Championship success seems a remote possibility for Ferrari driver’s Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa following the disappointing home showing on Sunday at Monza.
Heading to Spa Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix, Raikkonen is third in the championship, 18 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton. Felipe Massa’s early retirement in Italy leaves him a distant fourth, 23 points adrift. In the constructors’ championship Ferrari are currently 23 points behind McLaren Mercedes.
The team are confident that the F2007 will be better suited to the faster sweeping turns of Spa Francorchamps.
Kimi Raikkonen
“We will fight as long as arithmetic allows us to. We can’t leave anything undone. We had a good test at Spa Francorchamps last July and I’m 100 percent fit in terms of physical fitness: after the race I took some painkillers and I relaxed a bit.”
“The next one is my preferred circuit. It’s a wonderful place I always l loved to race there and I like the latest modifications of the track. There are some very fast and challenging corners, where we could exploit some of the qualities of the F2007. We’ll give it everything to win: I’ve been twice on the central step of the podium here at the last two races and I want to get back there next Sunday.”
Felipe Massa
“In terms of the Drivers’ championship, if it is not impossible for me to win it, it is certainly looking very difficult indeed. I never give up and I will keep trying but making up a difference of 23 points to Hamilton would not be easy.
If the championship now only seems a remote possibility I don’t think it will change my approach to the races that are still left.”
“Spa Francorchamps is a fantastic circuit. I have always liked going there and I reckon our car should be competitive enough to fight for the win. The track is very interesting. Some corners, such as Eau Rouge, are now relatively easy to take flat out, which was not the case going back to the days of the V10 engine. With the current V8s it is much easier to take this flat out, so it is not quite as challenging as in the past. But the overall layout is very nice, with many quick corners and rapid changes of direction, all of which are features I like.”
“Thursday, the day we all arrive at the track, everyone will be waiting for news from the World Council meeting in Paris, so I am sure there will be a lot of questions aimed at us drivers and the team bosses. Within the team we have not discussed this situation. The important thing is that whatever is right and fair must be done, but I am concentrating on my job on the track. I don’t want to get involved with the off-track situation.”
