5/15/2007

Todt: Much Work To Do

Ferrari seems to have been bitten by some reliability problems this season.   Massa's gearbox problem in Australia and Raikkonen's early retirement in last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.  Ferrari boss Jean Todt is happy with Massa's victory but says there's still much work to do.
"Pole, victory and fastest lap - for the second consecutive race weekend, Felipe put in a flawless performance," enthused Todt.  "He was really great in a great Ferrari car. In the second part of the race, he drove impeccably to control the situation and bring home a wonderful win.  "But we had Kimi's retirement due to a problem in the wiring to the alternator.  "We know one of the indispensable ingredients for winning the championship is reliability and twice now it has been missing this season.
"So despite three wins and four pole positions, we are back to a following role in both classifications because of the great competitiveness of our main rivals.  "Right now this season is very hard to predict.   There is still a long way to go and much work to do to reach the objectives we have set ourselves.  "But we know what is required."
Remember that prior to the Schumacher era, Ferrari was always a mid-pack finisher, if they finished at all.  I think it was the great open wheel driver Rick Mears who said, "To finish first, you must first finish."

Credit sportinglife.com for the quote.