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Ferrari satisfied with Malaysia win, vows to keep
advantage
SEPANG, Malaysia: Ferrari has come bouncing back
to set the stage for a season-long duel with McLaren but insists it
is taking nothing for granted after winning in Malaysia. The
Itaalian team, which won with a dominant performance by defending
drivers’ world champion Kimi Raikkonen, rebounded from a woeful
first outing in Australia, where both of its cars failed to finish.
“We wanted to show the reaction of Ferrari. So
I’m very happy because we showed that the team can do a great
job,” said team principal Stefano Domenicali. “I think the sense
of relief is connected to the fact that we really showed our
potential. We were strong all weekend, very good pace on both tire
specs. And that is, for us, the main thing,” he said.
Raikkonen’s drive was his second career win at
the Sepang circuit, and helped the team get past the debacle at
Melbourne, their worst season start in 16 years.
Meanwhile McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen, who
took third, and Lewis Hamilton, who finished fifth, kept in check
Ferrari’s win—unwittingly helped by Raikkonen’s teammate
Felipe Massa’s retirement while comfortably in second place.
-- AFP
Finland celebrate Raikkonen, Kovalainen
‘double finn finish’
The sight of two Finns finishing on the podium
in first and third places represented Finland’s best F1 result.
But the sight of Kimi Raikkonen’s glum face and dull response to
questions about the “double Finn finish” left many observers
wondering about his patriotism.
“For sure it is a good day,” Raikkonen said
in his usual monotone. “But it would be better to be first and
second.”
Sensing his compatriot’s reluctance to
celebrate a national landmark, Heikki Kovalainen said, “It is good
to have two Finnish drivers on the podium.”
Finland’s previous best F1 results were at
Monaco in 1998 when Mika Hakkinen finished first and Mika Salo
fourth, and in Japan last year when Kovalainen was second and
Raikkonen was third.
-- AFP
Kubica secures best career finish, hails
‘brilliant’ BMW team
SEPANG, Malaysia: Robert Kubica, the first
Polish driver to race in F1, hailed his “brilliant” BMW team
after grabbing the best result of his young career when he finished
second in the Malaysia GP. The 23-year-old from Krakow steered
through the chaos of the opening lap and avoided trouble to claim
his first podium finish since the 2006 Italy GP.
BMW rose to second in the constructors’
championship behind McLaren Mercedes-Benz and ahead of Ferrari as
they continued their highly promising start to the season.
“It’s a fantastic day for the team, for
Petronas our sponsors and for me,” Kubica said. “It is our
second consecutive podium and at last I have managed to get another
one myself.”
Kubica led the race for eight laps and Nick
Heidfeld, his teammate who finished sixth, clocked the fastest lap.
-- AFP
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