Raikkonen predicts tight battle for title!

Kimi Raikkonen is predicting a season-long tight battle for the championship following the first two rounds of the 2008 season.

The Ferrari driver dominated the Malaysian Grand Prix last Sunday, while rivals McLaren were unable to fight on top after being hit by penalties in qualifying.

A week earlier, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton had taken a commanding win in Australia while Ferrari had a weekend to forget.

"This is going to be a very tight battle all year long," wrote Raikkonen in a column on his personal website. "As I said before the first race, this season is very long. Now we have just started, and nobody can say what happens next.

"Obviously, we have a winning car. While everything works well, we have the speed to win races. We just need to get qualifying in a better shape. When the qualifying performance is there, it also helps a lot for the race."

He added: "Obviously, it was great to win again. I've got a really nice feeling while flying back home after the race on Sunday. The race was run exactly according to our plan.

"While we didn't have any problems, the speed is there. No doubt about that. Our car is strong enough to take, and to keep the first place."

Raikkonen admitted his win on Sunday had been easy and he claimed he could have gone faster if needed.

"It was an easy victory," he said. "We just took it really easy and saved the car and engine for the next race. I could have gone much faster, but there wasn't any need for that.

"I won my first ever Grand Prix in Malaysia too. As I remember, it was also pretty easy back then five years ago too. It just shows that when the car is working well, Sepang seems to suit me well."

Raikkonen is second in the standings, three points behind Hamilton.

Best Ferrari F1 and its pilots photography from last GP

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Kimi Raikkonen celebrates Ferrari fightback

Kimi Raikkonen was delighted after his Ferrari team managed to fight back in Malaysia following their dismal Australian Grand Prix.

The Finn, who retired from the Melbourne race, took a dominant victory in Sepang, crossing the finish line nearly 20 seconds in front of BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica.

Raikkonen's win, five years after he had scored his first at the same track, moved him to second place in the standings, just three points behind McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, winner in Australia.

"For sure we had quite a difficult weekend in Australia but I didn't really expect to have such difficulties," said Raikkonen after his 16th F1 win.

"We were not 100 percent sure things would be different here. We knew speed wise we would be fine, even in Australia the speed should have been fine.

"Everything worked perfectly here and we took it easy to make sure nothing went wrong. We saved the engine. It was a perfect job by the team to come back. I would have been happier with Felipe in second but things go wrong."

Raikkonen still reckons his Ferrari team have work to do, especially in order to improve their qualifying form.

"I think we still have some difficulties to get the qualifying right," he said. "It was good in Q2 but in the last session we found no grip on the tyres.

"We knew we were running one lap longer so we were not panicking and knew as long as we kept close I knew a good chance to pass him.

"The car was good all weekend, but sometimes it was difficult to get the best out the tyres."

Teammate Felipe Massa's race ended on lap 31 when the Brazilian, who had started from pole position, spun out at Turn Eight.

Lack of grip costs Raikkonen pole

Kimi Raikkonen admitted that second place was the best he could have hoped for after qualifying half a second behind teammate Felipe Massa to ensure a Ferrari lock-out of the front row in Malaysia.

The world champion, who was quickest in Q2, admitted that he could not find the grip he needed to challenge Massa, but added that he was unconcerned by missing out on pole position.

"I was not so happy with the Q3 but the car is good," he said. "We couldn't get the grip really, but anyhow second place is a good place to start, we should have a good strong car.

"It's going to be a long hot race tomorrow and we don't know about the weather yet so we are looking forward to it."

Raikkonen also remarked that there should be no surprise about Ferrari's return to form in Sepang, which he described as a more 'traditional' circuit than Melbourne, where neither Ferrari finished the race last weekend.

"I think this is a more normal circuit so the car has been quick all weekend," he said. "I think it is a completely different circuit [to Melbourne], so our car should be pretty fast everywhere, when you start from behind it is difficult to use your own speed, tomorrow should be okay."

