Autosport: Kimi Raikkonen insists he hasn't got slower amid 2014 F1 struggles

[Ed Harley]

Kimi Raikkonen insists he hasn't got slower amid 2014 F1 struggles


Kimi Raikkonen still believes he is fast enough to fight at the front in Formula 1, despite struggling to find his form with Ferrari this season.

Raikkonen returned to the Scuderia this year after two successful seasons with Lotus, but has so far failed to beat his new team-mate Fernando Alonso in 11 grands prix.

Spaniard Alonso has scored 88 points more than Raikkonen and outqualified the Finn nine times, but the 2007 world champion says the difficult run has not shaken his faith in his own ability.

"It's been a difficult year but that's life," Raikkonen said.

"It's not fun when you have hard times but it's happened before and that's how it goes.

"We try to make things better all the time, make fewer mistakes, and get the car where I want it to be to be fast again.

"I know I haven't suddenly lost over the winter a few seconds of laptime."

Raikkonen remains adamant it is only minor issues preventing him from producing better results.

"It's a case of putting things in the right order for me," he said.

"Unfortunately we haven't managed to do it here and there.

"Sometimes we have one day, one practice, in some places where we are absolutely fine, but we're still fighting against things a lot and obviously then the results show where we end up."

The Finn's sixth place in the last race in Hungary was his best result of the season so far. Fifth on the Bahrain GP grid is his highest qualifying slot to date.

"If it would be easy, as sometimes it goes, we would be laughing, but it's not the case this year," Raikkonen added.

"I have trust in the team but obviously there have to be changes and improvements, But it can only happen when we work as a team."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/115280

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[Brembo]

Well said I couldn't agree more with Kimi. He's still got what it takes. He just needs the right wheels.

[Majki2111]

Well said I couldn't agree more with Kimi. He's still got what it takes. He just needs the right wheels.Alonso doesnt need right wheels to achieve wins and podiums. Proof? Past 4 years...

[Ed Harley]

I don't recall any wins with F14T so perhaps 'right wheels' would help.

[Greig]

He is hardly going to admit he has lost it (if he has) anyway.

[Ed Harley]

I think quite the opposite as he is known to be very straight forward and honest.

[Forzi]

Just hope that what Kimi is waiting for ain't a car in which most drivers would be quick. Getting a lil tired with the whole "it's not how i like it" thing. These drivers are paid to deal with car problems that the engineers couldn't deal and that's what sepporates a brilliant driver from a good driver. Adaptation is key. Don't like the car? Work with the engineers. Didn't help? Work some more. That didn't help? Well, change your driving style. No disrespect to Kimi, but it's taking a lil bit too long for a driver with this load of experience.

[Ed Harley]

Well, the team has said that the car is twitchy, flawed and that 'the weaknesses of the team's car are clear'.

Should the team rely on the drivers to adapt or should they instead address the weaknesses and make a better car?

[Kingdom Hearts]

Well, the team has said that the car is twitchy, flawed and that 'the weaknesses of the team's car are clear'.

Should the team rely on the drivers to adapt or should they instead address the weaknesses and make a better car?


It is what it is this year, that's not gonna change, the duty of the drivers is to extract the max from the car, no matter how bad it is.

[Forzi]

Well, the team has said that the car is twitchy, flawed and that 'the weaknesses of the team's car are clear'.

Should the team rely on the drivers to adapt or should they instead address the weaknesses and make a better car?

The team of course shouldn't stop, wait and rely on the driver to adapt, they should work and keep on improving as i'm sure they are doing. But the same goes for the driver, he has to keep on improving as well, as a quick fix wont come. Are you suggesting Kimi should just keep waiting for a better car from the team? The car will never be perfect, even the Mercedes ain't perfect. Adaptation is what makes a driver better than the rest, as who deals with the problems the best, is the best. Something that Kimi is lacking quite heavily. Don't want to prise Fernando too much here, but he shows what the car is capable of and how far back on the road Kimi is. I don't see a noticable improvement from Kimi so far and he's not paid to wait for a good car as no one knows if it will even come (not suggesting he's doing that). He has to try and work with what he's got. He might be doing his best, i'm not questioning this, but it's a tough world and we need results eventually.

[Greig]

Just hope that what Kimi is waiting for ain't a car in which most drivers would be quick.

That is exactly what he needs and has needed all his career.

