.png "os2 trasparenza (1)")
The shadow of sabotage over Ferrari. On Friday, June 22, 2007, the Maranello team filed a complaint with the Modena Public Prosecutor's Office against Nigel Stepney: the English mechanic is accused of having damaged the team's cars at the Monaco Grand Prix, which took place in May. A race that was marked by complaints and controversy. The Maranello team's complaint, which does not rule out culpable injuries, mentions an attempt to damage the car and a mysterious powder, the nature of which is still under investigation by the Ris: it was found by mechanics on the fuel tank of Räikkönen and Massa's F2007 on Thursday, May 17, 2007. The parts were replaced and in the end the Brazilian finished third and the Finn eighth. Ferrari's suspicions focused on the Briton, formerly head of mechanics, then technical coordinator of the Grands Prix until 2006 and since 2007 in charge of the team's performance development. A role, the latter, that Stepney would not have liked very much. A discontent linked to the fact that after the farewell of Ross Brawn, whose right-hand man he was, the Englishman expected a promotion. Which did not come. Instead came a harsh interview of the engineer in a British newspaper. Ferrari replied by no longer sending him to the races and entrusting him with a modest task: in practice the anticipation of a farewell. Then came the dust-up and the exposé. And the words of Jean Todt that leave little room for doubt:
"If we have made a complaint, it is because we think that he might have done something illicit".
The news comes as a surprise to the entire team and the entire Formula 1 world. Stepney is highly respected and has contributed to the winning of five World Drivers' Championships and six World Constructors' Championships. The Englishman injured his leg during the Spanish Grand Prix in 2000 and it was during a refuelling operation. He is on holiday in the Philippines, and his house in Serramazzoni was searched, as confirmed by his lawyer. A handful of white powder scattered on the ground, like icing sugar, dropped from a confectioner's counter, right at the refuelling column near the petrol cans. A mechanic stares at it, as dismayed as if he had found a corpse. And, not far away, a gentleman in his late fifties, now definitely in a panic, trying to get rid of the evidence of his guilt. Thus begins, on May 17, 2007, the Ferrari sabotage mystery, the last stage, at least for now, of that via crucis into which the season at Maranello seems to have turned. This is how it starts and ends with a criminal complaint and a swarm of Carabinieri raiding the Ferrari workshop to try to close the case in record time. Said and done. Because the incriminating scene, that of Nigel Stepney handling the white powder - to the touch and sight very similar to chalk dust - had been seen by a Ferrari mechanic (the same one who had first spotted the traces) and immediately reported to the team management. They say in Maranello:
"They caught him trying to dispose of the stuff, he looked like a 16-year-old trying to get rid of the smoke at school".
Any investigator knows that there is nothing like an accurate tip to solve cases quickly. Especially if it arrives in real-time. So for the Carabinieri from the Maranello division called in by Ferrari management, it was a joke: they entered the workshop and split into two teams. While some went to find the white powder on the ground at the foot of the refuelling column, others went to Nigel Stepney's offices to see if they could find the final piece of evidence. Which, indeed, so it seems, was found.
"On the ground, right next to where Stepney was standing".
The rest was a formality: the Carabinieri searched the mechanic's desk, the wardrobes, asked him to hand over his clothes (traces of dust were found, in particular, on a pair of trousers), then packed up and sent everything to Parma, to the laboratories of the Forensic Science Department. Because it is there, in the headquarters of the scientific investigation department of Carabinieri, that the matter will be definitively concluded. The first thing to be understood is what kind of substance it is, whether organic or inorganic. Investigators after an initial analysis are inclined to believe it is something inorganic and uncommon outside the racing world.
The second will be to find out whether this substance is present in the seized tanks or not. If, in short, the saboteur had managed to put the powder in the tank, right on the eve of qualifying (the tanks left Maranello sealed so there would be nothing left to do) or not. To do this, over the next few days, the forensic analysts will be sifting through the large amount of material that the Carabinieri have taken: in addition to the tanks, also the exhausts, the canisters and other parts of the single-seater that may, even if only in theory, have been affected by the powder after the eventual combustion. Obviously, at the moment, investigators are not making any statements, nor are they providing confirmation or denial to the many rumours that are circulating, the initial impression, however, is that the powder did not make it into the tanks. There was an attempt at sabotage, even if it did not have the desired effect. The Monaco Grand Prix could have been hell for the two Ferraris, if someone in Maranello had not noticed a strange white substance, similar to chalk dust, at the foot of the gas filler neck. But also, if someone had not seen a leading member of the team clumsily trying to get rid of this substance, a bit like throwing stolen sweets on the ground, after wandering suspiciously close to the petrol cans (already ready for the race in the Principality) and all the fuel equipment. Yes, because someone noticed and raised the alarm. So much so that Ferrari wasted no time in filing a complaint with the Modena public prosecutor's office, and identified a precise addressee, 49-year-old Englishman Nigel Stepney, the team's top man, until last year the technical manager of the racing and testing team, a stable member of the race wall, that restricted area in front of the pits that during races carefully observes the monitors, dictates strategies, and gives valuable suggestions via radio to the drivers.