Kimi Raikkonen: supersofts won't be a problem

Kimi Raikkonen dismissed suggestions that his Ferrari team will be disadvantaged by Bridgestone's supersoft tyres in Brazil this weekend, and reiterated his intentions to win the season finale on Sunday.
Raikkonen trails championship leader Lewis Hamilton by seven points and Fernando Alonso by four. The Finn will only be able to win the championship if he finishes the Brazilian Grand Prix at least second while Hamilton scores no points and Alonso finishes no higher than fifth.
And with McLaren previously proving the better car on Bridgestone's supersoft tyres, paddock pundits have speculated that Raikkonen could be disadvantaged at Interlagos. But Raikkonen believes this is no longer the case.
"I've been reading stories that the supersoft tyres should be better for our competitors," Raikkonen said on Ferrari's official website. "That might have been true early in the season. But then things improved for us in terms of the set-up. So we just have to wait and see how it goes in Brazil.
"We go to Brazil in position three, so I'm not really the favourite for the title. But as we saw at Shanghai two weeks ago anything can happen. Whatever will happen, it's going to be a very exciting race. We will give it all.
"We couldn't do very much to prepare ourselves for Interlagos," Raikkonen continued. "We have just done some simulations and analysed the data.
"At Interlagos we need a strong package, especially the engine is very important for the long rising main straight. Let's hope that everything will be all right for this demanding and bumpy track. I know that the track has been redone, but we have to wait and see.
"I think that our competitors have done their job as we did. There's lots of pressure on both sides. They have two drivers in the race for the title and they also fight each other. Hopefully we can benefit from that.
"I go into this race the same way as into the last two: my aim is to win, and the rest is not up to me. It is a similar situation as in 2003, when I lost the title to Michael [Schumacher].
"Hamilton has seven points more than us: there's not much to calculate. We have to win and that's it."

Source - http://www.autosport.com

Video: Kimi Raikkonen on GP China

F1 Onboard 2007: Lap of Shanghai with Kimi Raikkonen

Raikkonen vows to fight until the end

Kimi Raikkonen has vowed to make things difficult for Lewis Hamilton in the final two races of the season, despite his slim hopes in the championship fight.

Raikkonen is now 17 points behind Hamilton following last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, won by the McLaren driver and where his Ferrari rival finished in third place.

Raikkonen will need to win this weekend's race in China, with Hamilton in sixth, if he wants to keep his hopes alive. The Finn can also finish in second with Hamilton in eighth to go into the final race in Brazil with any option of taking the title.

Despite his slim chances, Raikkonen is vowing to fight until the end.

"We went to Japan in quite a difficult point situation. Now we have to deal with what happened there and, for sure, now it looks much worse. But there is nothing we can do for it anymore," Raikkonen wrote on his website.

"Obviously we have just a little hope for the championship. But it is better to have a slight hope than no hope at all. We will not give up. No way. We are fighters and we will prove it again.

"Now we do our best to win these last two races. It is up to the others how we finish in the championship.

"It looks like Hamilton has wrapped it up, but we will not give up. At least we will try to make it more difficult for them by winning these last two races."

Source - http://www.autosport.com

Kimi Räikkönen on Fuju, 2007

F1 Onboard Lap with Kimi Raikkonen @ Fuji 2007

Raikkonen stays hopeful for the race

Kimi Raikkonen is still hopeful about his chances for the Japanese Grand Prix despite being unable to secure a place on the front row.

The Ferrari driver, winner of the last race in Spa two weeks ago, had to settle for third place behind the McLaren's of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

Raikkonen, who is 13 points behind Hamilton with three events to go, finished less than two tenths behind the Briton in the wet conditions.

Despite missing out on a front row start, the Finn is confident he has a car capable of fighting for victory in tomorrow's race.

"It was okay. I had traffic on last lap and we had a small problem with the gearbox so I hope we can fix it for tomorrow," said Raikkonen.

"I think we are in good shape. We don't know the weather but it is the same for everybody. The circuit is going to be different after the rain.

"I am confident we have good car for the race. I think it will be a tight race between all four cars."

Source - http://www.autosport.com

Kimi to ride the wave of Spa success

Q. Do you think that Ferrari has arrived with a number one at the team too late?

Kimi Raikkonen: I don't think we have number one and number two. We are racing. It is not why we are in this position.

