Ferrari preview the Monaco GP

Wednesday 21st May 2008

Ferrari are hopeful they can break their seven-year drought at Monaco over the weekend.

Kimi Raikkonen: "For me every race is important for the Championship. But as a race there is nothing like the Monaco GP. To race in the Principality is really different from everywhere else: it is really difficult to have a perfect weekend here. When you manage it you know the great feeling you get by winning the race here. The race in Monaco is the race. It's a legend amongst all the races. My success here in 2005 is maybe the most memorable of all my races. So to win it again would be just as special. The streets of Monte Carlo are very twisty and narrow and you have to be very precise and concentrated on every single metre you go. This year there is even less room for an error now that we don't have the traction control anymore, especially when it's wet.

"In Turkey we missed the most important practice session. This time we hope that we can work without any problems. Especially with everybody being so close, especially in the qualifying. It's very important to make a fast lap. Overtaking is almost impossible, so the car has to be set up really well. It feels great to make a fast lap here in Monaco, but to do that you need to be in the front. It's important to qualify well. In Monaco this is a priority. I always try to get the Pole, because this is the best option for the fight to win the race.

"Last week we had a test at Le Castellet and it went very well. We tried a few new components and improved the set up. The car is stronger at this type of circuit - slow and bendy - compared to last year. I think that Ferrari has made a big step forward in the areas where we weren't strong last year.

"It's always a great atmosphere here in Monaco for the fans and the spectators who enjoy the race weekend 100%. For the teams and us drivers it's not that easy. There's lots of confusion and we don't have any own space to calm down a bit. That makes the challenge even bigger. You have to concentrate even more on the details. I always aim to win and that's my goal here at the weekend at Monaco. We do our best to get the maximum points in every race.

"Difficult to say how it will go in the end. Ferrari will be very competitive, but there's also McLaren and BMW. Having said that Monaco can always be good for a surprise; it's the most open of all the races this year. Last year we only got one point here in Monaco. I wasn't happy that day. But in the end it was a very precious point for me."

Felipe Massa: "In a couple of days, I'll be on track for the first practice of the Monaco Grand Prix. I have to say I am looking forward to that, because my testing at the Paul Ricard circuit last week did not go particularly well as heavy rain affected my day of running. I was supposed to be working on the Montreal settings for the F2008, but I only managed three laps in the dry on old tyres before it began to rain. I did 15 laps in the wet, but it was very difficult to do anything meaningful. But at least the team got the two days before that running in Monaco configuration with Kimi and the results look reasonable.

"It will not be an easy race this weekend and we can expect McLaren to be strong as usual, although I think we can be on the pace too. But we have to wait and see what happens on Thursday because it is difficult to say what we can expect from ourselves and the opposition. Even if we ran on the short track at Ricard, designed to simulate some aspects of Monaco, it still is not the real thing. Monaco is unique and impossible to recreate exactly the same track characteristics, so there are some unknown factors going into the weekend.

"In general, I think the Scuderia is in better shape than it was before this race twelve months ago. I hope so as well! But you never know. Last year, even though I finished on the podium in third place, it was not what I would consider a good race because we were a long way off the pace of the McLaren, so I am looking forward to being stronger this year. One unknown as usual is the weather and the forecast is predicting rain at various times over the race weekend. Rain at Monaco makes it a big, big lottery and it is impossible to predict anything and without any electronic driver aids such as traction control, it will be even harder.

"I have to admit that this is not one of my favourite circuits. In terms of driving pleasure, I prefer the fast flowing places like Turkey, Bahrain and Barcelona for example. But that does not mean we cannot be strong here. We will prepare as well as possible and try and bring home as many points as possible. You always find tracks you like more than others, but this does not mean you cannot be competitive at those you are not so keen on.

"One thing I really do like about Monaco is that I can stay at home every night. It is really good and as I live quite close to the track it does not take me long to get to the pits in the morning. I really enjoy returning home, which makes a pleasant change from all the hotels we stay in throughout the year."

Stefano Domenicali - team principal: "We have not won here for seven years, so it would be good to reverse that trend this year. For the last six of those years, a Ferrari has been the fastest car on track, but this has still not been enough to win. In fact, even in the years when we really dominated the season, such as 2002 and '04, we have been unable to secure the top slot, in the case of the latter year, because of that unusual collision between Michael and Montoya in the tunnel during a Safety Car period.

"This is always such a difficult event, but nevertheless we go there with the intention of winning, although well aware that it might not be possible, because of so many random events that can happen in the streets of Monaco, such as the weather, the possible intervention of the Safety Car and naturally, the importance of getting everything right in qualifying the day before."

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