One of those who count, even if today he is a bit marginalised, about to move to Honda, because he had hoped to take Ross Brawn's place at Ferrari (for years he had been the technical director's right-hand man) and did not expect to find himself far from Grands Prix, with a high-profile position, responsible for analysing the team's performance, but scarcely operational, a supervisor at home, not on the battlefield, a role chosen by common agreement with the team's top management, but after a harsh outburst against the missed promotion, which was reported in the English newspapers. Stepney had not taken it well and had considered the new position a step backwards. Encouraged by the investigations of the Maranello Carabinieri and the Ris di Parma, who first seized his clothing for analysis and then searched his home, the Maranello team, as well as filing a lawsuit, initiated internal disciplinary proceedings, which on Monday, June 25, 2007, should lead to the dismissal for just cause of Nigel Stepney, who in the meantime had become untraceable and was defended by a public defender, Luca Brezigar. But what was the sabotage aimed at? To put bad fuel into the cars of Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen (third and eighth at Monte Carlo), which could have caused the fuel pump to break. Not imagining that the cause was in the fuel, the mechanics could have continued to replace the pump unnecessarily. Since it was not a structural problem, perhaps evidenced by the telemetry data, only the discovery of the polluted fuel could have solved the dreadful glitch. Apart from the shock at Maranello, however, it must be said that the sabotage attempt failed, the nozzles and the polluted petrol never left for Monaco. Nor is there any fear within Ferrari that this disconcerting episode might have precedents. No one tampered with Michael Schumacher's engine last year in Japan, nor are the reliability problems suffered this season attributable to sabotage. This story, they swear at Maranello, is very serious, but it is unique.
"I have nothing to do with this. My involvement is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. I worked here for 20 years. 20 years".
Nigel Stepney's voice comes through loud and clear over the phone to lawyer Sonia Bartolini. Loud and clear despite the fact that the Ferrari technician accused of sabotage is on the other side of the world. In the Philippines, to be precise, where he is spending his holidays.
"This was no escape. Nothing to do with being untraceable. I am here on holiday with my daughter and my partner, as I had planned for some time and as the Maranello Carabinieri knew perfectly well. I have not run away. On the contrary. I'll be back on July 5th and I'll clear up this whole incredible affair".
It must be the case, it must be said, because, even today, the truth about the Ferrari case is far from clear. All that is known for sure is that on Thursday, May 17, 2007, just a few days before the Monaco Grand Prix, Ferrari called the Carabinieri - and then filed a detailed complaint with the public prosecutor's office - because someone inside the Maranello workshop had seen Stepney handling a suspicious white, grainy powder. A powder, it transpired, which, if it had ended up in the Ferrari's tanks, could have damaged the engine (someone, initially, had even speculated that it was an illicit substance to increase engine performance and condemn the Maranello single-seater to certain disqualification). The Carabinieri found and sampled traces of this substance near the refuelling equipment (including the tanks that were allegedly sent, sealed, to Monte Carlo) and on Nigel Stepney, on his clothes as well as - it seems – in his home. In addition to the dust traces, Nigel Stepney - who is now under investigation by the Modena Public Prosecutor's Office - also had, in the prosecution's view, a good motive: he was seeking a promotion that he had not been given and was, consequently, about to change teams. Everything clear then? Not at all. Because in the face of these certain data, there are also some things that do not quite add up or do not add up at all. First of all, the personality of the suspect, who for years has been highly regarded within the team where he can still count on the esteem of many mechanics and engineers. Then there is a very suggestive logical consideration, which can be summed up in a question: why would a mechanic of Nigel Stepney's level resort to such a clumsy and invasive stratagem, getting caught to boot? To try and shed some light on the matter, on Saturday, June 23, 2007, in the morning, the Carabinieri from the Ris di Parma (the Carabinieri's scientific investigation experts) went to the Maranello workshop to carry out another inspection, taking numerous samples that will be submitted for analysis over the next few days. Ferrari carried out its own immediately after the discovery, but these analyses were biased and made on the fly. This is why the Ris laboratory analysts intend to do it all over again, carrying out in-depth analyses. In the meantime, Sunday, June 24, 2007 marks the first sixty years of Ferrari's history. Sixty years is a birthday on the edge of old age.
Poised between a past of which to be legitimately proud and a future that cannot and will not be for pensioners. How can Ferrari deal with the present and the future in a world that changes so rapidly? First and foremost, by touring the world. By taking its cars to 42 countries, along a 145-day journey (which started on January 29 from Dubai) in which a total of more than 10.000 supercars took part. A kind of global exhibition (not to speak of a pilgrimage) that dutifully ended at home, between Maranello and the Fiorano track, where the spectacular closing event was held in the presence of all those who had to be there, from collectors from all over the world to yesterday's and today's drivers, highlighting a continuity of cars, men and enthusiasm coloured red. Ferrari 60 Relay was the way chosen by Luca Montezemolo to commemorate another ten-year anniversary in a much more international key than in the past and looking far into the future, even to the next 60 years when for everyone (the survivors, at least), starting with the president, there will be another Ferrari, different from today's but certainly just as exciting and coveted. Not an easy objective that requires, if not a reconversion, an evolution in the way the world's most beautiful cars are understood and proposed. The first obvious break with the tradition of the ten-year anniversary is the absence, after the F40 and F50, of a celebratory F60: no special model for the occasion, therefore, but this has not meant breaking with the expectations of collectors. For them, in fact, 60 examples of the 612 Scaglietti were made in a numbered and super-exclusive edition in terms of colours and equipment. At a price that it is vulgar to make public, the most avid aficionados will take home a precious testimony of each year of the Cavallino's history and, when they take it on the road, they will be first-hand witnesses of a passion that is widespread throughout the world. So in the end everyone went to Fiorano, for what was staged as an authentic and ingenious high-flying Emilian festival. The ingredients were the traditional ones, albeit in the name of wealth and technology: charity auction and nabobs' cars, real nabobs as happy as children at the funfair and, on the lawn, stalls where instead of doughnuts there were jewels and branded watches. The jugglers? To the delight of those present, the likes of Niki Lauda and Michael Schumacher performed, along with all the great Ferrari Formula 1 drivers from René Arnoux to Jody Scheckter from Jean Alesi to Gerhard Berger and Eddie Irvine.
