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Electric Failure for Ferrari at Sakhir

If it's not the whether, it's the mechanical problems that interfere with Ferrari's testing at the Sakhir track this week. Felipe Massa was not very lucky in doing a full mileage for the Scuderia on Wednesday, as the Ferrari F60 encountered some further problems with its gearbox and electronic system.

The day started off bad for Massa, who only got to run the car for a few laps before being called to the pits due to a gearbox problem. The morning session was half-compromised, as the Brazilian did only half the mileage he was supposed to until the lunch break.

During the afternoon session, the 2009 challenger behaved significantly better, allowing Massa to do a complete endurance simulation in the second part of the meeting. The F1 runner-up did 4 runs of 15 laps each, separated by refueling pit stops. However, during the very last run of the day (after the race simulation), the Ferrari F60 had to be carried to the pits with a breakdown lorry, due to an electric problem while on track.

Ferrari's technical director Aldo Costa revealed that the Scuderia have used their standard 2009 aerodynamic package in Bahrain and declared himself pleased with the development at the Sakhir track. He also suggested that, although the Kinetic Energy Recovery System is developed as planned, a bunch of work is still ahead until it can become fully functional.

“We used a standard configuration for the aerodynamics here in Bahrain, with just some minor updates: the complete one we'll see at the next tests in Jerez and Barcelona, where we will conclude our preparation for the Australian GP,” revealed Costa.

“There might be some problems ahead, like the ones we've had over the two days with the completely new components of the KERS or with experiments, like the ones we had on the gearbox this morning. As far as the KERS is concerned I have to say that we're quite satisfied with what we've seen so far, although there's still lots of work to do,” added Ferrari's technical head.

Testing at the Sakhir track will resume today – for the last time this week – with Massa due to get back on the wheel during the Thursday session.
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