Dream Team: Why Ferrari Is Smiling

• Raikkonen's contract with Ferrari does not end until the end of the 2009 season.

• Massa's contract with Ferrari does not end until the end of the 2010 season.

• Fernando Alonso has proved time and again that he is not a team player, a trait that landed Massa his contract extension following last year's season finale in his home race.

• Fernando Alonso teamed with rookie Lewis Hamilton.  The result was epic failure.  Pairing Alonso with either Raikkonen or Massa will produce different results? Unlikely.

• Di Montezemolo has already flatly denied any interest in Fernando Alonso.  Instead, the apple of Ferrari's eye appears to be young Sebastian Vettel.

• Kimi Raikkonen has already plainly stated that while he will probably retire soon, his contract does not expire until the end of the 2009 season.

The 2008 season has been full of surprises and idle chit-chat. 

Who would have guessed that Felipe Massa, anything but perfect at the season opener, would be tied for first place following the mid-season Silverstone race? 

Who, also, would have wagered a guess that both Ferrari drivers would be tied for first at the same point?

And so it is that we enter the second half of the 2008 season with Ferrari holding a commanding lead in the WCC and both drivers gunning for that all-important WDC. 

Could we see a repeat of the 2007 second half? Will Raikkonen and Massa once again paint the town (Ferrari) red? 

That is a pair of questions that even Luca Di Montezemolo would be hard-pressed to answer, but one thing is abundantly clear: he has plenty to smile about.

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