KERS loss hurts Ferrari pace – team
Ferrari's drivers, not running the controversial energy re-use technology for the first time this season due to safety and reliability concerns, struggled for pace in Shanghai free practice.
It had been suggested that the units may also have been removed for performance reasons, but figures of the Maranello based team insist this is not so.
"I can say our fight for the championship is ever more compromised," Felipe Massa said in China.
The Brazilian said that as a result of not using KERS, "we are losing even more performance".
Massa said the F60 was already not generating as much downforce as "the best cars".
Kimi Raikkonen agreed: "We must try and improve the car: at the moment, we are not able to fight for the title."
Team boss Stefano Domenicali said it is not true that not suffering the weight handicap of the heavy KERS technology improved the handling of the car.
"Let's not forget, (this car) was designed to carry this system," he said.