Ferrari looking to Dump Kimi Raikkonen

Stefano Domenicali, the Ferrari boss, has given strong indications that Kimi Raikkonen's future with the team may be in doubt.

Raikkonen's contract with Ferrari expires only at the end of the season but rumours persist that Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso could replace him if his agreement is bought out.

Incidentally, Domenicali was full of praise for Felipe Massa, who easily outperformed Raikkonen last year, winning more races than the eventual world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Massa Vows to overcome McLaren

Ferrari star Felipe Massa has vowed to bridge the gap on Formula One frontrunners McLaren, starting at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis.

Ferrari won three of the first four races of the season with Kimi Raikkonen taking the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and Massa winning in Bahrain and Spain.

Then the Ferrari campaign hit the skids, with the team drubbed in Monaco as McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton secured their one-two finish.

Then Massa was disqualified in Canada last weekend as the Brazilian ran a red light exiting the pit lane and Raikkonen was outpaced by BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld, the Williams of Alexander Wurz and Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen as the Finn had to settle for fifth behind race winner Hamilton.

McLaren have a 28-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ championship, the sort of dominance enjoyed by the Italian team at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 2000, with Michael Schumacher winning six of the seven Grands Prix at the venue.

Michael should be proud of former student Massa

If the current Formula 1 championship point standings are any indication then Michael Schumacher can be proud of his former student - Felippe Massa. Massa has proved himself a serious title contender to the Formula 1 title as well as the No. 1 driver in the Ferrari paddock - both positions which were once held by Michael Schumacher before his retirement.

Giancarlo Fisichella believes Ferrari young gun Felipe Massa is now reaping the rewards of a Formula One education at the side of Michael Schumacher.

The 26-year-old Brazilian has been in Formula One since 2002, starting out alongside current team-mate Kimi Raikkonen at Sauber.

Massa was a former team-mate of Fisichella before his big break came in 2006 when he got the chance to drive at Ferrari with Michael Schumacher. He won twice and finished third in the drivers' championship behind the German and world champion Fernando Alonso.

Says Fisichella "He's a good driver and he's learned a lot in the last couple of years, especially at Ferrari next to Michael"

"Now he's doing really well, he's really comfortable with the team and he's doing his best, and at least at the moment, he's quicker than Raikkonen."

"Obviously when I was his team-mate I was quicker than him most of the time and I scored more points than him but he's learned quite a lot and he's grown up for sure."

Monaco slump was ‘rare episode’ - Todt

Jean Todt said on Monday that he thought the recent Monaco grand prix had been a “rare negative episode” for the Ferrari team in 2007.

The Italian squad, which is led by the 60-year-old Frenchman, finished a minute behind the leaders in the Principality, despite Felipe Massa winning the preceding Bahrain and French grands prix with superior pace to the McLarens.

Referring to Monaco, Todt said: “It was one of those rare negative episodes that inevitably occur during a season.”

Massa, meanwhile, is also quoted by the newspaper El Mundo as saying: “I know that (the) McLaren (car) did not have anything especially new (in Monaco) — it was not that they improved, it was that we did not perform at our best.

Fernando Alonso warns rivals ahead of North American double-header

Having claimed the 1-2 in Monaco, which saw Alonso and team-mate Lewis Hamilton lap all the runners except third-placed Felipe Massa, Alonso's confidence is at an all-time high.

And the Spaniard firmly believes that, combined with McLaren's continuous development programme, his Monaco win has given him the advantage ahead of the next race in Canada.

"We have a great momentum in the team right now after such a fantastic result in Monaco, which is a positive way to be going into the North American double-header," he said.

Fernando Alonso Claims Victory at Monaco F1 Race

FERNANDO ALONSO

"This win means a lot to me and our World Championship Campaign. It’s a very nice surprise to see how the team’s hard work during the last couple of weeks has made our car so competitive. I have never had the experience of being more than one minute ahead of the competition which probably makes this one of my best victories. I didn’t get off the line brilliantly from pole position, but as there is such a short run to the first corner I was pretty sure that I would be able to keep the lead. However, as I was able to save fuel in my first stint I was able to stay out for two more laps than originally planned. After that the race was pretty quiet with only the backmarkers causing a few problems especially shortly before my second pitstop when I lost a lot of time. I will enjoy this victory and look forward to the races in North America."

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Kimi Raikkonen: "I’d like to be at the top of the championship table"

After making a flying start to his new career at Ferrari by winning on his debut in Australia, the Finn has lost ground in recent races.

Raikkonen’s optimism, however, could be ill-founded as British sensation Hamilton is showing no signs of slowing down.

He was outgunned by the two McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in Malaysia, and since then has lost the initiative to Brazilian team-mate Felipe Massa, who won in both Bahrain and Spain.

To make matters even worse for Raikkonen, he failed to score any points in Barcelona as his Ferrari suffered a rare mechanical glitch.

However, he claimed that looking back at failure isn’t his style. "I’m not the type to go over what has happened and I’m not about to start now, " he explained. "That was part of racing and it is impossible to change what took place. Points have been lost and there is nothing to be gained in going back – we will only know the full effect of this retirement at the end of the season. Of course, I’d like to be at the top of the championship table, but there are still 13 races to go and I am only eight points behind (series leader) Hamilton. "

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Raikkonen and Ferrari have no differences claims Ferrari boss

Ferrari boss Jean Todt insists Kimi Raikkonen "is at ease" with the Maranello team despite his stuttering start to the season.

Victory on his Ferrari debut in Australia was followed by third-place finishes in Malaysia and Bahrain before retirement at the Spanish Grand Prix 10 days ago. Going into the race in Barcelona, Raikkonen had a shared of the lead in the drivers' championship but, ahead of Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, the Finn is fourth behind McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso and team-mate Felipe Massa.

Yet Todt maintains Raikkonen is fast integrating himself into the ways and means of the team, while they in turn understand how the 27-year-old operates.

"Kimi feels very much at ease with the team and vice-versa," said Todt.

"He is a genuine and sincere person, and here he has found an open and co-operative atmosphere. Personally, I get on very well with Kimi.

"I have always liked him both as a driver, and in terms of the way he is out of the cockpit, always remaining the same in what is the difficult world of Formula One."

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