Zoom Ferrari cannot afford further slip-ups

The 16th round of this year's Formula One World Championship sees the ten teams make their second visit in recent times to the Mount Fuji circuit, located in the mountainous region around Japan's most famous landmark. Historically, the Japanese Grand Prix has been a successful hunting ground for Ferrari, as the team has won almost a third of all F1 world championship races held in the Land of the Rising Sun, with seven victories, all at Suzuka, dating back to Gerhard Berger's victory in 1987.

Last year's race in Fuji got off on the wrong foot for Ferrari, with both its drivers relegated to the last two positions after selecting incorrect tyres, effectively ruining the team's chances. The race began behind the Safety Car because of the torrential rain that had in fact blighted most of the weekend. The FIA declared the race would start behind the Safety Car, with the obligation for all cars to be fitted with the 'extreme wet weather' tyre; a decision which had not been made clear to Ferrari and after the opening lap, the team was told to pit both cars to change tyres.

Despite this setback, Kimi Raikkonen finished on the podium in third place, with Felipe Massa also in the points in sixth, which was not a bad result considering the difficult opening moments. On the Friday last year, with a dry track, the Scuderia's car was competitive, especially over a long run. Given that this year's F2008 has proved to be competitive at all circuits, these two factors give cause for optimism about the coming weekend, whatever the conditions. Latest forecasts predict that, while there is a strong possibility of rain on Saturday, race day should be mainly dry.

The F2008 will feature some new updates in Fuji, which constitute the latest development parts and also the final update for this season, as the car will run to the same specification in China and Brazil. These developments were given their final track sign-off during an aero test in Vairano last week, having previously been evaluated at the last test in Mugello.

Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal
"As I said in Singapore immediately after the night race there, our target in Japan and also in the final two races will be to come away with maximum points. It is a simple statement but also a very difficult task! However, we have the potential to achieve this goal and we believe we can do it. Our stated objective of winning both titles was rendered more difficult after the result of the last race where, apart from the complication of dealing with the first Safety Car period, we did not help ourselves with the mistake made during Felipe's pit stop."