And of course with a final parade of Räikkönen and Massa. In this environment, the craftsmanship exhibition could only be an avant-garde motor show, that, however, went beyond the celebration of the technical history and innovations made in Maranello. Amedeo Felisa, now general manager and former head of technical management, wanted to emphasise the essential aspects of this exhibition: on the one hand the reaffirmation of an unstoppable desire for experimentation (with some little-known gems, such as a three-cylinder two-stroke engine or an incredible 12-cylinder made up of two V6s one on top of the other) and, on the other, the eagerness to innovate while looking to the future. Ferrari's intentions for its 60th birthday stem from the knowledge that, like it or not, no one in the automotive world will be able to call off environmental and energy issues, and inevitably the Ferraris of the future will be just as beautiful and fast, but also leaner and less thirsty for petrol. And still on the subject of Ferrari's future, speaking of the possibility of replacing Jean Todt, now managing director of the Maranello factory, Michael Schumacher says:
"Taking Todt's place when he leaves? Definitely not. I want to live life with my family and not work as hard as he does".
Word of Michael Schumacher, star of Ferrari's 60th birthday party on Sunday, June 24, 2007, in Maranello, where he completed three laps on board the F2004. Meanwhile, the case over the alleged sabotage of the Ferrari before the Monaco Grand Prix thickens: Stepney, a suspect, drove off with tickets bought at the Ferrari travel agency.
"Along with the family, it’s the most important thing I have. My whole life has been intertwined with Ferrari: we are the same age, sixty years old, and have the same desire to challenge the future again".
Between one Confindustria and another, Luca Montezemolo blesses Ferrari's birthday, enlivening the first of four days of celebrations at the Fiorano track. He presents the limited edition celebratory 612 Scaglietti, and recounts the myth. And he revives the racing team, which has returned from America in low spirits.
"After the sprint start, we got a bit distracted".
Smile:
"Not me. Them, and I don't like that".
But this is not the day for reproaches:
"We have to close a gap of 0.3 seconds, which is nothing but in F1 rightly becomes an enormity".
How do you go upstream?
"Improving here and there, staying focused. I told everyone on Tuesday: we have the conditions to react, well and quickly. We will return competitive, we’ll get back to winning, I believe in it".
How can you be so optimistic?
"Have you forgotten the start of the season? Three poles and three wins in the first four races. We were the best, we will be again. Since 1997, every year, we have been the team to beat, the opponents have alternated and we are always there. First or second".
Disappointed with Räikkönen?
"No, he is a champion, he is fast. Schumacher said that the most dangerous rivals lately have been Alonso and Räikkönen. Alonso said he suffered against Michael and Räikkönen. Among the best, Kimi is always there. He will give us great satisfaction. I don't forget that in the beginning they were even discussing Schumacher, then someone had to be ashamed".
And Massa?
"Extraordinary boy, he is proving his worth. He's been working with us for years, he deserves trust. Those who say that we don't focus on young people are wrong, even though being young is not enough to drive a Ferrari".
It is said that you want Alonso.
"Nonsense. With the greatest respect for the Spaniard, we are satisfied with our drivers and we hold on to them. They are strong, like the two at McLaren. Ferrari's problems today are not the drivers but those 0.3 seconds to file down. Working hard. I see a very competitive team".
Never an Italian driver?
"Enzo Ferrari used to say: if we get a good one and he wins a race it will be said that we favour him by giving him the best car. Welcome, if one day he comes, a strong Italian who doesn't need to create this pressure for us. I owe Ferrari a lot, I loved him. I try to imitate him, for example, on Mondays: he used to have big rants after victories, never after defeats. Because he was afraid the team would fall asleep".
Today only those starting from pole position win.
"We have to improve in qualifying, but I don't like an F1 in which whoever starts in front always wins, which prevents overtaking by nullifying technological and aerodynamic innovations. You see few hard-fought races. It has to be changed, I will talk to the people in charge. And I don't like it when safety cars make Grand Prix races as uncertain as Monte Carlo roulette bets. Racing conquers new scenery in the world and Ferrari makes a big contribution, but certain rules are penalising and we will fight for innovations".
Grand Prix at night, what do you say?
"Good idea only if they guarantee safety: you can't put headlights on single-seaters. Kubica's accident shows that a lot has already been done, it was a long and difficult battle. But we must not stop. We transplant the same elements onto road cars. Ferrari is advanced research and all-round innovation, it is the jewel in the crown of the Fiat Group. We have a tradition to respect and other beautiful stories to tell. Starting with this 2007 World Championship".
Kimi Räikkönen may despair. He used to be a McLaren driver and now his Mercedes-powered car is flying, while his Ferrari is struggling and in the last four races he has picked up just ten points. The Finn could be banging his head into the walls and instead:
"I am not regretful, I do not regret my choice. McLaren is going strong this year, but I remain convinced of my decision. I didn't make a mistake, it was right to change teams. I feel good here, I believe in this team, and I have faith in the rebirth. I am at Ferrari, I will win with Ferrari".
While waiting for his return to great heights, at least his ideas are clear.
"People are right, I also expected more from myself. I didn't think I could be so far behind after seven races, but the World Championship is still long, there is still room for a comeback. In the last tests at Silverstone the car went very well, finally making me feel comfortable. Proclamations are useless, but it is clear that I expect great things. Since Ferrari has shown that it is on the up".
Kimi Räikkönen is counting on it. And in some ways he is obliged, because Ferrari has a big gap to McLaren and on this track (where Schumacher has won eight times) he absolutely cannot make a mistake. The Finn is not afraid of criticism.