[Ed Harley]

IMHO it is better to let the team evaluate what the drivers are doing and how they are doing things they pay them to do.

[Forzi]

IMHO it is better to let the team evaluate what the drivers are doing and how they are doing things.

I'm sure they are doing just that. But it ain't looking too great for our Kimi. And let's be fair, even though the team is evaluating our drivers and acting accordingly, it never stopped us to discus our drivers, at times bash them even. It's a forum after all, it's not like we'll sit around drinking tea and discus weather and tracks :-)

[Ed Harley]

We can discuss drivers all day long and then some but that frankly has no bearing on what the team or drivers do or should do in the real world. Team and drivers know what they have to deal with and why and perhaps know how to turn things around.

If the team have decided to keep both drivers instead of replacing the other with for example Mr Bianchi the team perhaps see the situation somewhat differently than how it is seen on internet forums.

[Greig]

Maybe we should stop all discussion :-D

Or maybe you should change your sig since views and feelings are not so good ;-)

[Forzi]

We can discuss drivers all day long and then some but that frankly has no bearing on what the team or drivers do or should do in the real world. Team and drivers know what they have to deal with and why and perhaps know how to turn things around.

If the team have decided to keep both drivers instead of replacing the other with for example Mr Bianchi the team perhaps see the situation somewhat differently than how it is seen on internet forums.
That might be right, and i myself have stated that a few years back, but as i mentioned, that wont stop us from discusing our drivers, how they are doing, criticising them and so on. It's just how a forum works. As we don't have Luca, Kimi, Fernando and the team openly sharing reports about how's everything in the team, we discus and share our opinions in here, modifying our own accordingly, with the information, sources and comments we share, trying to make something that withstands a thought process of more than one person.

[Rob]

Thing is, he hasnt got any quicker.

[wisepie]

I wasn't pleased when they announced Kimi's return to Ferrari in Felipe's place, but I still support Kimi despite him not being able to deliver the performance that Fernando has managed. The problem is the car rather than the driver which can be seen this season by even the most casual observer. I'd prefer to have Felipe back (not going to happen, I know!), but it's not all Kimi's fault either.:roll

[FFFerrari]

Drivers drive the cars differently, some cars fit some drivers style, some cars fit all styles. Some cars don't fit almost anyone. Drivers just can't change their inheritent driving styles overnight, some adapt better than others. F14-T lacks in all areas but most of all it's twitchy, something that makes it hard to use in precise cornering that Kimi requires to be fast. Fernando likes to throw the car around the bends a bit more loose but he is also great at adapting his driving style to the strengths of the car. A car with more downforce and power would able Kimi and his engineers more room for setup to get the cornering how he likes it and the gap between our two drivers would be a lot smaller. You could see that when they went to Monaco and used all the possible DF on the car, Kimi managed to get the setup a lot more to his liking and they were really close in lap times.

No, I don't believe Kimi would still beat Alonso all days of the week, but it would be a lot closer. And no, I don't believe he has lost his "speed", the car is just lacking and hard to setup to be both fast and precise.

[Ed Harley]

Thing is, he hasnt got any quicker.
Perhaps. But he said that the car in Hungary felt good and that is progress.

[Ed Harley]

Besides, when you support a driver, like I have supported him since his karting days, you stand by him through good times and not so good times. :-D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFduMlfeu9U

[Brembo]

Besides, when you support a driver, like I have supported him since his karting days, you stand by him through good times and not so good times. :-D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFduMlfeu9U

Great adittude to take! He's your favorite driver and you should stand by him. He drives for Ferrari so your supporting him in the right place. Just don't even think about supporting Rubens!! :rotfl

[killer]

Just don't even think about supporting Rubens!! :rotfl

Why not? There's nothing wrong with that. :-)

[Brembo]

Why not? There's nothing wrong with that. :-)

Great quote! That quote makes me glad all over more than anyplace else, because that's exactly how I feel. Rubens was one of the F1 greats! So is Kimi.

[killer]

Great quote! That quote makes me glad all over more than anyplace else, because that's exactly how I feel. Rubens was one of the F1 greats! So is Kimi.

I disagree with Rubens and Kimi being F1 greats but I respect your right to an opinion. :-)

[Brembo]

I disagree with Rubens and Kimi being F1 greats but I respect your right to an opinion. :-)

And I respect yours. That's ok with me.