Ferrari: Away from Melbourne without any points and with a double retirement

K. Raikkonen: 16th 1:28.59.301 3 laps 55 laps 276 chassis

F. Massa: R 1:12.45.106 – 45 laps 275 chassis

Weather: air temperature 22/21 °C, asphalt temperature 31/26 °C, sun.

No points scored for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro in the Australian Grand Prix, opening race of the 2009 season. Kimi Raikkonen was classified in sixteenth place after retiring on lap 55 due to a differential problem while Felipe Massa definitively returned to the garage on lap 45 due to the broken left front hub carrier.

Stefano Domenicali: “It was a start that was certainly not up to par with Ferrari, from every point of view. We were lacking in terms of reliability, with two cars forced to retire. Our performance was lower than the potential we expected to have after the winter tests: we had difficulty managing the tyres. Furthermore, the strategic choices did not work, particularly regarding Felipe. In summary, it was a day to forget from the point of view of the result but to keep in mind to try to analyze everything that didn't work and make sure to improve it straight away. In this sense, it's good that there is a race to race immediately, next week in Malaysia. We will have the opportunity to react, provided we examine reality carefully, with great serenity but, at the same time, with decision. Australia doesn't seem to be very favorable to us in recent years: this is a somewhat atypical circuit, where perhaps the balance of power isn't very clear. The situation will be clearer in Sepang but we are certainly aware that, apart from a team that is out of reach today, there are also other opponents who are as strong as they are numerous.”

Felipe Massa: “We knew that the Brawn GPs would be unattainable today but we still thought we would have a good race. The start was excellent but, after five or six laps, I had a problem with the soft tyres, so much so that I had to bring forward the first stop. So we switched to a very aggressive strategy, a choice which, in retrospect, proved to be wrong also because the safety car came onto the track shortly after the pit stop. I found myself third but, after the restart, I had less than ten laps to try to gain ground on those who were behind me but had more fuel. At the second stop I filled up but then I was very slow and, finally, the problem came that forced me to retire. In my opinion, apart from the Brawn GPs, we are competitive but we have to work perfectly to be at the front. Here it was very difficult to make the tires work also because the asphalt doesn't offer much grip. The recipe for Malaysia? Work, work hard.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “When I ended up against the wall it was my mistake. It's a shame because, in light of what happened afterwards, I could have finished in second place. We lost some precious points but we will try to make up for it in Malaysia. There we will have a clearer picture of the situation because this circuit is not very indicative. KERS worked well at the start but there wasn't much room to go: if we didn't think it helped we wouldn't use it. We certainly had the biggest problem in managing the tires but we also need to improve our performance overall.”

Luca Baldisserri: “We chose to start with the softer tyres, a gamble that didn't pay off today because, given the enormous degradation that both riders were experiencing, we had to bring forward the first stop. We switched to two different strategies: with Felipe, in retrospect, we took the wrong direction also because neutralization didn't help him. Regardless of these considerations, we must admit that today we performed worse than many of our opponents. We must understand the reasons and react immediately, starting from Malaysia."