"You say Schumacher could replace me? I haven't read that anywhere and anyway it's a story that doesn't interest me. I don't want to create unnecessary pressure for myself, I just need to think about improving. The tyres remain a key factor, we hope to do as well here in France as we did a few days ago at Silverstone".
On a circuit that could be at its swan song. The place in the middle of nowhere (many drivers' derogatory definition) is in danger of losing Formula 1, despite the contract with Ecclestone expiring in 2008, and no one seems to despair. The algid Finn is one of the sharpest:
"It offers little to the public, I think the memory of Magny Cours will soon fade".
In the meantime, McLaren and Ferrari will have to battle it out on these corners from today. Fernando Alonso seems to fear his teammate Lewis Hamilton more than the two Ferrari drivers.
“Our car continues to grow, we have new things here too, Ferrari doesn't scare us at all”.
The unleashed Hamilton, on the contrary, gives the chills:
"He is the big surprise of the season, but he is someone who likes to take a lot of risks. You touch the wall here, you touch the wall there, and sooner or later something will help me too".
At present, his best effort is to zero in on the controversy surrounding him.
"Rumours of my farewell to McLaren are unfounded. They only talk about it because I am behind Hamilton. When I move up, no one will say anything. In any case, I have no intention of breaking a contract (valid for three years until 2009) before it expires. I only think about fighting for the World Championship, the rest is just talk".
Or threats, like Massa’s:
"At Silverstone, we were the fastest, this time we cannot make a mistake. The World Championship must be reopened at all costs".
As well as being ennobled by all the top drivers. Thursday, June 28, 2007, Robert Kubica gets the green light to return to racing after the terrible accident on June 10, 2007, in Canada.
"I don't know if I am a miracle worker. But I hit a wall at 150 km/h and didn't even get a scratch".
Robert Kubica, the 22-year-old Polish BMW driver who races with the name of John Paul II stamped on his helmet, does not feel like judging. The Church, on the other hand, wants to go deeper and has included this terrible accident, the most frightening in ten years in Formula 1, in the dossier on the process of beatification of John Paul II. Kubica, who was born in Krakow, the city where the pontiff was archbishop, suffered no consequences, despite the fact that his car in Montreal crumbled in the impact, and will return to racing on Sunday, July 1, 2007. The Church thinks that the divine protection of the Holy Father may be behind this fortunate epilogue and has commissioned Oder Slawomir, a Polish priest and postulator of the cause for beatification on behalf of the vicariate of Rome, to collect documents and testimonies on the incident. The beatification process is already at an advanced stage, and the happy ending in Canada could represent a further step forward. Kubica certainly has no intention of removing his pope's name from his helmet:
"For me, June 10th is like a second birthday. I was born again".
Who knows whether the merit lies with the new aerodynamic appendages or with the rediscovered wind tunnel, back in full operation after a forced two-week closure at the end of April. The important thing is that it is not a flash in the pan, that this resurrection of Ferrari is real, that the Magny Cours track, as demonstrated yesterday with the first free practice sessions, can breathe life back into the red-coloured dreams. Friday, June 29, 2007, Kimi Räikkönen (subjected with five other colleagues to an anti-doping test) sets the best time, Felipe Massa second, this is the verdict before lunch. Massa in front, the Finn right behind is the verdict in the afternoon, the order inverted, but the hierarchy is respected and the McLarens are still unchanged, Fernando Alonso 0.7 seconds in the morning and 0.5 seconds in the second session, Lewis Hamilton 0.9 seconds down at the end of the first session and 0.3 seconds at the end of the second. The Ferraris are fast, if they have not bluffed with fuel they are back, if the newfound glory is not just thanks to a very un-summery temperature (thermometer always below 20 °C) we can start talking about a comeback again. So, at a time when it is legitimate to walk tall again, it is not a sin to reveal a backstory, a mishap that in some way may have caused the collapse of the last three races and accentuated the gap to the overflowing McLaren. Were the Ferraris no longer improving? Simple: the wind tunnel had jammed. A steel carpet, where the model (half of the full-size car) is placed to simulate testing on the track, had broken; for a fortnight, before the Spanish Grand Prix, testing was no longer possible. To say this at a time of distress might have sounded like a puerile excuse. Now it is the simple statement of a trouble that certainly did not help in the world race. This was revealed by Jean Todt, head of sports management.
"We don't make excuses, we never did, but for fourteen days our work stopped. It certainly wasn't good".
No, it must not have been at all, to see the McLarens flying in Monaco and Canada, even in the beloved (by Ferrari) Indianapolis, while Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen were recriminating, taking a few points or disqualifications, being forced to rejoice (Felipe Massa, because Kimi Räikkönen had it even worse) for the lowest step on the podium.
Now the engineers of the Maranello team, on the subject intervened Aldo Costa, one of those responsible for work on the track, tend not to dramatise:
"The wind tunnel components still need an overhaul after a certain number of months, that broken carpet was an unforeseen event, its replacement was brought forward, but it did not affect the development of the car that much".
But if bad luck had not got in the way, it would have been better. The important thing in any case is that Ferrari now feels out of the tunnel, strong even with those shark fins that in the morning allowed Kimi Räikkönen on hard tyres to lap with a time lower than last year's pole position of Michael Schumacher. Flying Ferraris make the Finn happy:
"Trust me, we can still win the World Championship, I will be a winner by continuing to work my way".
Felipe Massa exulting:
"I said that we were the best again, I had realised it in the Silverstone test".
And even Fernando Alonso smiled:
"Because a strong Ferrari can help me in my fight with Hamilton".
