Ferrari question FIA notification method

Ferrari have questioned the method by which the FIA race stewards informed the teams they must use extreme weather tyres prior to the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Maranello-based team claim they failed to receive an email informing them on the new rule prior the race, which is why they made the decision to start Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa on intermediate tyres.

And although they received no explanation for the missing email, Ferrari said they could not understand why the FIA would not use a formal method of notification.

Ferrari sporting director Stefano Domenicali said: "The habit of using the email between the teams and race control is done by the normal documentations, like information on the classification, on the event or something like that.

"But normally when there is some information that is very sensitive, related to the running - in this case, of the race - this information should be circulated as is written on the sporting regulation article 15.1, with the receipt that has to be acknowledged by the team. This is something that is there.

"But in any case I think that for sure, you can imagine that it would have been very stupid knowing that and doing the opposite. We didn't know and that's it, and it was not possible to take a decision like that."

Domenicali said that the team only became aware of the tyre situation on the second lap of the race, when FIA race director Charlie Whiting informed them over the radio that they were on the wrong tyre.

Ferrari press officer Luca Colajanni then obtained a copy of the stewards' notice, which had been circulated in the media centre, from Italian television channel RAI and delivered it to the pit wall.

A team member was then dispatched to race control to check on the situation and, once it was confirmed, the team took the decision to change the tyres on both cars.

Domenicali said that he had visited the stewards immediately after the race to try and find out what happened with the email.

"We went straight away at the end of the race just to understand what had happened," he said. "They understood our point, and in a way that's a note that has to come from the stewards as you know, and basically they were apologising for the fact that they used the usual system of using the email for normal communication also for this thing, and that's what they said."

Ferrari team principal Jean Todt ruled out his team taking any action to try and rectify the positions the team lost as a result of the tyre situation.

"It would not solve the problem," he said. "The race is over, the race is over. We want to understand better what has happened, the way it has happened. But I think to open a new controversy would not be good for the sport.

"I read already that sometimes in the interest of the sport we feel it's better to leave it like that."

Todt did think that it would be a good idea, however, for a new rule to be written in the regulations stipulating that teams start races with extreme tyres in the event of a safety car being used.

"I think it should probably be very wise to write a rule where you say that if you start under the safety car, then you have to fit full wet tyres," he said. "That would probably be a good rule."

Source - http://www.autosport.com

Ferrari informed late about tyre rule!

Ferrari have confirmed they only received the FIA notification about a new tyre rule after the Japanese Grand Prix had already started.

The race direction informed teams that they were forced to start the race with extreme weather tyres given the poor conditions at Fuji.

Ferrari, however, decided to start the race with the standard wet tyres and both Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa were forced to pit with the safety car on track if they didn't want to be excluded.

The pitstops sent both drivers to the back of the field, effectively ruining all their chances of fighting for victory.

The Italian squad said after the race that they had not been informed about the tyre rule until after the event had started.

"We did not receive email notification of the stewards decision until after the race had started. We have checked and on Stefano Domenicali's laptop it shows that he only received the message at 1.37pm," a Ferrari spokesperson said after the race.

"We then were told over the radio that we had to change the tyres, and that if we did not we would be black-flagged.

"There is nothing we can do now. There was a lack of communication, and that is why we took the decision to go with the standard wet tyre."

Raikkonen went on to finish in third place, while Massa finished down in sixth, meaning he is now mathematically out of contention for the title.

Felipe Massa says it is "unacceptable" that his Ferrari team were not informed in time that they were forced to start the Japanese Grand Prix with extreme weather tyres.

Both Massa and teammate Kimi Raikkonen had to pit at the start of the race, when the safety car was still on track, after choosing the intermediate tyre option without knowing the FIA had asked teams to put the extreme weather tyres on.

Ferrari said after the race that the e-mail informing them about the new rule arrived after the event had already started.

The Maranello squad's drivers had to pit in order to avoid being black-flagged, Ferrari said, dropping down to the bottom of the field.

Massa, who finished in sixth place, said it was unfair that his team were not informed in time.

"We together with the team decided. I went to the grid with heavy rain and Kimi went to the standard. And he said it was okay to start on the standard," Massa told reporters.

"Then the rain was stopping when we were on the grid, so we took the decision to start on the standard, which is intermediates for both cars. And especially for me, to win the championship was if some miracle happened. I prefer to risk and if it was fine then maybe I still had a chance to fight (for the title).

"But the biggest problem is that he was not permitted to start on intermediates and the Ferrari was not informed. So that was the biggest mistake we had. If you have the information that everyone has to start on the extreme and not to start on standards - we were not informed.

"It's unacceptable because every team has to be informed. We weren't and now we are investigating what happened and why it happened because this is not fair."

The Brazilian admitted, however, that Ferrari had made a mistake with their tyre choice, and reckons the intermediates were not the way to go.

"No, because when we went out it was raining heavy - so it was not possible," he said. "When we leave the grid it was possible, but then after it was raining heavy. I spun after two laps."

The Ferrari driver defended his team despite the error, and said even tactical mastermind Ross Brawn could have made that mistake.

"I had Brawn and we made mistakes in the past. In conditions like that it's difficult to make the right decisions, so it's not down to Brawn. We are a good team, we worked in the right direction, but it was difficult to find the right decision every time."

Hamilton wins chaotic Japanese GP

Lewis Hamilton took a huge step closer to the world championship title by winning a sodden and chaotic Japanese Grand Prix, while his teammate and title rival Fernando Alonso crashed out.

The result puts Hamilton 12 points clear of Alonso with only two races to go.

Renault's Heikki Kovalainen and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen came through to second and third, despite Raikkonen falling to the rear of the field early on.

The first 19 laps of the race were run behind the safety car due to the appalling visibility at Fuji. Despite instructions from race control that the field must start on extreme wet tyres, the Ferraris were both fitted with intermediates, and had to stop during the caution.

Both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen also had spins while behind the safety car, with Massa incurring a drive-through penalty for overtaking under yellow after his rotation.

The McLarens eased away when the race began, while in their wake Jenson Button tapped Nick Heidfeld into a half-spin at Turn 1, dropping the BMW to 10th and breaking the Honda's front wing.

Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel avoided the mess and moved up to third, followed by Mark Webber. Button persevered in fifth with no wing for several laps before admitting defeat and pitting, which moved Giancarlo Fisichella and Kovalainen up to fifth and sixth.

Having run light fuel loads in their battle for pole, both McLarens had to make pitstops within eight laps of the race getting underway. Alonso pitted first and emerged behind the Renaults and Robert Kubica, but Hamilton ran one lap further and was able to extend his lead sufficiently to come out between Webber and Fisichella.

That put Vettel into the lead for the first time in his short Grand Prix career, where he stayed for four laps before pitting and handing the advantage to Webber, who stayed out a further four laps at the head of the field.

Meanwhile the McLarens were having a bruising time in traffic. Running light on fuel, Kubica passed both Renaults and then attacked Hamilton, but tagged the McLaren into a spin. Both were able to resume after a seven second delay, and Kubica was later given a drive-through penalty for the incident.

Just one lap later Alonso was also in trouble, as Vettel ran into him at Turn 1. The second McLaren also spun, and sustained bodywork damage, before continuing in eighth behind Raikkonen - who had made determined progress through the field early on but would lose many of the places gained when he had to pit again on lap 40.

The Renaults - Kovalainen ahead of Fisichella after passing his teammate on lap 30 - ran at the head of the field for several laps before making their sole stops on laps 39 and 40.

That put Hamilton back to the front of the field, ahead of Webber and Vettel, who had swapped places during the pitstops, with Alonso fourth and 10 seconds behind his teammate.

Alonso was starting to edge back into contention, but then aquaplaned into the tyre wall on the approach to Turn 6 on lap 42. The McLaren was wrecked in the massive accident, which scattered debris across the track and prompted another safety car period.

