It is a situation he is keen to rectify at Indianapolis, a circuit that has always been very friendly to Ferrari, with just Mika Hakkinen’s win in 2001 upsetting the Maranello’s dominance of the race since its introduction. Raikkonen is counting on this to be the case this year, not least because he sits some 21 points off Hamilton now in the points standings.
“It's difficult to say what we expect from IMS. I enjoy the circuit and it has always been a good circuit for
Ferrari. There is a very long straight, where you need to have a good speed, but at the same moment the infield section is very tight and there are some corners you have to take with the smallest gears. Fortunately you are able to overtake at the end of the straight."
Having slipped away in the title battle, Massa will be looking for a repeat of the form that took him to second place in 2006, albeit having led for the first half of the race before his ‘problems’ in the pit lane allowed team-mate
Michael Schumacher through to victory. Luckily for the Brazilian, with Raikkonen falling away in the standings, no such problems are likely to be required this weekend should they arise.
Honda – Jenson Button (#7), Rubens Barrichello (#8):
Honda heads to Indianapolis - almost the halfway point in the 2007 season - still looking for its first points, but came agonisingly close to opening its account in Canada last time out.
An incident-packed race provided good opportunity for the strategists to do their thing and, with just a handful of laps remaining, Rubens Barrichello was running in third place. Typical of the team's luck, however, the Brazilian was required to make a 'splash and dash' fuel stop before the chequered flag, dropping him to twelfth. Shrugging off his disappointment, however, Barrichello is already turning his attention to another circuit which he enjoys.
"The circuit at Indianapolis is quite unique and the venue usually puts on a great show over the race weekend," he notes, "Although the track is not particularly challenging and actually very slow with the tight infield section, it is a lot of fun, particularly driving the first corner of the oval banking flat out. It's always a good race for the fans because you can overtake at Indianapolis."
If Barrichello's afternoon in Montreal was frustrating, at least he got to race - unlike team-mate
Jenson Button, whose car refused to select first gear and left him stranded on the grid. Although not as big a fan of the Indianapolis circuit as his team-mate, the Briton admits to enjoying taking on the different challenge it presents.
"I had never driven on a banked circuit before
Formula One went to Indy, so the last corner of the
F1 circuit configuration is really fun to drive," he explains, "I know the banking is not much compared to the IndyCar races, but it feels banked to us. The circuit is not such a high-speed circuit, which I generally prefer, but you can get some great racing as there are some good overtaking opportunities. The key is achieving a package which doesn't have too much aerodynamic drag for the long straight."
BMW Sauber – Nick Heidfeld (#9), Robert Kubica (#10):
BMW Sauber made the headlines for all the right and wrong reasons in Canada, and will provide some of the central storylines heading to Indianapolis.
Nick Heidfeld not only out-qualified the two Ferraris, but he also provided the only thing approaching a challenge to
Lewis Hamilton in the race although, in reality, it was not a particularly strong one. However, the German's second place result - the best for BMW Sauber in its short collaborative history - was overshadowed by the massive accident suffered by team-mate
Robert Kubica, which left him hospitalised.
Remarkably, despite initial reports to the contrary, the Pole appears to have been largely unharmed in the incident, and was discharged from the medical facility in time to consider racing this weekend.
"I have no pain and feel well," he says, "I want to thank everyone for the medical attention I received and for all the good wishes - but I am happy that I have been able to leave the hospital so quickly and will now prepare for the race in Indianapolis.