However, the Spaniard also needs to help himself, as he went off the track yesterday and tasted the gravel three times.
"It was because of the wind".
And because of a balance of his McLaren that is not there for now. He swerves more than Lewis Hamilton, always very optimistic.
"The Ferraris have resurrected? Let's see in the race".
And let's also see on Saturday what Zinédine Zidane's presence in a Ferrari, the Fxx, not a Formula 1 car, but a laboratory car from Maranello, looks like. Exceptional driver: Michael Schumacher. Saturday, June 30, 2007, in qualifying both Spykers and the Super Aguri of Anthony Davidson and Takuma Satō were eliminated at the end of Q1, along with Alexander Wurz and Liuzzi. Takuma Satō, who finished 19th, was dropped to last place, as he had to serve a ten-position penalty for overtaking Jenson Button at Indianapolis under yellow flags. In Q1 Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time, followed by the two Ferrari drivers and Fernando Alonso. In Q2 David Coulthard, due to gearbox problems, failed to complete a single lap and will be forced to start sixteenth. Then Scott Speed, Mark Webber, the two Hondas of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher were eliminated in succession. Button and Barrichello nevertheless declared themselves satisfied with the car, even though, in their opinion, the starting position did not reflect the real progress made. In the second session, Lewis Hamilton also set the fastest lap, ahead of Felipe Massa, Kimi Räikkönen and Robert Kubica. In Q3 it was Felipe Massa who set the fastest time and took pole position, beating Lewis Hamilton by 0.070 seconds. The Brazilian in the press conference praised the car, saying that Ferrari was returning to excellent levels, while Lewis Hamilton said he could have taken pole position if he had not made a mistake at Turn 15. Kimi Räikkönen, third, also admitted to an inaccuracy that cost him a few tenths of a second.
Behind him came Robert Kubica, Giancarlo Fisichella, Heikki Kovalainen, Jarno Trulli, Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso, the latter stopped by gearbox problems. Nico Rosberg also had to contend with the same problem and, according to him, this caused him to lose a few tenths of a second on the decisive lap. A serious accident wreaked havoc on the eve of the French Formula 1 Grand Prix. Emmanuel Longobardi, well-known PR man, driver Pierre Bennehard and New Zealander Simon MacGill lost their lives, while a Bridgestone employee and his grandson were seriously injured when a helicopter crashed in the forest of Raveau, not far from Charité-sur-Loire. The passengers are part of the racing environment, apparently there were Bridgestone staff members on board. The authorities opened an investigation and assured that the Grand Prix would take place regularly. The aircraft had been chartered to a private company to shuttle between a hotel and the Magny Cours circuit. The accident, the causes of which have not yet been established, occurred shortly after 10:00 p.m. on Saturday evening. On Sunday, July 1, 2007, at the start of the French Grand Prix, Felipe Massa got off to a good start and held first position, while Kimi Räikkönen overtook Lewis Hamilton, moving into second. At the back of the field, contact between Anthony Davidson and Vitantonio Liuzzi forced both drivers to retire. Also on the first lap, Jarno Trulli hit Heikki Kovalainen at the Adelaide corner. The Italian driver was forced to retire, while the Finn saw his race compromised. At the end of the race, Jarno Trulli apologised to Heikki Kovalainen for the accident he caused. Fernando Alonso moved up to eighth and then to seventh after overtaking Nico Rosberg at the Lycee corner on lap two; the Spaniard also attacked Nick Heidfeld, three laps later at the same point, but was overtaken coming out of the corner.
He remained stuck behind the German until lap 16, when he came into the pits to refuel. Lewis Hamilton also pitted at the same time, followed on lap 19 by Felipe Massa and on lap 21 by Kimi Räikkönen. After the pit stops, the classification order saw Felipe Massa in first position, followed by Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton, Robert Kubica, Jenson Button, who had not yet refuelled, Nick Heidfeld, Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso. During the pit stops the Finn of the Ferrari reduced the gap to his teammate to two seconds. Fernando Alonso continued to attack and on lap 23, he passed Giancarlo Fisichella at the Adelaide corner. And on lap 33 the Spaniard also passed Nick Heidfeld, literally inventing an overtaking move at the Imola chicane. Meanwhile, Jenson Button refuelled on lap 32, with a Honda that has benefited from the latest upgrades. On lap 28 Christijan Albers retired due to an unforeseen pit stop, restarting with the refuelling nozzle still on. On lap 37 Lewis Hamilton came back into the pits to refuel, but he went back out on hard tyres, making it clear that he had a three-stop strategy; he found himself in a battle with Robert Kubica and immediately passed him at the Adelaide hairpin, securing third place. Felipe Massa refuelled on lap 43 when he had a 3.5-second lead over Kimi Räikkönen; the Finn had a three-lap advantage, in which he managed to build up the margin to take the top spot. Fernando Alonso, who stopped on lap 37, having taken on fuel to go all the way, found himself once again behind Giancarlo Fisichella and Nick Heidfeld, who refuelled on lap 47, thus maintaining their positions. Kimi Räikkönen won the French Grand Prix, ahead of his team-mate, Felipe Massa, and Lewis Hamilton, realising his first one-two of the season. Robert Kubica was fourth, followed by Nick Heidfeld, Giancarlo Fisichella, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.
"There is no such thing as the perfect car. You can always improve".
Nor is there a perfect driver. But a decisive leap in quality, also in response to the many critics, was necessary.
"Finally a race the way I want it, I feel out of a nightmare".
