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HOCKENHEIM, Germany -- A demoralized and struggling Ferrari left the German Grand Prix in need of answers for an uncharacteristic problem: its car.
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Felipe Massa was third after starting on the front row and defending world champion Kimi Raikkonen managed three points as both drivers struggled throughout the 67-lap race won by McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton.
The disappointing weekend left the slumping team with plenty of questions after Hamilton's fourth victory in 10 races gave McLaren the edge -- and momentum -- in Formula One's championship race.
"This was not a good day and there's no point denying it," team principal Stefano Domenicali said. "Our rivals were stronger than us and we have to work out why, without getting caught up in the nebulous and superficial analysis.
"We need to analyze. We need to analyze a lot."
That process began Tuesday in Jerez, Spain, where the team started to investigate whether the problems were related to Hockenheim or involved the overall development.
Ferrari tested tires and introduced aerodynamic modifications with an eye toward 2009 development, though the latter addition is expected to come into play at the end of this year.
"It was important to go deeply into some technical elements to understand what happened last Sunday in Hockenheim," test driver Luca Badoer said. "We picked up a lot of data, and that will continue over the next few days when we also test some solutions for the forthcoming races."
Ferrari won four of the season's first five races and was in control of the championship following last month's 1-2 finish at the French GP.
"This is definitely not a crisis, but we have to study carefully the handling of the car to understand if we have taken the right road in terms of development," said Raikkonen, who has struggled since his last victory at the Spanish GP in April.
On Sunday the screaming red car -- so often a symbol of motoring prowess -- lacked both pace and grip, and Massa couldn't challenge runner-up Nelson Piquet Jr. of Renault down the stretch because of overheated brakes.
"We must try and understand why, this weekend, we have not been able to match our rivals. They have definitely improved, but I think it was more of a case of us having taken a step backwards," said Massa, who trails Hamilton by four points in the overall standings, while Raikkonen is seven back.
Ferrari has seen its lead over McLaren in the constructors' standings shrink to 19 points after enjoying a 33-point cushion only a couple of races ago.
"I think we made the right choice in terms of strategy, but when your pace is inadequate it is therefore difficult to get a good result," Domenicali said. "What you've seen today is something that we haven't seen from the start of the season with our consistency and our pace."
Ferrari needs to sort out its technical issues in time for the Hungarian GP on Aug. 3, where defending champion Hamilton will be driving for a third straight victory.
