Formula 1’s debut at the new Yas Marina circuit did not produce any change in Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro’s situation, not that there was any reason to expect it. The Maranello based squads are currently in a  battle with McLaren for third place in the constructors championship and while their rivals had a strong day finishing at the top of the timesheets, Kimi Raikkonen, the best placed Ferrari driver, finished the day in tenth place overall, the Finn complaining that the car is just too slow.

“The car is not bad to drive, but it is simply slow and lacks grip, as in fact has been the case very often this year. It’s not as though there is a specific reason why it’s not going well, but most of all, its down to our choice to stop development of the F60, so our performance level compared to the others is going down race by race, given that so many teams are still working on this year’s cars,” he said.

“There are only a few corners where you can make a difference, near the start of the lap. Then there are so many heavy braking points and slow speed corners, where stability on entry and acceleration on exit are the important factors. Going from daylight to artificial light? After two races in Singapore, it doesn’t cause a problem. The pit lane exit? In terms of its layout it’s quite similar to Interlagos, except there’s a wall instead of a guardrail.”

Meanwhile, teammate Giancarlo Fisichella had an even tougher day with a seventeenth placed finish , however he plans to give his all over the course of the weekend to try and make up lost ground and help the team fight McLaren for that prized third place...

“This will become a sort of second home Grand Prix for Ferrari, as rising above the back of the circuit, will be the first ever theme park dedicated to the Maranello company. As for the track, I can say the nicest part is the first section with the quick corners. I think there is some chance of overtaking on the long straights, while the pit lane exit is a bit dangerous, but there is nothing that can be done to change it. In the second session, when the temperature dropped, the track became less slippery. In the first session, I was struggling a bit to stay on track and I had a lot of graining. We have nothing new on the car and we must try and do our best, working on its set- up.”

“We are aware of the difficulties we will face this weekend,” added Stefano Domenicali. “Our main rivals in the fight for third place in the Constructors’ classification are going through a very positive phase, while we are having to make a virtue of necessity, trying to get the most out what we have got to work with. However, this does not mean we will not be fighting right down to the last lap, as we are not the sort to give up that easily. As for the technical aspect of this first day of free practice, on behalf of the entire team I wish to congratulate the organizers of the Grand Prix for the work they have done: Yas Marina will become, partly thanks to the Ferrari World Park Abu Dhabi, the place to be for all racing fans.”