Even the Ferrari fans. Who were wrinkling their eyes, who could not believe a Kimi Räikkönen so resigned, so far from the idol Michael Schumacher that the Finn had to replace. They demanded redemption. And in the grey Magny Cours, they got it. This time the cold Kimi did nothing wrong.
"I knew that my time would come, that by continuing to work my way I would be able to overcome all the problems".
He had so many. But yesterday they seemed not to exist. Kimi Räikkönen who started well, who did not lose sight of Massa, who trailed him by a few tenths and who took full advantage of his strategy. At his second stop, he pitted three laps after his teammate, just enough to find the necessary metres to overtake. Räikkönen is first, after a long time, and wins.
"I didn't imagine I would encounter so many difficulties in my transition to Ferrari".
Neither did the people, actually.
"But this success repays me for everything, it makes me realise that I am on the right track, that I have finally found full harmony with the car. It was a tough time, I gritted my teeth. I tried not to lose it, to work hard, to grow in personal performance, to improve my Ferrari. I knew that the World Championship was not over and that the season was still long. Now I can smile again. There has never been a lack of optimism. It's clear that after days like these it increases even more".
Also because triumphs like this make you realise that even bad luck is a wheel and does not always decide to take you by storm. In 2002, precisely at Magny Cours, with five laps to go an oil slick blew away his success. Allan McNish had left it on the ground, Michael Schumacher still laughing about it now, Kimi Räikkönen going off the track, him taking the lead and winning his fifth world title with a great deal of anticipation. I wonder if Luca Montezemolo was also ironic then.
"Congrats to Räikkönen, he had a great race, too bad about that exit in the final. Train well on the McLaren, he'll come to Ferrari next".
The prophecy has come true, as of this year the Finn is wearing red. He had triumphed on his debut in Melbourne: now, after three and a half months, he can grant an encore, without oil stains that mess everything up.
"And at Silverstone I can try again, as we did very well in the tests at that track last week".
A new victory could give more life to the only splash of venom he allowed himself. He whispered it, as he often does:
"I am happy for the success and because at least tomorrow I will not read so much rubbish in the newspapers about me".
But he did say it. A sign that certain criticisms had hurt him a little. Not least because he did not share them.
"I knew that all it took was a few adjustments. We had to improve on the single lap, place better in qualifying, start further ahead and above all start well".
Everything that happened this weekend, the various keys to his success. What opens his eyes a little, while it makes Felipe Massa gloomy. First on Saturday, fastest lap in the race, but only second on the podium.
"It was the traffic’s fault, of four lapped cars, two Red Bulls, a Toyota, a Williams, which made me lose the race, in those three laps after the second pit stop".
Frustrating to be defeated without mistakes.
"But I gained two points on Hamilton and I still believe in the World Championship; we trimmed half a minute off Hamilton, we have to insist".
And president Luca Montezemolo adds:
"This is proof that Ferrari does not give up, it knows how to react, it never gives up".
But this is above all a demonstration of strength. Kimi Räikkönen triumphing, Felipe Massa right behind, at 2.5 seconds, Lewis Hamilton more than half a minute away in his McLaren, still on the podium, but forced to settle for the result. Thus the door to the dream is reopened, and the fight for the World Championship is rekindled, with the gap narrowing in the Constructors' World Championship (25 points against the 35 points of the American doubleheader) and with Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen (a one-two finish that had been missing since July 30, 2006, Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa at Hockenheim) who, in the Drivers' World Championship standings, nibbled away at Lewis Hamilton, a man who never makes mistakes, but who in France, at the start, had to surrender to the two drivers from the Maranello team. Ferrari proved to be faster and this for those who believe in a comeback is the most positive sign. But there was not only supremacy in the race: the Maranello cars were already in command on Friday and even on Saturday, in the single lap that had become a nightmare, they did not betray. Kimi Räikkönen in his recipe was simple:
"You have to start further ahead, improve in qualifying. If you always start behind, winning becomes impossible".
The cure to the crisis was simple and in France it was translated into practice. Judging by the final verdict, perhaps the wrong man won, because Felipe Massa was on pole position, because it was he who took the lead at the first corner, who commanded the whole of the initial part, but the substance was this: to beat the McLarens, you have to get ahead of them from the start, and this was the key to the triumph. The problem is that the one to take advantage of the new tactic was not the fast Brazilian, second at the end without having made any mistakes, but the rediscovered Kimi Räikkönen, the driver who was suffering the most in the standings and who now, with these ten points, can relaunch his title ambitions. The Finn's great merit was to pass Lewis Hamilton at the start. While Felipe Massa flew into the lead, he took second place, leaving the British McLaren driver stunned. It was this feat that coloured the race red. Felipe Massa ground out kilometres, but by anticipating the second stop by three laps compared to the Finn, he found himself in the hands of a mocking second place. He was fast, his was the best time record of the race, but he paid dearly for those metres battling with the lapped drivers (the Red Bull Racing cars of Mark Webber and David Coulthard, the Williams of Alexander Wurz, the Toyota of Ralf Schumacher), the traffic turned into a traffic jam and his dream of victory faded. For Kimi Räikkönen, on the other hand, everything went well. For a long time he held on to second place, staying just a few tenths of a second behind Felipe Massa, then he was flying from lap 43 to 46 and after the second pit stop, he found himself in the lead. He was looking forward to nothing else. He needed this feat to leave one tunnel (that of his own crisis) and enjoy another, the Ferrari wind tunnel, back to full work. On the track where Michael Schumacher had triumphed eight times, the cold Kimi Räikkönen took his second victory in red. A kick at the crisis and an eagerness to get back into the title fight. An eagerness that, with third place, keeps Lewis Hamilton (still leading by a wide margin) and that would like to keep Fernando Alonso, exciting in certain overtaking moves, but felled by an impossible comeback.
