Ferrari preview the German GP

Thursday 17th July 2008

After a disappointing outing in Britain, Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa are hoping to return to winning ways in Germany.

Kimi Raikkonen: The races in Germany never went very well for me. Neither Hockenheim nor N�rburgring ever broght me luck although I really like them and I've always been competitive on both of them. My strong point in Germany is getting the Pole Position. Last year I started ahead of everybody else at the N�rburgring and also the time before at Hockenheim: for one reason or the other victory always slipped through my fingers.

"I will drive at Hockenheim the first time for Ferrari. The last race on this track Ferrari ended with a one-two win and I came in third. We've done some testing here last week and it went pretty well. We tried some new components and judging by the lap times there is still a great balance, but I think that Ferrari will be very competitive and fight for the win. I had some really good impressions of the F2008: I'm convinced that we'll be at the max.

"I hope it will be hot, as it usually is at Hockenheim. Our car goes really well at high temperatures and also the tyre-wear is not too high. So I really hope it will be hot. It's hard to overtake, but the Qualifying doesn't determine the result as on other tracks: although starting from the first row will make life much easier.

"I've always said that the Championship will be very uncertain. I had the possibility to win the last three races, but for one reason or the other things didn't go the right way: but that's racing and I'm sure I'll win again soon. Every point will be important, just like last year. Three drivers tied on the top spot and a fourth, who is three points behind: that's a very interesting situation.

"After the tests I had the honour to be invited by the Italian Minister of Transport Antonio Tajani, to partecipate in the European Youth Conference regarding road safety. We racing drivers have to set a good example for the youth and demostrate how important it is to pay attention behind the wheel every day and to stick to the rules of the road and always wear a seatbelt: going fast is only allowed on racing tracks! I hope that this message can reach as many young people as possible: it's so stupid to risk your own life and the lifes of others for nothing..."

Felipe Massa: "I haven't yet forgotten Silverstone, although it was a weekend to be put in the files as soon as possible: but weekends like that are part of racing. The goal is very simple now: concentrating on the future, which means the second half of the season. As I've said before, there's still a long way to go: everything can happen and the Championship is wide open. It' true that we lost precious points, which were in our reach, but we're still in a good position: I'm leading in the standings together with Kimi and Hamilton and the Team has a good advantage in the Constructors' Championship. So you can't say that things are going too badly, quite the opposite!

"After Silverstone the Team at Maranello worked a lot on many different aspects, such as improving the procedures at the track. I won't give you any details, because this is confidential information. But we know that we have to act to assure that certain mistakes won't happen again: this has to be one of our goals as of now until Brazil. I'm not worried about the critique after the British GP. I've had lots before and it has never affected me, because I know what I have to and what I want to do. The opinion of people from outside the Team don't count for much, especially when they say one day you're a phenomenon and the next they say you're a failure: I don't let it influence me in either case.

"After the race I took some days off, before I took over from Kimi on the last day of tests at Hockenheim. The weather conditions were perfect, for once with summerly temperatures and I think things went well. We drove many laps with the F2008, which was set up very well with both types of tyres on the short and on the long run. We know that we have a good car, very competitive, but we haven't used its full potential at the last race, mainly because it was a race under very special conditions. The test results are very encouraging for the upcoming weekend.

"We haven't been racing at Hockenheim since 2006: back then I came in second behind Michael. I like this track, although I've never raced on the old one with its long straights. I had some pretty good races there and in 2006 I was really fast: I hope that I'll be in the same position and maybe even make a step forward in the final result. There are some parts, which remind of Magny-Cours and there's always a great atmosphere, especially at the Motodrom, where you can feel the fans really close from inside the car. Now that there's only one race in Germany, it is a very important event for Formula 1 in general and, even if Michael won't be here for the first time, I'm sure that there will be lots of fans and we'll have fun. I'm sure Michael will be at the Ferrari box, although not for driving...

"I felt fine over the last days with my family at home in Monaco, but now I can't wait to race again and start the second hard and exciting half of the Championship the best way possible."