Ferrari - We made mistakes

Domenicali: mistakes

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Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali has said they "cannot afford to repeat" mistakes made during the British Grand Prix in the second half of the season.

Drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa both encountered problems in treacherous wet conditions at Silverstone, while title rival Lewis Hamilton eased to a dominant victory in front of a jubilant home crowd.

A costly tyre gamble at the first round of pit stops compromised the charge of Raikkonen, who had been closing on race leader Hamilton up to that point.

Ferrari decided to keep the Finn on his original set of intermediate tyres, expecting that no more rain would fall.

In contrast, McLaren gave Hamilton a fresh set of intermediates, which came into their own when the heavens opened only three laps later.

Meanwhile, Massa, who led the Championship coming into the race, spun five times before trailing home last of the 13 finishers.

The Brazilian also struggled during qualifying, starting only ninth on the grid after problems changing a wheel during Saturday's final session left him unable to undertake a final flying lap.

"A Sunday to forget as quickly as possible in terms of the result, although we must remember certain elements of this weekend, as there were mistakes made that we cannot afford to repeat," admitted Domenicali.

"We could have won this race with Kimi but we made a key mistake at the first pit stop, choosing to stay on the same set of tyres.

"The rain did not ease off and lasted longer and our drivers - Felipe had also gone for the same choice - found themselves in difficulty.

"With hindsight it's easy to say we should have changed tyres, but Formula One is not an exact science. Sometimes strategic choices pay off and sometimes they don't.

"All the same, we have to admit that, this weekend, we did not operate to our usual standard. We made mistakes at every level and even our performance did not match our expectations and now we have to work out why, but calmly without panicking."

Pulling level

Raikkonen recovered to finish fourth at the chequered flag, claiming five points that allow the reigning World Champion to pull level at the top of the drivers' standings on 48 points alongside Massa and Hamilton.

"Both our drivers are on equal points in the lead with one other driver in the drivers' classification and we head the Constructors' Championship," Domenicali added.

"We have lost a few opportunities to pick up a greater number of points, but we always knew this would be a very closely contested Championship."