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The French Grand
Prix has been a permanent uninterrupted fixture on the
Formula 1 calendar since the World Championship began in
1950 and the first win for a car bearing the Prancing Horse
emblem came two years later courtesy of Alberto Ascari.
Traditionally, this has been a successful event for the
Scuderia, with a total of 16 wins on French soil, seven
since 1997, including a one-two finish for Kimi Raikkonen
and Felipe Massa last year. Another more recent tradition is
speculation that the Gallic race will lose its place on the
calendar, but whatever opinions people hold regarding the
rural out of the way location of Magny-Cours, the tradition
of maintaining continuity of the famous "Grandes Epreuves"
is an important historical element worth preserving
alongside the move to more modern venues.
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro arrives in France having picked up
just a meagre ten points from the last two races. This
sounds a familiar tale after the Monaco and Canada Grands
Prix, which had not been strong races for the team in the
past, but this year, while admitting to some minor mistakes
from within the team, it's fair to say that bad luck and
Safety Cars had something to do with the lack of points,
because car performance certainly wasn't lacking. The
frustration at failing to capitalise on the potential of the
F2008 is tempered by the strengthened confidence that the
team is currently moving in the right direction.
Last week, long time Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer spent
three profitable days at the wheel at the Barcelona test.
Apart from a couple of technical glitches and some time lost
to rain, it was a success. "It was a generally positive
test," commented the Scuderia's official test driver. "We
were able to work continuously and without any major
technical problems. We saw interesting results from some new
components, which might prove useful in the forthcoming
races. On top of that, we also got through everything we had
planned in terms of engine reliability work. Today, I am
back in the cockpit at our home track, Fiorano, to carry out
the shakedown of our Magny-Cours race cars, with both of
them getting new engines for the start of another two race
cycle."
On past form, Raikkonen and Massa should be aiming for a win
on Sunday, however this year, the clichés that certain
circuits are "Ferrari tracks" or "McLaren tracks" for
example do not seem to hold true. While we have worked on
improving our weak points which saw our upturn in
performance in Monaco and Montreal, it can be assumed that
our rivals will also have looked at our strengths and upped
their game for the forthcoming race at Magny-Cours. In
general terms therefore, the competition has been much more
closely balanced at every track this year. With performance
levels so close, teams really have to do a perfect job to
make the difference and this is particularly relevant on the
reliability front, as has been seen in the case of BMW. The
German team might not have quite the ultimate speed of the
other two top teams, however they have proved that running
reliably and scoring consistently can be the key factor,
hence the fact that Kubica currently heads the Drivers'
classification.
The Magny-Cours track has several peculiarities: it boasts
an incredibly smooth surface, it is very temperature
sensitive, in that an increase or decrease in temperature of
just a couple of degrees can have a significant effect on
tyre performance, although now that the sport is a one-make
series in terms of rubber, this is less of a factor. In a
championship where one or two pit stops has become the norm,
the French track does offer additional strategic
possibilities as it has a very short pit lane, thus reducing
the overall time taken for a stop. This fact was borne out
in 2004, when Michael Schumacher took the win, visiting the
pits no less than four times! Waiting for the pit stops is
not the only method of moving up the order as the hairpin
and the entrance to the chicane afford a couple of genuine
passing opportunities.
Both Kimi and Felipe will get some track time outside of the
usual F1 timetable as this weekend, they continue the
tradition of the past couple of years of giving a pair of
lucky members of the public flying laps of the track in a
Ferrari 599 cars. The passengers will be winners of a
competition run by the ICM charity set up by among others,
Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher, to carry out research into
spinal injuries. Kimi will take a final winner around on
race day just before the driver parade.
The French Grand Prix takes place just one week after
another famous race was held in France; the Le Mans 24
Hours. In the GT2 class, the Ferrari F430 took the top four
places, with a Risi Competizione car standing on the top
step of the podium. With only two cars at its disposal,
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro will find that feat impossible to
repeat but, as usual, the target will be to see its two
drivers on the podium this Sunday afternoon.
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