SILVERSTONE, England — When the going gets tough, the tough get going and Ferrari have gone a long way in the last two weeks to guarantee victory at Sunday’s British Grand Prix - 4,252 kilometers to be precise.
That’s the distance the Italian giants have covered in testing since they woke up to the danger posed by the in-form Williams who clinched a second successive one-two finish at the French Grand Prix a fortnight ago.
Ferrari team chief Jean Todt admitted that Williams, courtesy of a rejuvenated Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, have gained the upper hand so it was back to the drawing board as they plotted their British Grand Prix campaign — a race they are expected to win. “It was worth doing so much work,” said world champion Michael Schumacher who still leads the drivers title race by eight points and who won here last year on his way to a fifth title.
“We tested at Silverstone in mid-June and that session went very well. Obviously, one can’t underestimate Williams, but in my opinion, the potential of the teams this season depends a lot on the characteristics of each particular circuit.
“The last few races did not go the way we wanted, but I am sure we will be soon be back on tracks which suit us. We hope Silverstone is one of these.
“We are still leading both championships and I am optimistic because things are not as serious as outsiders think.
“You need a well balanced car on this track, even more so than at the Nurburgring. Every aspect of the set-up has to be perfect and getting it right is a real challenge.” Despite successive one-two finishes at the European Grand Prix and then at Magny-Cours, Williams are playing down their chances on this super-fast circuit where they haven’t won since Jacques Villeneuve’s victory in 1997.
“We are only three points behind them in the constructors championship but I never take anything for granted because when you start doing that you start going backward,” admitted team boss Frank Williams. “I still think we are in the mode of closing the gap on Ferrari. Silverstone will be very difficult — Ferrari had the advantage in testing.”
