After struggling to match the times set by chief rivals McLaren-Mercedes during free practice for this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix,
Ferrari have admitted that they were anticipating enduring a challenging time around the narrow, tortuous streets of the Principality.
The
Scuderia was off the pace in Monte Carlo this time last year, with
Kimi Raikkonen crashing in qualifying and
Felipe Massa going on to take the chequered flag a staggering 70 seconds adrift of the two Silver Arrows of
Fernando Alonso and
Lewis Hamilton. Though the team appears to have closed the gap somewhat twelve months on – as it bids to register its fifth victory in succession in 2008 – it may not have closed it by enough.
“We were expecting a particularly difficult weekend,” acknowledged technical director Luca Baldisserri, “and these three hours of free practice have not given us any reason to change our minds. While it is true that our preparations for this race have produced some results, it is equally true that our main rivals have not been twiddling their thumbs either and therefore have turned up here in very competitive shape.
“Our weak point today was mainly to do with performance on new tyres, especially on the softer tyre. We must carefully study the day and try and make the necessary changes so as to be competitive at the highest level. On top of that, we must also keep a careful eye on the weather, which could be the decisive factor for Saturday's qualifying and especially in Sunday's race.”
Those sentiments were echoed by both Raikkonen and Massa, who ended the opening day lying third and fourth on the timesheets. Though the defending world champion led the way in the morning session, neither of Maranello's stars could live with the pace set by
McLaren's Hamilton in the afternoon, winding up respectively four and seven tenths adrift.
