Ferrari regains control

Things are getting back to normal at Ferrari, after an opening round of the season to forget. The two cars covered almost 650 km today, and monopolized the two best times in free practice. “It is still too early to know what our level of performance is compared to other teams, but today we offer a much better appearance,” concedes Stefano Domenicali, head of team management. Team Ferrari. “Reliability remains our primary objective. Again today we had an alert, if this had happened during the race the direct consequence would have been a retirement. We must remain calm and focused on the rest of the weekend, while knowing that we will have to fight to bring back a good result. »

Penalized in the morning by a KERS problem, Kimi Räikkönen did not let himself be destabilized and ended the day perfectly. “We had a feeling things were going to be different here compared to Melbourne, but it's too early to say where we are. What is certain is that when we have no problems, we are competitive. »

Felipe Massa agrees with the Finn. “The situation seems really different compared to Australia, at least in the way the tires work. There is more grip and the soft tires are more efficient, even over a long distance. Looking at the timesheet today, there is reason to be hopeful, even if we have to take it with caution. »

Räikkönen and Massa have no room for error. After a goalless score in Australia, they have no choice, they have to go for big points on Sunday.