Ferrari orders probe into lack of pace
"Ferrari alarm," the sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport exclaimed, after the F2008 proved no match for Lewis Hamilton's McLaren at Hockenheim.
"The team from Maranello could only defend and never attack as it suffered its heaviest defeat of the year," the newspaper said.
After another second-rate performance at Silverstone two weeks earlier, Montezemolo said he did not want to see any more "stupid mistakes" as Ferrari tries to retain its crowns of 2007.
The Italian told his country's press on Monday: "We need to understand why we were slower in Germany as never before this year."
07/20/08 Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali was at a loss to explain the team’s lack of pace in the German Grand Prix and said a thorough investigation would be undertaken to understand the reasons for it.
The Italian squad was trounced by McLaren at Hockenheim on Sunday, with Lewis Hamilton winning from pole position while Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen finished third and sixth respectively.
“This was not a good day and there’s no point denying it," said Domenicali. Our rivals were stronger than us and we have to work out why, without however getting caught up in nebulous and superficial analysis.
“For the first time this season in a race, we did not have the pace we had expected to run at, with both Kimi and Felipe.
“We suffered constantly from a lack of grip and in the final stages Felipe’s brakes were also overheating, which complicated still further the management of his car.
“The safety car offered us the opportunity to give it another go and, all things considered, I think we made the right choice in terms of strategy.
“But when your pace is inadequate, it is difficult to get a good result.
“We have to work well over the coming days to react in the right manner to return to the level we were at just two races ago."
[Editor's Note: Michael Schumacher has not been testing for the team lately and they are falling off the pace. What made the retired champion so great was his ability to communicate with the engineers as to what the car was doing and what it needed. Last year Schumacher tested more for the team and they won the world title. This year he tested once in the off-season and the team started the year out strong. In this area Raikkonen and Massa are inferior, so don't be surprised if Ferrari does invite Schumacher back to test in the near future. He is their only hope.]