Belgian GP: Ferrari Friday practice report

Free practice - First session

F. Massa: 1st 1.47.284 26 laps chassis 269
K. Raikkonen: 2nd 1.47.623 26 26 laps chassis 271
Weather: air 15/16 C, track 15/16 C, overcast with some drizzle.

Free Practice - Second session

F. Massa: 2nd 1.48.504 16 26 laps chassis 269
K. Raikkonen: 5th 1.49.328 10 26 laps chassis 271
Weather: air 17/18 C, track 17/18 C, overcast, rain at times.

The Belgian Grand Prix weekend got underway in its usual variable way, with occasional rain, especially in the second free practice session. In fact, it was the slightly damp circuit that cost Kimi Raikkonen around thirty minutes of track time. The reigning world champion had an off track excursion at Turn 9 and ended up against the barriers, losing the rear wing. Up until then, Kimi had completed 36 laps. Felipe had no problems, ending the day with 42 laps under his belt and with the outright fastest time of the day. "All in all, it was a day of questions, characterized by rather changeable track conditions," commented the Team Principal of the Gestione Sportiva, Stefano Domenicali. "We knew the weather here at Spa would play an important role and today we had first hand experience of that. From what we could understand of the day, taking into account the usual Friday unknowns, the Ferrari barometer is tending more towards good weather: our performance level seems competitive and we are managing to get both types of tyre to work well. It was a shame Kimi had an "off," which lost him some track time, but I don't think this will prove to be a handicap for the rest of the weekend."

Felipe Massa: "It was an unusual day because of the changing weather. Overall, I am happy with the work we did over the three hours. The car is working well and responds positively to the set up changes we have made. We tried various solutions and now we must study the data to draw the right conclusions. The tyres worked as we had expected them to: the softer ones seem to offer more performance. I think we are moving in the right direction."

Kimi Raikkonen: "When I went off the track at Turn 9, I clipped the kerb and the surface was a bit slippery there because of the rain. I ended up spinning and then hitting the barrier. Unfortunately, not only did the rear wing break, but the floor was also damaged and it could not be repaired in time. A shame as already earlier, when I had gone onto new tyres, it had begun raining and I lost a bit of time. Let's hope tomorrow morning there's no rain so that I can run more consistently in the dry. In the morning, apart from a few little electrical problems, the car wasn't bad. Tomorrow we will see what we can do and obviously the weather will be a key factor."

Luca Baldisserri: "Kimi's off track excursion meant we were unable to complete the full programme we had planned for him. His car was too damaged to be repaired within the time available. Even with the hiccoughs caused by the coming and going of the rain, for his part, Felipe was able to complete what we planned for him, picking up some very useful information. Allowing for the fact that track conditions were difficult to understand during these three hours and that temperatures were decidedly on the low side, I think we can be competitive."

-credit: ferrari