Ferrari orders probe into lack of pace
Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali was at a loss to explain the team’s lack of pace in the German Grand Prix and said a thorough investigation would be undertaken to understand the reasons for it.
The Italian squad was trounced by McLaren at Hockenheim on Sunday, with Lewis Hamilton winning from pole position while Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen finished third and sixth respectively.
Massa’s struggle with a lack of grip and overheating brakes in the closing stages meant that he was unable to capitalise on a tactical miscue by McLaren to seize victory.
“This was not a good day and there’s no point denying it,” said Domenicali.
“Our rivals were stronger than us and we have to work out why, without however getting caught up in nebulous and superficial analysis.
“For the first time this season in a race, we did not have the pace we had expected to run at, with both Kimi and Felipe.
“We suffered constantly from a lack of grip and in the final stages Felipe’s brakes were also overheating, which complicated still further the management of his car.
“The safety car offered us the opportunity to give it another go and, all things considered, I think we made the right choice in terms of strategy.
“But when your pace is inadequate, it is difficult to get a good result.
“We have to work well over the coming days to react in the right manner to return to the level we were at just two races ago.”
Raikkonen has been unhappy with the handling of his F2008 all weekend and did well to salvage sixth place after losing time queuing behind Massa in the pit lane during the mid-race safety car period.
The Finn made no attempt to gloss over the team’s problems, however.
“This was definitely not the kind of race we had been hoping for,” he said.
“We have struggled all weekend and we have to try and understand why.
“Usually, our race pace is always good, but today that was not the case, because I almost always suffered with a lack of grip.
“Only in the final stages did the situation improve a little bit, but it was never enough to be competitive.
“We have a test in Jerez where we will try and improve the car so as to arrive in Budapest in better shape.
“This is definitely not a crisis, but we have to study carefully the handling of the car to understand if we have taken the right road in terms of development.”
Massa added: “We must try and understand why this weekend we have not been a match for our rivals.
“They have definitely improved, but I think this was more a case of us having taken a step backwards.
“However, we are still confident; we have the ability to get out of this situation, right from the next race.”
Via: www.itv-f1.com