It is almost inconceivable that Ferrari has sunk this low: three races in, and only Force India sits with Ferrari as not having scored any championship points this year.Some people are pointing to Massa's positioning before his retirement as a good sign; some had him finishing fifth or fourth splitting the Brawn cars had he been able to continue running. The team's evaluation is even rosier, claiming a podium was not out of the question. While I think that more than a bit optimistic, points were definitely on the table when this "electrical" problem forced him to come to a stop. The bottom line is that you shouldn't go counting your points before the checkered flag. No finish == no points, with Massa only 1 for 3 in the "finished" category this year. And Malaysia was a lottery when it came to finishers and points, but it is a lottery Massa failed to score in.
Raikkonen, on the other hand, comments on a lack of grip after a pitstop, a problem which "went away on its own". While the Ferrari is definitely not a world beater, in Kimi's hands these days it looks especially ordinary.
Looking ahead, there is little change in the cards for Bahrain; new aero bits are scheduled for Spain.
There are, however, rumblings in the media. Take for example this story from Autosport:
Ferrari not ruling out writing off '09
Speaking at Shanghai on Sunday night, Domenicali refused to rule out the possibility of the team abandoning the development push on its 2009 car if matters do not improve when a double-decker diffuser version of its F60 is raced for the first time at the Spanish Grand Prix.In other words, the story says: Ferrari isn't giving up on 2009 yet. Well I don't see stories being written about McLaren giving up on 2009 yet.
It is far too soon to start thinking this way -- there is a lot of work yet to be done for 2009.
