Luck And Tactics Pays Off For Ferrari At Montreal

By Dale Calkins
June 26 2006

Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa claimed 2nd and 5th respectively at yesterday's Canadian Grand Prix, through luck and good tactics. While both drivers pushed hard they benefitted greatly from other driver's misfortunes.

Luck And Tactics Pays Off For Ferrari At Montreal	Dale Calkins
Michael Schumacher Race 2nd + 0'02.111 Michael Schumacher, starting 5th immediately lost out to Nico Rosberg due to the 248 F1's poor start. Schumacher then had to skip over the grass to avoid Juan Pablo Montoya, losing the place to the Columbian. Rosberg and Montoya would have a coming together on the next lap which allowed Michael to get back around both of them with Rosberg in the wall and Montoya in the pits. Schumacher would continue to push hard, despite carrying more fuel than his rivals, and eventually catch up to Jarno Trulli. Trulli as usual was slow in the race despite a high starting position and would hold up Schumacher for several laps. Michael would then drop back from Trulli and into the clutches of Giancarlo Fisichella who served a drive-through penalty for jump starting the race. Then out of nowhere Michael closed in on Trulli and Trulli let the German ace through as he felt bad for slowing him up earlier. Schumacher continued to circulate eventually putting the pressure on Kimi Raikkonen who would make a huge mistake on the second to last lap to allow Schumacher to claim second behind Fernando Alonso. Certainly Schumacher drove a strong race but he benefitted greatly from Rosberg, Montoya, Fisichella and Raikkonen's misfortunes. Here is what the 7-Time World Champion had to say about his race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve: "Today was about damage limitation. Second place is the best we could do in a race that was already complicated by my grid position and was made even harder by what was definitely a far from perfect start, which forced me to be stuck behind Trulli for many laps. The safety car and Kimi’s mistake towards the end helped me to make up a place. It was a very hard race, especially as it was very difficult to drive: you only had to stray off the ideal line by a tiny amount and you ran the risk of ending up off the track, as the track was so dirty and the track surface was breaking up. Towards half distance, I lightly touched the wall at the exit to the final corner, but luckily the car was not at all damaged. We must not give up and I know we won’t, starting already next weekend in Indianapolis, where tyre performance will be crucial." Felipe Massa Race5th + 0'25.172 Felipe Massa managed to be the final car on the lead lap after a strong run and excellent strategy. Massa began the race in 10th, and did not gain any ground until his first and only pit stop. His one stop strategy played out superbly and the Brazilian was able to capitalize on other's troubles and take 5th. Here is what the Brazilian had to say about his drive: "I am happy with the outcome of today’s race, both with my result and with Michael’s. These are important points in both championships. We had chosen a different strategy to the others, based on just one stop to refuel and change tyres. Even with a heavy fuel load, the car and tyres performed well and I was able to run a competitive pace. Only after the safety car did I feel a slight lack of grip, but in this particular situation, we were in much better shape than yesterday." Ross Brawn Technical Director Ferrari's Technical Director Ross Brawn, was pleased with today's race result but obviously wanted more. This is what Ross had to say about the Canadian Prix: "Overall, this weekend we were simply not quick enough to overtake our main rivals. We have to make an extra effort to close the gap that separates us from them. The final safety car helped us, allowing Michael to make up a further place and limit the damage in the classification. It was a shame Michael had to spend so many laps behind Trulli. It was frustrating as our driver could run at a much higher pace, as we saw when he was able to push with a clear track ahead of him. The Bridgestone tyres worked well during the race, which is what we’d expected. As the saying goes, “never give up,” and we will stick to that saying!"
June 26, 2006
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