Depending on the fuel load, it seems Ferrari may be able to take the fight to Merc in the race (based off of Rosberg and Kimi's stints).
I'm also highly encouraged by Kimi's quali sim. Can't remember the last time another team was within 0.5s of Merc in the dry in qualification. It must have been a fantastic lap from Kimi. His onboard during the quali sim looked great. Very minimal steering inputs.
quoteShanghai, 10 April – The second free practice session saw the Scuderia Ferrari drivers finish second and fourth, with Kimi Raikkonen (1.37.662) and Sebastian Vettel (1.38.339) respectively. The afternoon programme included a comparison of the two tyre compounds and some long runs. The session ran without a hitch. Fastest was Lewis Hamilton who posted a 1.37.219 in his Mercedes, while Daniel Ricciardo (1.38.311) split the two Ferraris in his Red Bull.
Kimi Raikkonen - Too early to make predictions
Kimi Raikkonen: “Overall it has been a good day of work. In the afternoon we had a problem with the brakes but the mechanics did a very good job and managed to fix it, then I was able to go back on track and go on with the programme. It’s a bit early to make predictions, we still have things to improve, tomorrow we have to make sure that everything works and have another good day without any issues or problems and then we’ll do our best for qualifying and the race."
I better dont get my hopes up to high! Just really really hope that he qualifies in top 4!
"Walk on, through the wind, Walk on, through the rain, Though your dreams be tossed and blown. Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart, And you'll never walk alone, YOU`LL NEVER WALK ALONE!!!"
The temperatures are rising in China apparently if the temperatures get to high, then the teams would have to do a 3 stop strategy. If that happens it could be very beneficial for Ferrari.
Quote: Bradamante wrote in post #23Big disappointment, behind Vettel and Williams and dirty side - 6°-. I think he made a mistake at the beginning of the lap.
he did always when it counts hope he can have a good start tomorrow
Yes, he made two. One in the first and one in the second corner
For you and all the others who are interested: we are in chat during the most FPs, quali and race. All are welcome Sometimes you have to enter the chat twice, but then its working.
quoteF1 Chinese GP: Kimi Raikkonen fed up with bad qualifying 'habit'
By Lawrence Barretto and Jonathan Noble Saturday, April 11th 2015, 10:01 GMT
Kimi Raikkonen says he needs to break his "habit" of troubled Formula 1 qualifying sessions as he rued another lost opportunity at the Chinese Grand Prix.
While team-mate Sebastian Vettel put his Ferrari in third place on the grid, Raikkonen could manage no better than sixth after losing time in the first section of the lap.
Raikkonen said he was not sure why things were so difficult in the first part of the lap but says that the time for excuses is now past.
"It is just how difficult it was in the first three corners in the last try," said Raikkonen when explaining what had gone wrong.
"I lost so much time in corner three basically that I was a bit surprised.
"The car had been behaving very well and in the last run it was not so easy there for some reason.
"The laptime was pretty much done there - you couldn't catch up."
Raikkonen was convinced that the change of wind direction had not been a factor.
"Obviously it was different from yesterday but I don't know what happened," he said.
"I got a loose car and lost an awful lot of time from that corner to the next corner.
"Maybe it is my fault. Maybe it just happened. But it is disappointing anyhow.
"It is not a complete disaster, but it seems to become a habit. I would rather get rid of it.
"For the race we have a good car. It has been behaving well all weekend.
"Today was not ideal with the last set of tyres, but we will do our best for tomorrow and see where we end up.
quote“I just had difficulties in the first three corners on the last try and I lost so much time in corner three basically,” Raikkonen said. “I was a bit surprised because the car had been behaving very well and then the last set was not so easy there for some reason. It was pretty messed up the lap that time, obviously I couldn’t catch it up.
“Maybe I couldn’t go exactly as fast as the people ahead which was a Sauber but it was as surprise because we did used tyres and it was better. The first time we had any issues so it’s a bit of a mystery but it happened and it’s bad timing but it is what it is.”
And Raikkonen says it is frustrating to not be able to highlight exactly what was wrong during the opening part of the lap.
“We have had a pretty OK weekend but surprisingly enough on the last try something wasn’t correct. I’m not complaining that it wasn’t correct but I had a s**t lap basically in that one area for reasons I don’t know.
“It could be me, it could be something else, but I’m just disappointed with myself and not anything else that it ended up this way again. Obviously it makes life much more difficult to start in that position but tomorrow’s another day and I expect the car to be good in the race but it doesn’t make life easy to start in that position.”
quoteA real shame Kimi Raikkonen: “I’m disappointed with the result, my car was behaving pretty well most of the time but in in my last run I was not able to put a good lap together. For some reason the handling of the car was different, more loose than in the previous laps and slippery on the rear especially in the first three corners. It’s a shame because in the previous sessions I had been satisfied with the behaviour. My starting position for the race tomorrow it’s not ideal , but I expect to have the same good car we’ve had so far. We’ll try to do our best and I’m sure that with a good start we can extract the best result out of the situation.”
Print view
Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:27 pm
reply
always when it counts 
Sometimes you have to enter the chat twice, but then its working.
