Information about Ferrari

Ferrari's long and distinguished relationship with F1 goes back to their maiden victory in 1951 at the British Grand Prix. Over the next decade they became the dominant force in early F1 winning the Drivers' Championship in '52 and '53 with Alberto Ascari and again with Jaun Manuel Fangio in '56, followed by Mike Hawthorn in '58. By 1961 they had achieved the double, picking up the Constructors' Championship as well in 1961 as Phil Head won the Drivers' Championship. In 1964 their driver John Surtees made history by becoming the first and only person to win both the F1 and Motorbike championships. A 10 year wait followed before Nikki Lauda won the 1975 Championship for them, and he did so again in 1977 after recovering from an horrific accident. In 1979 South African Jody Scheckter would pick up their last Drivers' Championship for 21 years but they did manage a Constructors' victory in 1983 and 1999, before entering a golden era where Michael Schumacher dominated the sport with five continuous Drivers' Championships and almost as many Constructors' trophies. In 2005 it all unravelled as Ferrari simply couldn't be competitive under the cost cutting rules and finished third in both titles. After a dull start to the 2006 season, Ferrari made a fighting comeback, reducing a 25 point margin between Schumacher and Alonso to go slightly ahead in points. Unfortunately, uncharacteristic unreliability in the final races saw Schumacher’s hopes of a championship swansong disappear and Renault picked up both trophies. However, they did finished a close second to eliminate the bad memories of 2005. Despite a slow start to the 2008, Ferrari stormed to late victory in both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Titles as Kimi Raikkonen claimed his first title against the most unlikely odds in a three-way final race challenge. Their constructors’ title came courtesy of a legal challenge against McLaren for spying, resulting in McLaren’s disqualification and loss of their unsurmountable lead in team pionts. Felipe Massa, despite winning several races finished fourth overall. Favourites to win both titles in 2008.

Base: Maranello, Italy
Drivers: Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) and Felipe Massa (BRA), (test driver Luca Badoer, Marc Gene).

Kimi Raikkonen, having begun his career in karting at the age of 12, he turned to racing in Formula Renault 1999 where he made a name for himself as a solid driver. By 2000, the Sauber team took him on for the 2001 season, with Raikkonen finishing sixth on his Grand Prix debut in Australia. He continued the season with them, finishing fourth twice. McLaren took an interest in Raikkonen, as they were looking for a driver to replace Mika Hakkinen, where he subsequently signed a five-year deal in 2002. Raikkonen gave Michael Schumacher a good run in 2003 and came within one race of causing an drivers’ title upset. 2004 was an disappointing season for the up-and-coming driver as the Mercedes car suffered reliability problems, but 2005 saw him emerge as the main rival with Fernando Alonso in the absence of a competitive Ferrari. Unfortunately a poor start to the season meant he finished runner up despite winning seven races and famously coming from 17th on the grid at Suzuka to take first place on the final lap. 2006 proved a disappointing year for the title contender as ongoing unreliability saw him alternate between potential winner and retiree, ending the season winless and fifth in the championship. 2007 was the year he had been waiting for, however, and he deservedly finally won the title. It wasn’t without a bit of luck in the final race when he snatch victory and the title against the odds. A slow start to the season had hampered his efforts thanks to retirements. His previous rival Fernando Alonso has moved from McLaren so he’s likely to see a 2008 showdown with newcomer Lewis Hamilton, but remains the marginal bookie’s favourite.

Statistics
Date of birth: 17 October 1979
First Grand Prix win: Sepang 2003
Number of Grand Prix driven: 122
Grand Prix wins: 15
Pole positions: 14
Podiums: 48
Career points: 456

Felipe Massa started off his racing career at the age of nine in karting, he moved on to Formula Renault, where he won the Italian and European Formula Renault championship in 2000, before progressing to the Formula 3000 Euro-Series the following year. He won the championship after winning six of the eight races, and was soon behind the wheel of the Sauber C20 at Mugello. He made his F1 debut with Sauber, but soon his Brazilian temperament got him in trouble, getting into unnecessary accidents, forcing Sauber to let him go in 2003. He then joined Ferrari as their test driver, but was soon wanting to race again and returned to Sauber for the 2004 season. During that season he scored just 12 points, but did slightly better in 2005 scoring a career high fourth and outscoring senior team member Jacques Villeneuve to finish 13th. In 2006 he signed with Ferrari, promising a better future. This turned out to be his best season yet and he didn’t disappoint, often upstaging Schumacher. He posted three poles and two victories, with consistent points finishes to end up third overall in the championship. Last year he was a potential title winner until retirements and poor finishes in the final races kept him out of the four-way challenge. He did however set the early pace with three victories and the most pole positions, at one time challenging eventual winner Raikkonen for the number 1 spot in the team. He eventually finished fourth but will certainly be a 2008 contender.

Statistics
Date of birth: 25 April 1981
First Grand Prix win: Turkey 2006
Number of Grand Prix driven: 88
Grand Prix wins: 5
Pole positions: 9
Podiums: 17
Career points: 201

Technical details and statistics:
Chassis: F2008
Engine: Ferrari Type 056
Tyres: Bridgestone
First season: 1950
World championships won: 15
Highest race finish (number of times): 1 (201)
Number of pole positions: 195
Official web-site: http://www.ferrariworld.com

note: Statistics up to the end of 2007 season