ZitatKimi Raikkonen Q&A: “I keep making my life difficult on Saturdays…”
Kimi Raikkonen calls Spa his favourite circuit, and the Finn has a great record in the Belgian GP. In order to get his title challenge back on track he really needs to finish ahead of Sebastian Vettel when action resumes. Can he do it? Here’s a Q&A provide by Lotus today.
You were second in Budapest before the summer break; how good would it be to go one step better at Spa?
“Usually I’ve achieved a good result at the Belgian Grand Prix, but what has happened there before doesn’t help me right now. Of course, it doesn’t cause any harm either and it would be great to win at Spa for a fifth time. Extra points are always good and if you win the race no-one scores more points than you.”
How has your history been at the circuit?
“For me there have only been good memories from Spa and it’s great to go racing there. You can’t get the same kind of a feeling anywhere else. It’s great to race with a modern racing car at a proper circuit which has such a great tradition.”
What are the challenges of the track and should it suit the strengths of the E21?
“Spa offers very challenging high-speed corners and you need to get the right set-up for the car. As we’ve seen so many times this year, a good grid position is extremely important. It will be very decisive at Spa too, even though it is may be easier to overtake there than at some other tracks. It’s crucial to have a good car aerodynamically to tackle the fast corners and it’s a long lap, so to get the right time you really need to maintain the best rhythm. So much depends on the qualifying result, so we need to find a decent set-up on Friday and Saturday and have a solid qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. I don’t know how it will suit our car this year. Last year we were not very strong there. I think we know the reasons and for sure our car is better this year, but is it good enough to be fighting for a win? We will see on Sunday.”
Why has Spa been so good to you in the past?
“Sometimes there are certain circuits where everything seems to run smoothly, and then there are other circuits where I have no luck at all. Of course, we will do our very best to win this race. I have been on the top step of the podium a few times at Spa and I want to be there again.”
Does this make Spa one of your favourite tracks?
“I bet every driver likes Spa. For me it is the greatest racing circuit in the world. It is my favourite place. I have liked the place since my first ever visit there in 2000 with Formula Renault.”
How are you feeling about your championship position?
“I am now back in second which was a good way to enter the summer break. I finished ahead of Seb in Hungary so obviously scored more points than him there. To beat him, we need to be winning races and if we keep finishing second like we’ve done many times this year it’s probably not going to be enough for the championship, but you never know what might happen.”
Where can improvements be found?
“Well, obviously I keep making my life difficult on Saturdays in qualifying so then we pay a price, but we still have a good car in the race. Now we have tyres that are a little bit different we have to understand exactly how to use them. We made progress in Budapest so it should be easier in Spa, but that will be the same for everyone. To win, it’s always better to be starting near the front.”
ZitatRäikkönen's summer job: To develop a GP3 car Published on 16.08.2013 13:58 Merimaa Jani and Timo Pulkkinen
Kimi Raikkonen must maintain traction current F1 series during the summer break by testing today in Barcelona, Spain GP3 Series car.
Raikkonen to help GP3 Series organizer of the organization and the tire supplier Pirelli by giving your opinion on a series of car.
GP3 Series is a one design class, so all the teams are using the same equipment. Motor power are significantly lower than what Kimi is used as the GP3 car has a power of 400 horsepower, while the F1 car to speed up the 750-horsepower engine.
ZitatRaikkonen says consistency will not be enough to win F1 title By Glenn Freeman Friday, August 16th 2013, 11:49 GMT
Kimi Raikkonen, LotusKimi Raikkonen believes the consistency that has taken him to second in the Formula 1 standings will not be enough to fight Sebastian Vettel for the world championship.
The Finn re-took second in the drivers' championship from Fernando Alonso with his sixth podium finish of the season in the Hungarian Grand Prix, finishing ahead of Vettel to close the German's points lead to 38.
While Raikkonen said he was pleased to be back in second in the standings, he also stressed the importance of adding to his victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix is he is to fight Vettel for the title.
"I am now back in second which was a good way to enter the summer break," said Raikkonen, who has finished second five times this year.
"I finished ahead of Seb in Hungary. To beat him [in the championship], we need to be winning races.
"If we keep finishing second like we've done many times this year it's probably not going to be enough, but you never know what might happen."
QUALIFYING FOCUS
Raikkonen added that he needs to up his game in qualifying if he is to start turning podium finishes into victories.
"Well, obviously I keep making my life difficult on Saturdays in qualifying so then we pay a price," he said.
"But we still have a good car in the race. Now we have tyres that are a little bit different we have to understand exactly how to use them.
Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus"We made progress in Budapest so it should be easier in Spa, but that will be the same for everyone.
"To win, it's always better to be starting near the front.
"So much depends on the qualifying result, so we need to find a decent set-up on Friday and Saturday and have a solid qualifying session."
Raikkonen's season so far
Event Grid Race Australia 7 1 Malaysia 10 7 China 2 2 Bahrain 8 2 Spain 4 2 Monaco 5 10 Canada 10 9 Great Britain 8 5 Germany 4 2 Hungary 6 2
ZitatRaikkonen goes back to the roots he never had
Kimi struggles to contain his excitement after his GP3 test
While most F1 drivers have been enjoying some time off in recent weeks the man you might least expect to head back to work early did just that today.
Kimi Raikkonen took part in a development test on behalf of the GP3 series in Barcelona, thanks to his relationship with the Koiranen GP team.
Raikkonen ran 58 laps, focussing on tyres and what the GP3 organisation calls finding “technical solutions to offer more overtaking possibilities to the drivers for the 2014 races.”
Back in 2001 Raikkonen made the jump straight from Formula Renault to Sauber, skipping the F3, World Series and F3000 categories that were the normal route at the time.
“I wanted to test the GP3/13 because my friend Afa Heikkinen has a team in this Series,” said Kimi. “And I have been closely following their progress and results since the beginning of the season. I was curious to see how the car handled and it was actually fun to drive. There were a few issues regarding its behaviour, but we managed to solve most of them. The GP3/13 is a very good tool for young drivers, especially when you have to learn about tyre management like we have in F1.”
GP3 technical boss Didier Perrin added: “We are extremely pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Kimi today. His experience and feedback were invaluable and they gave us a better understanding of what needs to be done in order to make our car a better tool in overtaking opportunities for next season. He has confirmed all our hypothesis, and together we could start working on two development directions for the end of season testing.”
It is nice to see Kimi doing something else, but something still related to single seaters. And he is doing development work! It should get him focused for next week.
If Kimi has decided to return to Ferrari he will have his own good reasons and I will accept those, but very reluctantly, as it was the first time he went there. " title="oi" /> " title="oi" />
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