Ferrari Strong In Malaysia


By Dale Calkins
March 17 2006

Ferrari were in the top ten today during the two friday practice sessions for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Felipe Massa, with his fresh engine did the majority of the running for the Scuderia and Michael Schumacher was on track for minimal set up work. Ferrari were in the top ten today during the two friday practice sessions for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Felipe Massa, with his fresh engine did the majority of the running for the Scuderia and Michael Schumacher was on track for minimal set up work.

Ferrari Strong In Malaysia

Dale Calkins
Michael Schumacher
FP 1: 6th - 1'37.043
FP 2: 7th - 1'36.617

Michael Schumacher was on track for minimal running today in Malaysia to try and conserve the mileage on his V8 engine. Schumacher was in the top ten in both sessions. Michael believes he will be competitive during qualifying and the race in Malaysia. Here is what the 7-Time World Champion had to say about his sessions:

"In general we’re pleased with the way things went during free practice. Towards the end of the session we managed to improve the balance of the car. As far as times are concerned, apart from what the third drivers do, who do a different job compared to the others, I think that the situation is quite clear. I could have been a bit quicker with my new tyres when I went out on my first run, but I lost a lot of time in a corner of the third sector. The consistency of the Bridgestone tyres looks pretty good, which of course is very important. The actual time recorded is of less importance at this stage because the times improve as the weekend progresses. I reckon that we’re competitive and that, like in Bahrain, here in Malaysia we can fight for pole position and for a win on Sunday."

Felipe Massa
FP 1: 7th - 1'37.557
FP 2: 4th - 1'35.924

With a fresh V8 engine, Felipe Massa conducted the majority of running for the Scuderia in free practice. Massa's second session saw him take the fourth fastest time, behind Anthony Davidson, Alexander Wurz and Fernando Alonso. This is what the young Brazilian had to say after his first day in Malaysia:

"I think it went very well. We worked for the race by doing quite a few long runs. The car went well both with used and new tyres and I am very pleased with our race pace. In my opinion we have a good car for the race. Qualifying will of course be a bit difficult for me because I have to pay the price for the engine change, but considering the pace we had during the long run, I think we’re in good shape for a good result on Sunday."

Ross Brawn
Technical Director

Ferrari's Technical Director Ross Brawn was pleased with today's running but admits there are things to be worked out on the 248 F1. Here is what Ross had to say:

"I’d say that it was a good day during which we made a really extensive assessment of the two Bridgestone tyres we had available. The overall balance of the 248 F1 is very good. There are a couple of details we need to sort out but we’ve got plenty of time to do it. The drivers were quite happy with the cars that looked very consistent."

March 17, 2006

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