A broken gearbox in qualifying had relegated him to the fifth row, and to finish seventh it took somersaults. He was preceded by the returning Robert Kubica, Nick Heidfeld, who prevented Fernando Alonso from overtaking at least fifteen times, and Giancarlo Fisichella. Real drivers. Who may have taken decisive points away from him in a bid for their second titles. He made a mistake. But Lewis Hamilton ended up on the podium anyway:
"Well, it wasn't my best start. I don't like being overtaken, it was the first time, but anyway the end of the race made me happy".
Although this time the terrible rookie did not win (and had to bow to the Ferraris), he has no shortage of reasons to smile. First, his lead has been extended by another four points over his teammate, Fernando Alonso. Second, he holds the record as the driver with the highest average number of points scored in Grands Prix races. Of course, Lewis Hamilton's career is very short, but his eight points per Grand Prix is a pretty good trend (Michael Schumacher, to say, ended his career with an average of 5.50 points). And he is left with this incredible 100 per cent of podiums, which allows him to present himself at the British Grand Prix, the one Lewis Hamilton cares most about, as a great protagonist, an unpredictable event at the start of his first season in Formula 1.
"What do I say to Ferrari? See you again in England, there I will take my revenge".
That is the hope of the now McLaren number one, and it is Fernando Alonso's hope that the 22-year-old Englishman will go off the track one day: Lewis Hamilton has learned his lesson. In France he took the calculator and thought about the championship instead of attempting an improbable (and impossible) pursuit of Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa.
"I arrived thirty-two seconds late, so what? Why should I worry? This weekend Ferrari proved to be faster than us. They did a good job. Well done. In the end, I simply held my position: arriving ten or thirty seconds later changed nothing: the important thing was to finish third".
Nothing could change Lewis Hamilton's mood, not even the mention of the start.
"What can I do about it? I don't know why, I don’t know what happened, I only saw Räikkönen flying from behind. At that point I tried to stay behind him, in fact, I seemed to be even a little bit faster than him at the start, and I thought I could pass him sooner or later, but the three-stop strategy didn't help. On the contrary, it was hard even at the exit of the last one, when I had to overtake Kubica".
The glass, therefore, is half full.
"Of course it is. Absolutely. I strengthened my position in the standings, I couldn't be happier. I think as a team we got some good points and the balance is not negative at all and I'm happy about that".
His first pursuer (Alonso) probably does not think so, but Lewis Hamilton does not mind and, when asked provocatively: 'Sorry, Ferrari has proven to be very fast”. Last week, just at Silverstone, it set better times than its McLaren. How do you expect to win next Sunday? Young Lewis does not flinch:
"Believe me: I am sure we will be extremely competitive. They have been working hard in Woking for the next Grand Prix, we are really looking forward to it. I think we will catch the Ferraris at Silverstone. I don't see why we shouldn't be able to fight for the win".
It will be a big sporting weekend for England, with the Formula One Grand Prix and the closing of the Wimbledon tennis tournament. That, for an Englishman like Lewis Hamilton, is an extra bonus of motivation.
"That's right: I have a great desire to show off".
Here is his latest, secret and ambitious goal: to beat Ferrari, to eclipse Roger Federer and the tradition of the grass tournament. Should he succeed, he would become the national hero. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso is dejected, but not beaten. The Spanish driver reminds everyone that he is still the World Champion. For the McLaren Spaniard, another weekend with bad news: the friend lost in the Bridgestone helicopter crash last Saturday (he raced with mourning on his arm), a seventh place that certainly was not satisfactory.
"Yet I had fun".
Are you sure you are telling the truth?
"Absolutely. I tried to have a heroic race, I had nothing to lose anyway".
But have you not always said that the important thing is to take points?
"True. But when you start with only sixteen litres in qualifying on Saturday to go for pole position, and then instead find yourself tenth because of a gearbox problem, what the hell are you going to do on Sunday?"
And so?
"So I said to myself: go, try to take some risks. And I didn't think about what could happen on the track and tried to attack hard".
Indeed, his overtaking move on Nick Heidfeld drew public admiration.
"Thanks, it cost a lot of effort. Then I also tried with Fisichella, but it wasn't enough".
In the end, what stays with you about this race?
"A conviction: sooner or later gearbox problems, or being held up by the Safety car, will also happen to Hamilton, and then it will be my turn".
In the meantime, your teammate extends the gap.
"Yes, but it's only fourteen points. I lost four points, I thought it could be even worse. Let's put it this way: hopefully, these two points will be good again at the end of the season. And anyway, maybe you didn't realise it, but Hamilton didn't win".
It is true: Ferrari won. For you, it may mean other problems.
"Yes. It means the fight will get tougher and tougher. But it also means that the World Championship is still long, with nine races to go in which no one can anticipate a prediction".
The next Grand Prix is at Lewis Hamilton's house, though.
"So what? Every race is a story in itself. In France it was disappointing for me, sad also for personal reasons, but in England who knows?"
Are you just trying to hype yourself up?
"Absolutely not. I am always optimistic, and I say that without a shadow of a doubt. The point is another".
What?
"We will have to improve between now and Sunday if we want to win at Silverstone. We will have to be much stronger".
It is seen and unseen: from the motorhome to the garages, Michael Schumacher's appearances in the paddock seem like blitzes. Fleeting appearances, nothing else. Never a stop or a chat. There are no mysteries, though. No problem. The German himself says it, and he wants things to be clear to everyone:
"I decided to keep a low profile. You don't see me around much because mine, at Ferrari, is an internal role. I am a consultant, so I consider it useless, at this stage, to make public or media appearances".
