Ferrari vow to learn from mistakes

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has warned yesterday’s British Grand Prix was littered with mistakes the Scuderia “cannot afford to repeat” in the second half of the season.

Both of the team’s drivers, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, encountered problems in treacherous wet conditions at Silverstone while title rival Lewis Hamilton eased to a dominant victory in front of a jubilant home crowd.

A costly tyre gamble at the first round of pit stops compromised the charge of Raikkonen, who had been battling for the lead with the McLaren of Hamilton up to that point.

Ferrari elected to keep the Finn on his original set of intermediate tyres, expecting no more rain would fall over the Silverstone circuit.

Down at McLaren, Hamilton was given a fresh set of intermediates, which came into their own when the heavens opened only three laps later.

Massa, meanwhile, endured a nightmare race, spinning five times before trailing home last of the 13 finishers.

“A Sunday to forget as quickly as possible in terms of the result, although we must remember certain elements of this weekend, as there were mistakes made that we cannot afford to repeat,” admitted Domenicali.

“We could have won this race with Kimi but we made a key mistake at the first pit stop, choosing to stay on the same set of tyres.

“The rain did not ease off and lasted longer and our drivers – Felipe had also gone for the same choice – found themselves in difficulty.

“With hindsight it’s easy to say we should have changed tyres, but Formula One is not an exact science. Sometimes strategic choices pay off and sometimes they don’t.

“All the same, we have to admit that, this weekend, we did not operate to our usual standard. We made mistakes at every level and even our performance did not match our expectations and now we have to work out why, but calmly without panicking.”

Raikkonen recovered to finish fourth at the chequered flag, good for five points that see the reigning champion pull level at the top of the drivers’ standings on 48 points alongside Massa and Hamilton.

“Both our drivers are on equal points in the lead with one other driver in the drivers’ classification and we head the constructors’ championship,” Domenicali added.

“We have lost a few opportunities to pick up a greater number of points, but we always knew this would be a very closely contested championship.”

Raikkonen, meanwhile, refused to point the finger of blame at the team despite the call to stay on the same set of tyres coming from the pit wall.

“It was a team decision,” he said. “We make decisions together and sometimes you get it right. Unfortunately today, it was one of those that could have gone in either direction.

“We win and we lose as a team. Sometimes we make the wrong decisions. But I don’t complain to the team and they don’t complain to me.”

Massa, who suffered a huge accident in practice on Friday, felt the difficult conditions at Silverstone masked the true pace of the Ferrari.

“We know that we are competitive,” he said. “We are level in the championship, so we just need to continue working like we have been up to now.”