As the field prepared for the restart four laps later, Red Bull's potential superb day fell apart as Vettel ran into the back of Webber at the final corner, taking both out and leaving Vettel distraught and Webber furious.

Kovalainen therefore ran second behind Hamilton when the race resumed, followed by Massa, who had not pitted since topping up with fuel under the long first caution.

The Brazilian had to come in on lap 58, which moved the recovering Raikkonen onto the podium, the Finn having passed David Coulthard around the outside of Turn 5 two laps earlier.

Raikkonen continued to push hard - taking several trips over the asphalt run-off areas - and closed in on Kovalainen in the closing laps, but had to settle for third despite vigorous efforts to pass the Renault.

Kovalainen therefore clinched his first podium, and Renault's first of 2007.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Japanese Grand Prix
Mount Fuji, Japan;
67 laps; 305.721km;
Weather: Wet.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time
1.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes     (B)  2h00:34.759
2.  Kovalainen    Renault              (B)  +     8.377
3.  Raikkonen     Ferrari              (B)  +     9.478
4.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Renault     (B)  +    20.297
5.  Fisichella    Renault              (B)  +    38.864
6.  Massa         Ferrari              (B)  +    49.042
7.  Kubica        BMW Sauber           (B)  +    49.285
8.  Liuzzi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  +    55.622
9.  Sutil         Spyker-Ferrari       (B)  +  1:00.129
10.  Barrichello   Honda                (B)  +  1:28.342
11.  Button        Honda                (B)  +     1 lap
12.  Yamamoto      Spyker-Ferrari       (B)  +     1 lap
13.  Trulli        Toyota               (B)  +     1 lap
14.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber           (B)  +    2 laps
15.  Sato          Super Aguri-Honda    (B)  +    2 laps

Fastest lap: Hamilton, 1:28.193

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap
R.Schumacher  Toyota               (B)    56
Davidson      Super Aguri-Honda    (B)    55
Rosberg       Williams-Toyota      (B)    50
Vettel        Spyker-Ferrari       (B)    47
Webber        Red Bull-Renault     (B)    47
Alonso        McLaren-Mercedes     (B)    42
Wurz          Williams-Toyota      (B)    20

Source - http://www.autosport.com

Todt rules out Alonso move to Ferrari

Ferrari team principal Jean Todt has ruled out any talk of reigning world champion Fernando Alonso moving to his team next year.

Speculation since the Belgian Grand Prix has been rife that Alonso could be on his way to the Maranello outfit in the future, with serious doubts emerging that he will remain at McLaren.

But speaking to ITV before the start of the Japanese Grand Prix, Todt ruled out any change in Ferrari's driver line-up of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa for next year.

"We have both drivers, Felipe and Kimi, under contract with Ferrari for 2008 and we respect our contracts," he said. "Both did a fantastic job.

"Alonso is a great driver, he's now fighting for a third drivers' world championship. He's a great driver, I have a lot of respect for him as a driver, but we are very happy with our contracted drivers."

Source - http://www.autosport.com

Q & A with Felipe Massa on Japanese GP

Q. How was qualifying for you?

Felipe Massa: It was very competitive, all three sessions. The first one I was straightaway with a good lap time. The second one was okay but I didn't have a clean lap. There were always people in front and we didn't have a really good lap. So it was very, very competitive.

And then in the third one it was a little bit more difficult. I was struggling a little bit with more oversteer, especially at the end of the session when everyone was improving and I expected to be in the right moment to fight for pole. But the car was a bit difficult in that moment and I think I did a good job also for the strategy as well.

We need to see tomorrow and how it is going to be, because when you have a difficult day like this it is very difficult to find the right strategy for the race. We don't know how the race is going to be tomorrow, so if you have a good strategy it could pay off a lot. I think I have a good strategy, I hope I have a good car and also we have a good speed in the straight, which can be important.

