me sections of the F1 press is conveying a cynical analysis of Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso’s high-profile failures to perform in the recent Bahrain grand prix.
The German specialist magazine Auto Motor und Sport headlined “The week of the excuse” after both drivers gave explanations for why they might have lagged behind their less highly-rated teammates at the Sakhir circuit.
Meanwhile, El Mundo Deportivo, a Spanish newspaper, is calling the saga a “Battle of egos”.
“After the first three races (of 2007), both drivers should be coming to the realisation that before thinking about the title, they must work out how to beat their respective teammates, Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton,” a report said.
The Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat says Raikkonen’s biggest problem with the F2007 is its front end; and the fact that Massa can cope better with a tendency to understeer.
“We must make the car behave better for Kimi,” technical director Mario Almondo insisted to the Italian magazine Autosprint, after Raikkonen said Ferrari must work on improving his pace particularly in qualifying.
In La Gazzetta dello Sport, on the other hand, Spaniard Alonso floated the theory that his car may have been damaged on Friday evening by the falling gantry incident in the McLaren garage at Sakhir.
