It was never going to be easy for Scott Speed this season – the new Ferrari powered car was only launched a couple of weeks before the start of the season, giving the drivers little time to acclimatise themselves to the new car, and Speed’s career being in limbo as Berger agonised over whether to let him drive this season or not, with Speed only getting the final nod a few weeks ago.
Hoping to prove everyone wrong, Speed was faster than his teammate, Liuzzi, over the majority of the weekend. However, it all went wrong on lap 29 when the American driver retired due to tyre problems after his second pit stop which left him stranded in a gravel trap.
“I had two flat tyres after the pit stop,” Speed revealed. “It was a mechanical problem with something in the valve stems. I started losing air pressure in the front and immediately after the pit stop, I started having massive understeer.
“Going into the fastest corner on the track, the outside front tyre exploded and I went straight off the track. Luckily there was gravel in front of me instead of a wall!”
However, Speed is still positive about the weekend, particularly after he out-qualified Liuzzi. “Lots of stuff on the car is brand new, and so inevitably some of it didn’t work,” he said. “The one positive element is that it is clear that we will be able to develop this package through the season and can do something with it. It’s going to be a tough time until we get some more testing under our belt.”
