Schumacher Involved in Kimi's Disastrous Tire Choice

One of the most disastrous decisions made by Ferrari during the course of Sunday's race at Sepang was fitting Kimi Raikkonen's car with rain tires in dry conditions. The rain was expected to pour any minute, only the Finn pitted for rain-spec tires earlier than the downpour actually started. And it wasn't for a few hundred metres, but for more than 2 laps.

By the time the rain dropped, Raikkonen's tires were practically ruined, which meant the beginning of the end for the Ferrari driver. He eventually finished the race in 14th place and later stated his disappointment over the poor decision from his pit wall.

One day away, the German media advanced the idea of former world champion Michael Schumacher – now technical advisor for the Scuderia – playing a major role in the matter. As rumored by the German press, both Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali and Schumacher decided to keep quiet about the decision, a move that would suggest the former covering for the latter.

According to Bild newspaper, Schumacher did not comment when asked who called the shots in Kimi's case, saying “I would not like to answer that. It is an internal matter”. Domenicali also avoided answering the questions coming from the journalists concerning a potential involvement from Scumacher in the call, while urging his team to immediately change their mentality.

While deciding to gamble Raikkonen's changes in Malaysia, Ferrari recorded their second consecutive winless event in 2009. The Scuderia is yet to make the scoreboard this year, as neither of the two drivers – Massa finished 9th during yesterday's race – managed to score any points in the first two rounds.