Thursday news round-up
Ferrari allowed Kimi to leave earlyKimi Raikkonen has insisted he had Ferrari's permission to leave the circuit early on Sunday after being knocked out of the race with an electrical problem. The Finn said he obtained permission to leave early and...
Ferrari allowed Kimi to leave early
Kimi Raikkonen has insisted he had Ferrari's permission to leave the circuit early on Sunday after being knocked out of the race with an electrical problem. The Finn said he obtained permission to leave early and immediately flew home to watch Finland play in the ice hockey final.
"I arrived home in Wollerau in time to see the final stages of the Ice Hockey World Championship final, but Finland lost to Canada, " he said.
May 13 was certainly a bad luck day for him.
Renault encouraged
Renault have been encouraged by their performance in Spain last Sunday, where rookie Heikki Kovalainen had the fourth best laptime. Engineering director Pat Symonds said the team is grappling with an aerodynamics problem but seemed to be getting to grips with it. The team has practically given up on retaining the championship but is eyeing third place, currently held by BMW.
Red Bull getting stronger
The Sunday race was also a source of encouragement for David Couthard who drove his Red Bull to fifth despite gearbox gremlins. The Scot told Autosport he was looking forward to the Monaco race – which he has won twice with McLaren and also obtained the first podium for Red Bull last year. However he really expects Red Bull to gain wings next year, by which time the design team will have settled down and the team will be in a better position to make use of the data available to it.
Massa confident
Felipe Massa has also expressed confidence for the Monaco race. The Brazilian has never done well in that race so far, but he is hoping it will complete a hatrick of wins for him this year. He was sixth in testing on Tuesday but came second on Wednesday, only fractionally behind pacesetter Lewis Hamilton.
Kimi Raikkonen has insisted he had Ferrari's permission to leave the circuit early on Sunday after being knocked out of the race with an electrical problem. The Finn said he obtained permission to leave early and immediately flew home to watch Finland play in the ice hockey final.
"I arrived home in Wollerau in time to see the final stages of the Ice Hockey World Championship final, but Finland lost to Canada, " he said.
May 13 was certainly a bad luck day for him.
Renault encouraged
Renault have been encouraged by their performance in Spain last Sunday, where rookie Heikki Kovalainen had the fourth best laptime. Engineering director Pat Symonds said the team is grappling with an aerodynamics problem but seemed to be getting to grips with it. The team has practically given up on retaining the championship but is eyeing third place, currently held by BMW.
Red Bull getting stronger
The Sunday race was also a source of encouragement for David Couthard who drove his Red Bull to fifth despite gearbox gremlins. The Scot told Autosport he was looking forward to the Monaco race – which he has won twice with McLaren and also obtained the first podium for Red Bull last year. However he really expects Red Bull to gain wings next year, by which time the design team will have settled down and the team will be in a better position to make use of the data available to it.
Massa confident
Felipe Massa has also expressed confidence for the Monaco race. The Brazilian has never done well in that race so far, but he is hoping it will complete a hatrick of wins for him this year. He was sixth in testing on Tuesday but came second on Wednesday, only fractionally behind pacesetter Lewis Hamilton.