Kimi Raikkonen had one of his strongest races in a long time when he powered to fourth in the Chinese Grand Prix, and believes that it is only a matter of time before Ferrari start beating Mercedes.
When asked by Sky whether Ferrari can take the fight to Mercedes and beat them regularly, the Finn said, “I don’t see a reason why not. We have made big gains and we will continue to make big gains during this year.”
“Obviously everybody will improve, so it depends what the rest are doing, but we are definitely going the right way and doing the right things. It is about being patient. We need time, we cannot make miracles overnight,” expalined Raikkonen who won Ferrari’s last Formula 1 world title in 2007.
“Sebastian showed we can win, but it depends as one circuit may be better for one team and the next could be a different story. We just need to be up there when something happens to them, or the conditions change, but I really feel on speed we will get there to regularly beat them,” predicted Raikkonen.
Qualifing has been Raikkonen’s Achille’s Heel as last year he was trounced 16-3 by Fernando Alonso and this year is 3-0 down. However in race mode he is looking like the Raikkonen of old, and in fact was reeling in teammate Sebastian Vettel in the closing stages of the race in Shanghai.
“I probably could have tried (to pass Vettel) at least, but there was a safety car at the end. It is what it is,” said Raikkonen. “After what happened on Saturday we at least gained some positions and we had a pretty good car. But we are not happy. We have to make Saturdays more correct as it gives you bigger chances and an easier life in the race.”
With the field very close, a good grid spot is essential as the lap one melee has not been kind to Raikkonen, “It doesn’t help when you put yourself in a more difficult position for the race, especially one where it is never easy to overtake.”
http://www.grandprix247.com/2015/04/...st-be-patient/
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Originally Posted by Fireblade
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