Scuderia It is a cruel aspect of all sport that, after the event, all that is left are the statistics and, in the case of the last round of the Formula 1 World Championship in Monaco, those statistics show that Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro finished third and ninth. What those statistics do not show is that the race started with an all-red front row and that during the race, especially in the hands of Felipe Massa, the F2008 showed good pace and, in general terms, the Scuderia was far more competitive around the streets of the Principality than it had been in recent years. However, the team did a less than perfect job and made a couple of errors in terms of strategy, which is all part of the game in Formula 1. Also on the positive side, the new methodology and approach the team applied to the race weekend as a whole paid dividends and this will be continued over the coming three days of running in Montreal. The result of the 2007 Canadian GP was poor, chiefly because of problems in qualifying, even if the race pace was acceptable, although compromised by the inevitable Montreal Safety Car period. Prior to the Monaco race, all the teams had one day's testing on the "Canada-spec" layout at the Paul Ricard circuit, however the day was pretty much washed out by rain and so there are no real indicators of who has done the best preparation work for what is the first low downforce configuration circuit on the calendar. So far this year, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has been competitive at all types of track and the team has enjoyed great success on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the past, even if it has not won here for the past three years: there have been eleven wins here for the Prancing Horse and Kimi Raikkonen won with another team in 2005. This race has always been one of the most popular on the calendar, particularly so for the Ferrari team, who can always count on extensive and very vocal support from the large Italian community in Montreal and we can be sure of at least one Ferrari victory this weekend, as the F430 car has its own one-make series, the North American Ferrari Challenge running as a support race to the main event! The circuit itself is unusual, offering all the usual challenges of a high speed road circuit, but with little in the way of run-off at the side of the track on the cramped confines of the island. This also means facilities have not been the best, with cramped working conditions for the teams, although this year there have been modifications to the track itself, with the unforgiving kerbs smoothed out and team areas also improved. Logistically, there is a change this year as the usual additional workload of dealing with an overseas race is further complicated by the fact that everything has to be packed up and flown back to Europe for the French GP, which is now the next round, rather than going on to the traditional appointment in the USA. As for the F2008, they are basically the same as used on the streets of Monaco, barring small modifications to suit the low downforce nature of the track. This will be the second race for both engines and gearboxes: engines did not get a very hard time a fortnight ago on the lowest mileage track of the year and the Monegasque rain also means the power plants did not get put under any undue strain, even if the street circuit is quite tough on transmissions. Braking is an issue in Montreal, with tight corners following high speed straights and evaluating brake cooling and the effect on the brakes of running with heavy fuel loads will be a key area to watch during Friday's free practice sessions. Two factors mean one can predict an exciting Sunday afternoon: the fact the track layout is conducive to overtaking and its location, in an exposed area near the ocean also makes for changeable weather with the chance of a sudden downpour at any time. Indeed, current weather forecasts predict a good chance of rain on race day. In terms of the Championships, the Scuderia still heads the Constructors' classification, while four drivers are all very close at the top of the Drivers' points table. The fact that Raikkonen has now slipped off the top position shows just how closely contested is this year's fight and just how costly a "zero points" finish like the one in Monaco can be. Everyone in the team at the track and the Gestione Sportiva back in Maranello is keen to ensure Montreal reaps more points than Monaco. Massa Over a week after finishing third in Monaco, I am home in Brazil and with hindsight can see all the positive aspects of that race, which given that I started it from pole, could be seen as disappointing. But the most positive element to come out of it is that we proved that the Ferrari F2008 was definitely competitive there; the first time that has been the case for a few years now. Before going to Monaco, we could not be completely certain how the race would go after the disappointments of the last two years. While the facts show just one third place, it's entirely believable to say we could have won on the street circuit if the race had been run in normal conditions. I'm not saying we would have won easily, but victory would have been the logical conclusion to the weekend. In the end, we lost in what turned out to be a crazy race, given that we started from first and second on the grid with the best possible strategy. It's clear we are up against two very strong opponents in McLaren and, even if they have not actually won a race yet, BMW. It's all getting very close and exciting and shows you need to pick up points in every race. So the six points we got in Monaco is not enough, but it's not bad and the fight for both championships is still very open. Soon, I will be leaving home here in Sao Paolo where I have enjoyed a few days with my family and friends and heading off to Montreal. Based on what I've just said about Monaco, we can be optimistic about turning this event, which also has not gone too well for us in the past, into a successful weekend. At first sight, the twisty Monaco street circuit and the Montreal track have little in common but in fact, there are plenty of similarities. To start with, they both have a low grip surface that is usually very green and dirty at the start of the weekend. Like Monaco, we use very soft tyres there and also like Monaco, you need a car with good traction and stability; a very efficient car with good mechanical grip. I like the Canadian circuit and I went well there earlier in my career, finishing fourth for Sauber in 2005. Last year was not so good, as I had that incident with the traffic light at the end of pit lane, and it was not a nice feeling leaving Canada having been black flagged during the race. It's an interesting track and all the teams will be in the same position of having had our "Montreal track" test day at the Ricard track wiped out by rain in the pre-Monaco test. I love the city and the atmosphere and I am looking forward to having a nice time there both on and off the track. There is plenty of support for Ferrari in this city and we also have a round of a Ferrari one-make series as a support race. It's nice to see a field of Ferrari road cars charging around a race track! I've got hardly any experience of racing anything with a roof, although I competed in two Super Touring races for Alfa Romeo back in 2001. In one race I crashed, but in the second one, I finished fifth and did what I had been brought in to do, namely help my team mate win the championship. It was good fun, as first time out, I qualified in front of my team-mates! Qualifying in front of the nineteen other cars in the field on Saturday afternoon would also be a good start to this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix. Raikkonen "The preparations specifically for the Canadian GP were planned for the last day at Le Castellet, where we had some tests. Unfortunately it rained that day and we couldn't do much; but we're all on the same level now." "Ferrari has a great tradition in Canada and I expect that it will be really balanced there. The qualifying is more and more important, thus it's fundamental to work well right from the start of the weekend to have a great car with the best setup possible. At Monaco the distances were extremely small and the first five cars had a gap of two tenths of a second. At Montreal the stability during braking and when you go over the curbs is extremely important." "The F2008 improved a lot in these areas compared to last year's car. Obviously we have to wait until the first free practice session on Friday to get it confirmed. I don't remember a GP, which hadn't been neutralized and I expect that also for next Sunday. If that happens we have to be really cautious with our strategy, because of the balance in the field. With the actual rules luck is really important under these circumstances if you want to win. Well, let's hope that if the safety car has to be employed it will be at an opportune moment for us." "I said at the beginning of the season that I expect the title to be assigned at the last moment. A third of the season has passed, we have 35 points and we are on the second place. It's more or less what I expected. Nothing has been won and nothing has been lost. There is no point in panicking after the race at Monaco, because compared to last year the situation is much better. I won't change anything in my approach for the upcoming weekend. The designated target is to win and we will give our best."
