Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali warned against panicking Friday after the team’s performance in practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix increased expectation it will make its worst ever start to a Formula One season.
The Italian team showed no sign it will break out of its 2009 slump in Sunday’s race, with Felipe Massa finishing in 16th place and Kimi Raikkonen 18th on the time-sheets.
Ferrari faces the prospect of going through the opening four races of a season without a single point for the first time in its history, but Domenicali said the team is more determined than distraught.
“If we fall into the mistake of …Â Details
Italy’s Jarno Trulli claimed pole position for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix to lead a Toyota 1-2 on the front row at the Sakhir circuit.
Trulli clocked a time of one minute 33.431 seconds in the final qualifying session to edge out teammate Timo Glock.
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, who won the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai last week and championship leader Jenson Button in his Brawn GP, will start from the second row… Details & PicturesÂ
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso believes he still has a chance to challenge for a third drivers’ title despite struggling to compete so far this season.
The 27-year-old Spaniard said he is hoping for a strong points finish in this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix to back his feeling that Renault are making a rapid recovery in the race to catch Brawn GP and Red Bull.
“I feel we can still fight to win the championship, it is not too late,” he said. “The team has done …Â Details
A SLIPPERY rain-soaked circuit in Shanghai did Lewis Hamilton no favours in the third Formula 1 (F1) race this season. The young British world champion, who came sixth in the Chinese Grand Prix on April 19th, nonetheless praised the efforts of his McLaren team to boost the performance of his car back at their base in Woking. Workshops elsewhere in Britain were busy too: first and second places in Shanghai went to Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber of Red Bull Racing, headquartered in Milton Keynes. Jenson Button, of Brackley-based Brawn, came third. Six of the ten leading F1 teams are based in Britain.
Motor racing is a big British success story. From a motley collection of enthusiastic racers and specialist designers, a cottage industry has arisen …Â Details