Ferrari are having their worst start to a season since 1981 but they are unlikely to make any major improvements to their car until Formula One returns to Europe after next weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. The Italian team failed to win a point for the third successive race since the start of the season in Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, leaving the champions bottom of the standings and drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen seething with frustration.
The Brazilian lapped 0.151s quicker than team mate Michael Schumacher in free testing at the Italian Grand Prix.
Formula One champions Ferrari experienced their worst start to a season in 17 years when a risky gamble backfired at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix. The Italian team were left searching for answers after failing to score a single point in the opening race of the championship for the first time since the South African Grand Prix in 1992.
Rediff readers debate the controversies surrounding Formula One.
Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton ended Ferrari's domination of French Grand Prix practice with the fastest time in Saturday's final session.
Britain's Lewis Hamilton seized his first win for Mercedes in a sweltering Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday while Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel moved 38 points clear in the Formula One championship despite finishing third.
Ferrari have by far the best record at a circuit named after their late great Gilles Villeneuve, with 10 wins there since 1978.
McLaren: Raikkonen produced a brilliant race with a two-stop strategy.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton gave his Formula One title hopes a huge boost when he took pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday with his main rival Felipe Massa of Ferrari qualifying third.
Lewis Hamilton told a F1 appeal court that he had gained no advantage from a chicane-cutting controversy that cost him victory in this month's Belgian Grand Prix.
Force India, without a point in their debut Formula One season, achieved a modest but noteworthy first on Saturday when they reached the second phase of qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. Giancarlo Fisichella will start his home race from 12th on the grid on Sunday after mastering the wet qualifying conditions better than world champion Kimi Raikkonen and championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who were 14th and 15th respectively.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was stripped of victory in a thrilling Belgian Grand Prix after stewards decided he had gained an advantage by cutting a chicane during a last-gasp duel with Kimi Raikkonen.
Ferrari's on-form Felipe Massa set the pace in Belgian Grand Prix free practice on Friday while world champion team mate Kimi Raikkonen again looked out of sorts.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa was quickest on Thursday's final day of Formula One testing for next week's German Grand Prix at Hockenheim while Giancarlo Fisichella crashed heavily in his Force India. The Brazilian, level on 48 points with world champion team mate Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton at the halfway point in the season, was the only driver to lap inside one minute 15 seconds with a best time of 1:14.989.
'I don't think the departure of Schumacher or (technical director Ross) Brawn will change much,' said the Toyota driver.
Force India began the European leg of the Formula One season on a promising note as both its drivers notched up top 10 finishes in the second practice session ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. Fisichella was 17th on the timesheet in the first practice session while Sutil was 16th. In the afternoon, both bettered their timing, Fisichella finishing ninth, just ahead of his younger German teammate. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was fastest in both sessions.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa needs to repeat last year's dominant victory in Bahrain on Sunday to silence his critics after a poor start to the Formula One season. While McLaren's Lewis Hamilton leads the standings with 14 points, three clear of Ferrari's World champion Kimi Raikkonen and BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, Brazilian Massa is yet to score.
Struggling Ferrari stand-in Luca Badoer says it would be 'absurd' for the Formula One champions to replace him ahead of his home Grand Prix at Monza next week. Badoer, 38, has qualified and crossed the line last in the two races he has started as replacement for injured Brazilian Felipe Massa.
Finnish team mate Heikki Kovalainen second quickest on the second day of Formula One's final pre-season test.
Kimi Raikkonen will be rallying in Finland and championship leader Jenson Button competing in a triathlon this weekend while their Formula One teams shut up shop for two weeks.
Kimi Raikkonen slips into an ice car specially designed to mark the 40th anniversary of McLaren Mercedes
World champion Sebastian Vettel finally tasted Formula One success on home soil after a composed victory in Sunday's German Grand Prix although safety worries again rocked the sport after a series of incidents.
Lewis Hamilton will have to pay $335,700 for his licence to race in Formula One in 2008.
The time sheet for Sunday's Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix.
Force India signed off its three-day testing in Valencia in style, with its Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella completing 96 laps and clocking just under two seconds behind time-sheet topper Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari.
"The reality check is a race weekend so there is nowhere to hide from that," said the Scot.
The Renault driver scored his second victory in three races to extend his lead in the Formula One world championship to 14 points.
The cancellation came as no surprise, with the race recognised as being uncertain by Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali in a Liberty Media third-quarter earnings call with analysts this month.
Ferrari's new champion Kimi Raikkonen was fourth on the timesheets.
A year on from what remains the greatest and cruellest day of his Formula One career, Force India's Adrian Sutil is still haunted by Monaco Grand Prix memories.
The German's future remains uncertain even if he has said repeatedly that he expects to be in Formula One next season.
Felipe Massa took pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix on Saturday with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton taking second place.
The 22-year-old McLaren driver needed to win or finish ahead of team mate Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen at the Chinese Grand Prix to win the world title but his race ended when he slid off the asphalt and into the gravel when approaching the pit lane.
Fernando Alonso believes this year's world title race ended when stewards decided not to punish McLaren team mate Lewis Hamilton.
The 22-year-old Briton will line up alongside Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen on the front row for Sunday's race.
Ferrari boss Jean Todt has ruled out any prospect of Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso moving to the team from McLaren next year.
Lewis Hamilton took pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix for the second year in a row on Saturday with Ferrari's championship leader Sebastian Vettel alongside the Mercedes driver on the front row.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances