very nice race and it's a real shame it wasn't crowned with a deserved win after he attacked all race long. Felipe drove in a very calculating fashion, without taking unnecessary risks when the conditions were really critical. The soft tyres worked very well, while the hard ones struggled a bit, especially with Kimi: we need to establish what caused this. As for the rest, the F2008 proved to be very competitive and the team worked in impeccable fashion throughout the race. Now we must continue to push because we absolutely want to reach our objectives."