I left Germany after a race weekend with the same feeling I had manytimes in the past: the best thing is that the weekend is over. It was
certainly the most difficult weekend of the year: a horrible Friday, an
even more complicated Saturday and a very bad Sunday.
During the tests
on this track the week before the car went pretty well, at least that
was the feeling we got. In the race it seemed as we were in a different
place. We never managed to find a good set up and the car had
absolutely no stability. You need good grip to drive good lap times at
Hockenheim, but the rear went all over the place for the whole race.
It’s true that we had some problems at the beginning of the season to
set up the car as I wanted, but we never had problems like we had at
Hockenheim. When you’re lacking grip in the rear you can’t go fast
enough to fight for the top positions. For a couple of laps, especially
in the end, the situation seemed to improve a bit, but it never went as
it should have.
Usually we have our biggest problems in the
Qualifying, but we’re never short on pace in the race: this time we
were. The temperatures were slightly higher on Sunday than the days
before, but that didn’t help either. Quite the opposite actually.
At
the beginning of the race we were especially in trouble: I drove
consistant lap times, but I was too slow. At the first pit stop we
changed to the soft compound and the situation improved slightly. Then
the safety car came out, which didn’t help me at all. We lost some time
during the double pit stop and I lost some positions in the field. I
managed to overtake some cars and at least I gained some points at this
really difficult weekend.
It’s obvious that the situation has
changed. I’m seven points behind in the standings, as I was after the
Canadian GP. We have to check and analyze every single detail we’ve
done during the preparations for Hockenheim and find out why we went so
slowly, because there has to be something that didn’t work properly.
Sometimes these things happen, when you want to improve the car. I’m
confident: we’ll have a F2008 that can fight for the win again soon.
As
of tomorrow I’ll be at Jerez de la Frontera for the private tests,
where I amongst other things will test the slicks for 2009. The
situation is quite complicated, but nothing is lost: We have to stay
calm and react the way we know how to.
The desire to win hasn’t
decreased at all: last year I had a period of six consecutive races
without a success and the same things is happening this year. Let’s
hope that seven is my lucky number also this time and that I can get
back to success immediately.
Let’s hope so! (The Finnish translated column will be posted when it’s available) There’s nothing more to add but to wonder at this man’s mind management. Obviously, from reading this, a lot is on his mind. But he doesn’t let it get him down. He says these things happen when you try to improve the car – so we can gather that there were some developments recently from Ferrari and Kimi is perhaps not 100% comfortable with them. And reading his thoughts about the race, it seems from my post yesterday in the Stats & Analysis we were on the same line. And if this was Kimi’s most difficult weekend of the year, of course there is nothing to worry about – he still managed to score a handful of points! His rivals’ difficult weekends weren’t even lucky enough to finish in the top 10 or even finish the race. Scoring well on your bad days makes the difference between a world champion and the others. Hopefully next time soon, we as the spectators can witness a stronger Kimi. After all, he is the silent assassin. Keep Flying!
FUCK ISRAEL 
Ahh, this is why I love this guy! Another driver would be whining that the team is not working the way they should be or that he doesn´t feel comfortable or they would even try to blame someone else. Kimi just sticks to the facts and tells it the way it is, Ferrari are struggling but will do their best to solve their problems. His eagerness to win is still there and he too points out the "6 race gap" from last year between Australia until he won again; hopefully seven is his lucky number!And I want to know how much of this lack of pace is due to Ferrari not developing the car……because McLaren sure seem to have been doing a lot of that lately http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2008/07/21/mclarens-technical-innovations-have-put-the-mp423-ahead-of-the-pack/,we´ll have to wait and see if everything is legal according to the FIA regulations, I´m not so sure about the paddles in the gear shift to improve traction, sounds like TC under disguise to me!Keep flying Kimi – Keep flying Evenstar!!!
LikeLike
Hmmm, TC under disguise…possibly. Because regardless of how it looks/operates one thing is clear from the FIA: NO TRACTION CONTROL. So whatever implies traction support is kinda the same. We have to wait and see what happens.Oh and big hug by the way Sol! Lol keep flying Evenstar…I wish Kimi could pick me up for a drive and we can listen to some of my fav trance tunes!
LikeLike
Hi,everyone!
No panic,trully! Ferrari had their ‘worst weekend this year’ and the through defeat at Hockenheim should be such a big impetus for them, propelling them to push even harder in the Jerez tests. And I do believe this race will only add fuel to Kimi’s flame for winning! Ferrari should have no unrealistic fancy at all for they do have nothing to lose.
As for the McLaren，this new piece might put them under doubts over whether they broke the rule or not. TC in disguise,yeah,It’s said it could help their drivers better the cars’ balance. So yes let’s wait and see what’s next.
LikeLike