The real reason is not to create jealousy, or give the right to possible controversy or instrumentalisation, F1's favourite game.
"I don't want to create apprehension or irritate anyone. I prefer a soft approach. With the team, engineers and drivers, I attend meetings and give my opinion. That is my job. Not external relations".
The public outings he does allow himself are only those of a charitable nature (for Imc and Ela), but in the end Michael Schumacher cannot avoid expressing an opinion on the World Championship:
"I didn't think the World Championship was closed, before Magny Cours, let alone today. So many things can still happen. The season is long".
A free man. A definition he likes. Free not to feel burdened by Michael Schumacher's heavy legacy. Free to take his time in understanding the new reality in which he races, in finding the right feeling with the car, in learning not to make mistakes and above all to win.
"At Ferrari I feel free".
Kimi Räikkönen recounts the day after his great rebirth. More serene than at McLaren:
"Where Dennis was always watching me, he wanted to know everything about my life, both on and off the track. At Ferrari, this doesn't happen. They have faith in me, they know I can do well and above all they haven't asked me to change anything. I have to adapt to their way of working as they do with mine. But you cannot distort your own characteristics. You have to get in tune and that's what we're doing. But I know how to get to the top. I want to win many races and sooner or later the title. And I will succeed in my own way".
Free to impose his own style. To assert himself by digging in only to his abilities. Without breathing down his neck, something he cannot stand. At Ferrari, who strongly wanted him because he is the designated heir to Michael Schumacher, if only for the 30,000,000 euro per season salary, they understood this immediately. There is a lot of work going on at Maranello, 24 hours a day is a slogan that everyone flaunts, not just president Luca Montezemolo. Drivers, after the bad example left by Michael Schumacher, are not given discounts, but the men in red also know how to be psychologists. So it can happen, something that struck Kimi Räikkönen in a positive sense, that after retiring from Barcelona (alternator wiring problem) the fan Kimi is given permission to go and watch the Ice Hockey World Cup final on TV, his Finland is there, it is an appointment not to be missed instead of being fuming and forced to watch his colleagues cross the finish line while his car is parked. In McLaren it would never have happened, that is also how you create a relationship. How can you team up by indulging him in his hockey mania by moving the whole team to a Montreal gym. At football Kimi Räikkönen is poor, he played with the mechanics in Australia and Indianapolis, but Michael Schumacher, in this case really, was something else. At hockey, on the other hand, he laid down the law. He could have made it to the Finnish Premier League:
"If I hadn't hated getting up too early".
But the talent remains and it is enough to take all the men in the Maranello team by the hand. You have to make a team. And Ferrari and Kimi Räikkönen have succeeded. So much so that they now say that the Finn is not cold at all.
"He's shy, but when he gains confidence he talks a lot".
Calmly, without haste, something he does not want to have even in having a child, it will come in due course. Of course, in the car you need speed, he is a driver, and here he had to improve. Now Kimi can rightly rejoice.
"At Magny Cours it went the way I wanted, now I will try again at Silverstone".
But behind the redemption, there was painstaking work, full of important details. There was that awkward steering wheel to learn how to use (21 buttons, Michael Schumacher's idea, who changed the settings in the middle of the straight), you had to learn how to make the tyres work well, start better, find the set-up more quickly, get more excitement on the qualifying lap. Chris Dyer, who was Michael Schumacher's and now Kimi Räikkönen's car chief, explains:
"So many small improvements have created a great performance".
The one that now makes him say:
"No more rubbish in the newspapers about me".
No criticism. No uncomfortable comparisons. Michael Schumacher was, he is. A free man. To chase his first World Championship. With high spirits, on Monday, July 2, 2007, the Ferrari team is back at work again in view of the upcoming British Grand Prix. But, apart from the Grand Prix, the internal life of the company does not stop: in the next few days Nigel Stepney, the technician accused of sabotage after the discovery of white powder near the tank inlets and on the cars shortly before the Monaco Grand Prix, is expected to return to Italy. We are waiting for the judicial developments of the enquiry that is being carried out by the Modena Public Prosecutor's Office, but in the meantime, there is already a first outcome, that of the internal investigation of the Maranello team. Nigel Stepney is no longer a Ferrari employee. The disciplinary proceedings against him would in fact have ended with his dismissal. Not only that: on Tuesday, July 3, 2007, Mike Coughlan was suspended, and accused of industrial espionage, an offence that is already very serious in itself in F1, but made even more sensational because the theft was allegedly against Ferrari. An official communiqué has even been issued in connection with the affair - which is unprecedented:
"McLaren was made aware on 3 July that a technical manager in its organisation is at the centre of an investigation into the receipt of technical information. The team has learned that this individual personally received technical information from a Ferrari employee at the end of April. McLaren, which is in no way involved in the affair and condemns such actions, will cooperate with any investigation. The individual in question has been suspended pending a thorough investigation".
It could not be worse for the British team: the news comes just after McLaren's sensational comeback (from a technical point of view) and the other case that led to the suspension and dismissal of Nigel Stepney.
This would be enough to put Ron Dennis in a despondent mood, but there is more. Now Fernando Alonso, who just on Tuesday declared:
"The team prefers Hamilton to win the British Grand Prix".
Continuing the old controversy because just over a month ago the Spanish McLaren-Mercedes driver had denounced the team's preferential treatment of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
This time, however, Alonso has no mercy:
"If he wins, it is better for the team. The team wanted me to win in Barcelona and now they hope Lewis wins at Silverstone. We will race in England: we have a Spanish driver and an English driver who is leading the World Championship".
He adds, outlining the full picture…