Q. Last year you were in McLaren and you had a lot of problems with reliability. This year you are at Ferrari and you have these problems. Any regrets?

KR: No!

Q. Is the atmosphere at Ferrari better than it is at McLaren?

KR: The atmosphere here is very good. I cannot say what it is like at McLaren, because I don't know. I am happy with how things are going here. We had some little issues with the reliability, but that is part of racing unfortunately and it has cost us too many points. But we still have a little chance and we try to use it.

Q. You are 13 points behind now. How would you rate your chances now, especially when you see the last three tracks?

KR: This one is still a question mark, and tomorrow we know more. We still have a chance. We know it is going to be very difficult, but you never know when there can be issues with other cars, and maybe a surprise. But we try to do the best that we can and then just see where we end up. There is nothing else we can do.

Q. How did you learn this track?

KR: I went around just five minutes ago, two laps. It is a nice circuit.

Q. At races this year it seems that either McLaren or Ferrari have had a big advantage over the other team. At Spa, and in a situation where you are ahead, does it actually feel quite easy?

KR: I don't know what you mean by easy, because it is never going to be easy. For sure you would rather be in front, but it is always tricky.

Q. But you looked like you had quite a bit in reserve in Spa?

KR: I had enough, so I think after the first pit stop it wasn't too difficult. I knew what I needed to stay ahead (of Felipe) and that made it easier.

Q. When you look back on your career, did you find it easier to hunt somebody or be hunted down?

KR: I haven't been often in the position to be hunted, so I don't think that it makes much difference to me. Unfortunately we always seem to be in a position where we need to catch up, and hopefully we can turn it around.

Q. Do you expect Felipe to play a supporting role to you this weekend?

KR: I don't know anything about it; you need to ask the team. I expect to be in the same position as before.

Q. Is it realistic to have Ferrari win the next two races, like in Spa with a 1-2?

KR: I don't know. I know as much as you guys. We try, for sure, to win every race. But it is going to be very tricky, and we just need to see what happens.

Q. In France you were allowed to use your strategy to beat Felipe, which surprised him a bit. Would you be surprised if that was allowed to happen the other way around in the final three races?

KR: It was done in qualifying already, so it wasn't like it happened in the middle of the race. It was already in the first pit stop and the second pit stop, so everybody knew in our team that I had a bit more fuel. It is a normal thing. Either one of us can choose when we want to stop. If it happens, it happens. It was a similar situation in the last race, but it didn't work out for him.

Q. After what happened in Spa between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, do you think this close fight can be helpful for you?

KR: I don't know really. It is nothing to do with us. I saw what happened between them, but nothing really happened. It was just a racing thing, and they both came out with pretty much the same speed. Maybe it will happen...

Q. If at some point in the future, maybe the distant future, that you were told that your teammate was going to be Fernando Alonso. What would your reaction be?

KR: It wouldn't change anything for me. I don't expect it to happen, anyhow. I have never been in a position to say who I want my teammate to be. I don't really care too much who it is. It really doesn't make my life any different.

Q. Would you enjoy the chance to beat him?

KR: It would be nice, for sure. But like I said, I don't know. It is more talk than anything else.

Q. Looking at Fernando, he is fighting against you, he is fighting against Lewis and he is fighting against the team. Are you surprised how well he is handling the situation psychologically?

KR: It is nothing to do with me. I don't have any interest to answer questions about him. It is nothing against him, but I am not here for that reason.

Q. The weather could be tricky here. How would you like the rain?

KR: For sure it could be tricky here because it is a mountain but it is the same for everyone in the end. It would be nice to be either wet or dry. When it is the middle conditions it is always a bit more of a question mark, and more luck is involved.

Q. You get a lot of pleasure out of racing…

KR: Yeah, I wouldn't do it otherwise.

Q. So how do you rank this year?

KR: I think it has been good. Of course with a new team it is always a bit different from a team you have raced with before for many years. So I enjoy the racing, and it has been easier anyhow. It has been a good year. Okay, the results could have been a little bit better but there are different reasons for it. Otherwise for racing, and working with the team, it has been very good.

Source - http://www.autosport.com