Q. Has Fuji been more fun and any more difficult than anticipated?

FM: I think it is fun. For sure it is an interesting circuit. Honestly I like it. It is better than I expected. Suzuka is always a very nice track and although I prefer a little bit Suzuka, but I like this circuit. Even in the wet I expected to have more slippery asphalt than we had. So it was okay to drive in these conditions.

Q. How do you view the balance of competitiveness between McLaren and Ferrari here?

FM: I think it is very close in whatever conditions. In the dry, it was very close even if the lap times did not show it. In the wet it was also close, so tomorrow will be an interesting race.

Q. You have talked about the speed on the straight here. Are you able to run with less downforce than the McLaren?

FM: It looks like we have, because we have a quicker car on the straight. So I think we have lower downforce, but you never know in the race. In Spa we had lower downforce and a good car, so let's hope we can repeat having a better balance in the race.

Q. You obviously need to finish ahead of Lewis (Hamilton) tomorrow to keep your championship hopes alive. Does that dictate an all-out aggressive approach?

FM: Let's try to do the best in the race and afterwards we can then think about it (the title). If it is finished then we will try again next year. Hopefully we can still fight, but if it is finished then we will try again next year.

Q. Do you think what happened between the two McLaren drivers at the first corner at Spa could prove to be an important factor in the world championship?

FM: I think it will be very interesting, the first corners at each of the last three races. We saw that they are fighting really hard with each other, and you never know. Maybe it can be good, maybe not. We need to wait and see. It is difficult to plan things like this before.

Q. Do you think about their rivalry?

FM: No. You cannot think before, because you don't know how it is going to be. We need to think after, when we see if we were lucky and were able to pass them. You cannot plan for these sorts of things. We need to wait and see if it is good or not for us.

Q. Is this is a track where it is easier to overtake, which means the pitstops are not so important in the fight for position?

FM: Yeah, I think so. I think it is a very long straight. For sure the only place where it is easier to overtake is on the straight. But having a good speed, it is possible. It is possible that we can have plenty of overtakes during the race.

Q. It could pay to have a car with less downforce then?

FM: It depends how much less downforce you have. If you are in the reasonable optimum for your car, and you see that you are quicker than the others on the straight then you are in the right optimum for your car. Then it pays, for sure. But if you don't, then maybe you struggle with the tyre wear.

Q. Have the team said anything to you about needing to play a supporting role to Kimi Raikkonen tomorrow in terms of helping him out with the title chase?

FM: No. We need to wait and see how the race goes. For sure if I have no opportunities, and if I see a McLaren in front for example, then it will be difficult. We need to finish in front of them for our championship.

Kimi is in a better position than me, but for both it is very difficult. We need to put both cars in front but we need to see how the race goes. I need to also be in front, and if I am first and Kimi is behind a McLaren then I cannot change anything.

So we need to put both cars in front and we need to decide the best for the team, and the best to improve the championship situation.

Source - http://www.autosport.com

Kimi Räikkönen on Fuju, 2007

F1 Onboard Lap with Kimi Raikkonen @ Fuji 2007

Raikkonen stays hopeful for the race

Kimi Raikkonen is still hopeful about his chances for the Japanese Grand Prix despite being unable to secure a place on the front row.

The Ferrari driver, winner of the last race in Spa two weeks ago, had to settle for third place behind the McLaren's of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

Raikkonen, who is 13 points behind Hamilton with three events to go, finished less than two tenths behind the Briton in the wet conditions.

Despite missing out on a front row start, the Finn is confident he has a car capable of fighting for victory in tomorrow's race.

"It was okay. I had traffic on last lap and we had a small problem with the gearbox so I hope we can fix it for tomorrow," said Raikkonen.

"I think we are in good shape. We don't know the weather but it is the same for everybody. The circuit is going to be different after the rain.

"I am confident we have good car for the race. I think it will be a tight race between all four cars."

Source - http://www.autosport.com