Ferrari: "An eventful summer"

Judging by the tanned faces of the Ferrari Sports Management staff, the experiment of introducing an official holiday period into F1 seems to have been successful, at least from a human point of view! This forced holiday has come at the right time of the season, considering that the calendar now features two Grands Prix in ten days and that it is the time of the year when the development of the 2010 car proceeds apace, which means a tough load work for everyone. In any case, the days that followed the Hungarian Grand Prix were more intense than expected for the Press Office and for the managers who had to deal with the repercussions of Felipe Massa's accident during qualifying. The process of finding a replacement for the Brazilian was the press's favorite topic, which ultimately led official test driver Luca Badoer to show up at the appointment. Over the last weekend, Sports Management Director Stefano Domenicali made a quick visit to Brazil, where he spent several hours with Felipe, whose recovery is progressing very well. He is eager to get back behind the wheel as soon as possible, although he is fully aware that he must be patient and wait for the treatment to take effect. He and Domenicali recorded a special video message for all members of the Gestion Sportiva, which was shown to the team today. Beyond all this, Kimi Raikkonen also made headlines with his participation in the World Rally Championship of Finland at the end of July and beginning of August. He was happy with the experience.

Now that Badoer is fully part of the lineup, on Monday and Tuesday he took part in a promotional event in Fiorano, in order to carry out a report on him in the racing context. As required by the sporting testing regulations, the Italian completed no more than 100 kilometers per day at the wheel of the F60, which was fitted with demonstration tyres. The creation of the film allowed Luca to get used to the car again, with which he had only managed to complete a few kilometers this year. The factory closure meant that Badoer couldn't even speak to the race engineers and this was another big problem to deal with over the last two days. He spent a few days in the static simulator to get a general impression of the Valencia street circuit. “I am very motivated to take advantage of this opportunity, even though I know that I am facing a very tough challenge, especially regarding the first two days in Valencia” said Luca. “It will actually be like a test session for me, but I will do my best to get a good result. I have to say that my first thought when I get on the track will be for Felipe, because I was really scared when I saw his accident. I'm happy that he is recovering well and I hope that he will be back on track as soon as possible. I must also add that I am also thinking of Michael, because I have been training with him in recent weeks, and I know how much he wanted to get back on track and how much effort he made to prepare as best as possible. Even though his decision gave me the great opportunity to race for the Scuderia, I feel very sorry for him, because not only are we friends, but I am a great admirer of him. Finally, I want to reiterate my gratitude to Luca di Montezemolo and Stefano Domenicali for giving me the opportunity to make my childhood dream come true."

All the teams have a limited amount of data regarding the Valencia circuit, having raced here only once and it is very unusual for a street circuit, because the cars reach higher speeds and there are many more ' escape routes compared to Monaco and Singapore. Although the factory remains closed, the F60 will still have new components, compared to the configuration seen in Budapest. As a result of aerodynamic work and testing conducted prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix, the car will feature changes to the front and rear wings and diffuser. Although any type of technical work has been prohibited during the break, it is not illegal for engineers and technicians to spend some time during the holidays talking about the car and how to improve it. And considering their "racing" DNA it's hard to imagine them doing anything else! It is hoped that thanks to the aerodynamic updates and their mental work, the evolution that led to the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro podiums in the last two races will continue for the next races. It is a tough task for the team to carry out, given that they have a very limited period to prepare for the European Grand Prix and that immediately afterwards there is a long transfer and only four days to prepare for the Spa-Francorchamps race . In fact, on a logistical level, transfers to Europe for two consecutive races are more difficult to deal with than two consecutive races "overseas" due to the extra work in organizing transporters and motorhomes. In any case, it is the competition on the track that represents the most demanding challenge, as the two teams currently leading the standings must be very strong, while other teams in the meantime are showing signs of recovery.

As established in the previous two races, the Scuderia will do its best to achieve its current objective, which is to finish third in this year's Constructors' Championship.