Maranello, 4th June 2008 – Monaco has been left behind: it was astaggering blow, but there’s nothing we can do about it. I had a lot of
trouble to find the right grip on the wet track and we have to find out
how that could happened, because usually I like driving under these
conditions.
I didn’t like it at all to come in ninth, hence without
points. It was the first race of the season where I couldn’t gain any
points and we can’t have another one like that, because the fight for
the Championship is extremely fierce.
The preparations
specifically for the Canadian GP were planned for the last day at Le
Castellet, where we had some tests. Unfortunately it rained that day
and we couldn’t do much; but we’re all on the same level now. Ferrari
has a great tradition in Canada and I expect that it will be really
balanced there. The Qualifying is more and more important, thus it’s
fundamental to work well right from the start of the weekend to have a
great car with the best setup possible.
At Monaco the distances were
extremely small and the first five cars had a gap of two tenths of a
second. At Montreal the stability during braking and when you go over
the curbs is extremely important. The F2008 improved a lot in these
areas compared to last year’s car. Obviously we have to wait until the
first Free Practice session on Friday to get it confirmed. I don’t
remember a GP, which hadn’t been neutralized and I expect that also for
next Sunday. If that happens we have to be really cautious with our
strategy, because of the balance in the field. With the actual rules
luck is really important under these circumstances if you want to win.
Well, let’s hope that if the safety car has to be employed it will be
at an opportune moment for us.
I said at the beginning of the
season that I expect the title to be assigned at the last moment. A
third of the season has passed, we have 35 points and we are on the
second place. It’s more or less what I expected. Nothing has been won
and nothing has been lost. There is no point in panicking after the
race at Monaco, because compared to last year the situation is much
better. I won’t change anything in my approach for the upcoming
weekend. The designated target is to win and we will give our best.
Yeah, don’t panic people! Let’s just enjoy watching another season of Kimi with Ferrari, he gave us a good reason to keep a close eye on his progress with the team last year, and this year it’s no different.
Kimi has mentioned that the set-up, particularly in getting grip, was the main problem in Monaco. And it’s strange because he said he usually likes to drive in wet conditions (at Fuji and Shanghai last year for example). So obviously there’s a fundamental issue that needs to be resolved, and maybe if critics actually bothered to look into it rather than accusing Kimi of being asleep and having no motivation, then we can actually be a little more enlightened with the real issue.
This weekend, I think Ferrari can go to Canada prettyconfident. They improved considerably in Monaco compared to their
performance there last year. That’s one thing they’ll be happy about, despite not winning.
Canada is a high downforce circuit, and the brakes need to be given
extra performance maintenance, so I wonder if McLaren will be able to
do well in the race especially with Hamilton who’s pretty hard on them
and the tyres. Last year they benefitted from numerous safety car
interruptions so the race was never full-on throttle down for more than
10 laps.
Ferrari do have a good chance to qualify well again, but as it’s
continuing on a street circuit and McLaren will continue to be
competitve, they’ll have to do a much better job during the race with
their tactics and strategies.
I’m not sure Kimi will win this race since he’s struggling
with the set-up of the tyres together with the combination of the car’s braking
system (apparently), but anything can happen and I wouldn’t mind a
repeat of Canada 2005. Kimi knows he has to get a good result regardless, but if his performance improves, I’ll be pleased even if he doesn’t win.
Canada is a strong spot for BMW, who got 2nd place here last year with Heidfeld and if Kubica
has a trouble free race and hopefully he will (the area he had his massive crash has been changed for better safety), then it’s gonna be extra hard for
Ferrari/McLaren to do something without any cheeky interruptions from BMW. Heidfeld also seems to be struggling with the tyres against teammate Kubica, so we have a lot more to watch this weekend. And Force India will be aiming to score points, as said in their preview, let’s hope Canada brings a good result for everyone this time. Keep Flying Kimi! ~
FUCK ISRAEL 
Well, a positive and focused mind is everything in this sport! I think that we, the fans, moaned and whined more than Kimi and the team about their loss in Monaco.All we have to do know is look ahead to Canada, and hope for the best!It would also be really meaningfull if Kubica won his maiden race here, since he crashed so heavily last year.KEEP FLYING KIMI!!!-FORZA FERRARI!!!
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