أرشيف وسم ‘ Kimi Raikkonen ’

Posted on Saturday, June 21, 2014

Raikkonen caught out by first corner

Kimi Raikkonen says that the uphill right hand first corner at the Red Bull Ring repeatedly caused him problems during qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. Raikkonen progressed through to Q3 but made an error at turn one on his hot lap and ended the session in eighth position. "I was struggling with the first corner a lot [and] I couldn't get it right," he said. "I knew I had three laps so I tried to do it again but on the last lap I […]

Posted on Friday, June 20, 2014

Alonso: Race strategy impossible to establish

Fernando Alonso says that Friday's practice sessions did not reveal the optimum strategy for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix. The Spaniard was third quickest in second practice, behind only the dominant Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. "In both sessions, Kimi [Raikkonen] and I were on different programmes and now we must put all the data together to choose which of the elements we tested have worked best," said Alonso. "There were no surprises on the tyre front, the Supersoft seems quicker and will […]

Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2014

Raikkonen admits Ferrari down on luck

Kimi Raikkonen has admitted that everything is going against Ferrari as his difficult 2014 season continued in Canada. Raikkonen suffered a spin exiting the hairpin on his way to 10th position and has racked up just 18 points across the opening seven races of the year to sit a lowly 12th in the championship. "There just seems to be always something happening and my spin didn't help, but I wasn't expecting to get so much power," he said. "We have to check why it happened […]

Posted on Thursday, June 5, 2014

Ferrari focusing on own issues - Raikkonen

Kimi Räikkönen says that Ferrari is focusing on fixing its own issues with the F14T, rather than thinking about winning the world championship. Räikkönen has endured a difficult start to his second stint with Ferrari, having amassed only 17 points across the first six races, leaving him in 12th in the championship. “It's very hard for anybody to challenge them [Mercedes] for the championship,” he said. “I may be wrong, but that's how it goes. “In the past, you've seen it can all change. Our […]

Posted on Thursday, May 29, 2014

Raikkonen admits 2014 title chance 'over'

Kimi Raikkonen has ruled out winning the 2014 title. Detailing a meeting with journalists this week, Ferrari officially quoted the Finnish driver as saying it will be "very difficult" to beat Mercedes this year, "but you never know". Raikkonen, in fact, was on a sponsor visit to Norway, and what he told the major Aftenposten newspaper was slightly less optimistic. When asked about the 2014 title, the 34-year-old answered: "It seems to be over. The Mercedes cars are too fast. "We (Ferrari) want to be […]

Posted on Thursday, May 29, 2014

Massa 'glad' Ferrari axe led to Williams

Felipe Massa says he is "glad" Ferrari dumped him at the end of last year. The Brazilian drove for the fabled Maranello team between 2006 and 2013, racing alongside highly-rated champions Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso. But Ferrari chose to sign the returning 2007 title winner Raikkonen for this year, with Massa now insisting he is not surprised the Finn is struggling alongside Spaniard Alonso. Massa told Germany's Auto Bild he thinks Raikkonen is "maybe not quite as good" as Alonso. In fact, […]

Posted on Sunday, May 25, 2014

Raikkonen reprimanded for Magnussen clash

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was reprimanded after causing a collision with Kevin Magnussen towards the end of the Monaco Grand Prix. Magnussen and Raikkonen were battling over seventh place when the Finn tried to overtake his rival at the hairpin, resulting in both drivers nudging into the barriers. Magnussen recovered to 10th, with Raikkonen outside of the points in 12th. "I’m still not really sure what happened with my car at the end of the race," said Magnussen, who was slipping back due to a power […]

Posted on Saturday, May 24, 2014

Alonso: It will be an endurance race

Fernando Alonso has predicted that the Monaco Grand Prix will be an 'endurance' race due to the hard nature of the Pirelli tyres. For the fourth successive year Pirelli has taken the supersoft and soft tyres to Monte Carlo, but their 2014 compounds are harder than their 2013 counterparts, with several drivers complaining that they are an issue. "Today’s result encapsulates the state of play this weekend and it’s more or less what we expected, but I don’t think it went badly, because we managed […]

Posted on Thursday, May 22, 2014

Alonso says Monaco qualifying crucial

Thursday pace setter Fernando Alonso says that achieving a good result in qualifying will be crucial for Ferrari's hope of success at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix. Alonso set the quickest time during the rain-affected second session in Monte Carlo, having been fourth fastest in the morning. "Despite the rain reducing the amount of track time in the second session, we more or less managed to complete all our programme and, with or without a turbo, the complexity of this track remains the same, so […]

Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Maldonado tops morning session in Spain

Pastor Maldonado set the quickest time as Formula 1 testing continued on Wednesday morning at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain. The Venezuelan driver set a series of rapid times, the fastest being a 1.26.311 to leave him comfortably top of the standings. Kimi Raikkonen enjoyed a more productive morning in the Ferrari F14T and he ended in second. Nico Rosberg was third quickest as Mercedes trialled a 'megaphone' exhaust early on in the running, which had little audible effect. Esteban Gutierrez's running was briefly […]

Posted on Sunday, May 11, 2014

Raikkonen: Strategy call was wrong

Kimi Raikkonen reckons Ferrari took the wrong approach with his strategy during the Spanish Grand Prix. Raikkonen finished the race in seventh place after stopping twice and was overtaking in the closing stages by two-stopping team-mate Fernando Alonso. "That was a complicated race for me, with the main problem being a lack of grip and in general, it was very difficult to find the right balance on the car," he said. "Going for a two stop strategy proved to be the wrong choice because tyre […]

Posted on Saturday, May 10, 2014

Alonso hoping for Ferrari improvements

Fernando Alonso says that Ferrari must not make any mistakes if they are to pull off a strong result at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. Alonso qualified in seventh place for his home event at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. "This wasn’t a good qualifying session, but the outcome was more or less what we could have expected on a difficult weekend, especially in terms of grip, not just for us but for all the teams," he said. "I’d definitely have liked to be starting […]