Raikkonen releva mau resultado e diz que logo vencerá

Fonte:Veja

Por AE
Enstone, Inglaterra - O finlandês Kimi Raikkonen disse nesta sexta-feira que está tranquilo com o rendimento da Lotus, apesar do decepcionante desempenho no GP de Mônaco, e garantiu que logo vencerá no seu retorno à Fórmula 1. Apesar de ter concluído a prova na nona colocação, depois de subir ao pódio nas duas anteriores, o finlandês avaliou que a equipe segue sendo competitiva.
"Uma corrida não muda o fato de que fomos fortes em todos os lugares, até mesmo em Mônaco, durante quase todo o fim de semana. Mônaco é completamente diferente de qualquer outra pista, então não acho que devemos nos preocupar muito com o fato de que não foi nosso melhor fim de semana", disse. "A Lotus é capaz de conquistar bons resultados. Nosso dia vai chegar", completou.
Raikkonen acredita que a Lotus tem condições de ir bem no GP do Canadá, apesar de avaliar ser cedo para fazer previsões. "Nós fomos competitivos na maioria dos circuitos e esperamos o mesmo lá, mas, como sempre, é mais fácil dizer isso depois do primeiro dia", afirmou.
O finlandês culpou o uso de um acerto diferente pelo modesto nono lugar no GP do Canadá. "Nós tentamos algo diferente para os desafios de Mônaco, mas acabou não dando certo para mim. É impossível testar algo para Mônaco sem ir até Mônaco", comentou. "Estou feliz com o acerto básico, mas ainda é uma área onde estou trabalhando com a equipe", concluiu.

De capacete novo

Fonte:TotalRace

Kimi adotará o mesmo esquema do conterrâneo Heikki Kovalainen, mas o personagem estilizado no casco será diferente do colega.

Raikkonen prevê mais uma corrida agitada em Montreal

Fonte:TotalRace

Finlandês destaca dificuldades com as mudanças de aderência e a possibilidade de um Safety Car complicar a estratégia

Vencedor do GP do Canadá em 2005, Kimi Raikkonen espera um final de semana cheio de desafios. O finlandês acredita que os níveis de aderência da pista de Montreal tendem a variar durante a etapa, assim como a chance sempre eminente de um Safety Car deve complicar as estratégias.

“A classificação é importante, mas não essencial de se conseguir um bom resultado, já que há vários pontos de ultrapassagem. Para ir bem no Canadá o carro precisa ser bom nas freadas porque é um circuito muito duro com os freios. Você também tem de usar as zebras e o carro tem sido muito bom nisso. É um circuito com asfaltos diferentes e às vezes as condições mudam durante o final de semana, o que afeta os níveis de aderência, então será um desafio.”

“É uma corrida com muitos safety cars: provavelmente nunca houve um GP do Canadá sem um SC. É provável que seja assim novamente. Isso faz com que a estratégia seja difícil porque não dá para prever quando vai acontecer. Se o SC sair, você tem de esperar que seja na hora certa.”

Raikkonen diz gostar do acelera e freia do Circuito Gilles Villeneuve, caracterizado pelas retas longas e chicanes. “Sempre gostei do GP do Canadá. Ganhei lá em 2005, então Montreal me traz boas lembranças. A cidade é uma das melhores para se visitar no calendário. Realmente gosto da natureza do circuito e dos desafios da pista. É um lugar interessante.”

“Temos sido competitivos na maioria dos lugares e esperamos o mesmo lá, mas é sempre mais fácil dizer após o primeiro dia de treinos.”

Kimi Monaco GP review

Fonte:Site do Kimi

The Loco-Motion

Monaco is now just a distant memory and everything is charged for Canada. It was a weekend I won't count among the good ones for me. Well, that's racing. Some races are good, some are not that good.

Obviously, I knew what was coming on, while we missed the dry training on Thursday. We tried something new, it didn't work out well and that was the reason we have to go back and change almost the whole front end of the car before starting the practise runs.

In Monaco all the laps are so important to get the car right. After missing FP1 we were behind the others all way long. It was a painful, of course. Not being able to qualify at your best, it hurts the most while you race in Monaco.

Still I expected to be in TOP5. I had one a betterish lap, but then I locked up the tyre in the second part of the Swimming Pool area, and we lost some places there. Then it was P8 in the grid. It was like a ticket to a train, while not being in the front, means usually 'doing the loco-motion' in the race.

The start was not that bad, but I ended up behind Vettel and Ferraris in P7. For a while I was faster, but in Monaco that doesn't help you a bit to improve your position - without huge errors from the guys in front of you.

Obviously, all of us expected the rain to fall. Lap by lap the supersoft tyres started to drop off, but being aware of the possibility of the water coming down, we waited a while, and then we really started to struggle with the temperatures of the breaks and with the lost grip of the tyres.

Finally we decided not to wait anymore, stopped and after that it was just a matter of finishing the race. At least a couple of teams had their problems and we managed to get back in points. I can assure that coming home in P9 and getting two points by doing that, didn't feel bad at all.

This season is about to be consistent and clinching points every time. While having a bad race and still getting a couple of points, is better than nothing. Who knows how important points these two will be in the end of the season?

Kimi Räikkönen – “Sunday is the priority; that’s our focus”

Fonte:Lotus F1 Team

A difficult weekend thus far for Kimi, but as always the Iceman has his eyes on the prize, and all thoughts on the race…

Kimi, P8 on the grid for tomorrow’s race; what are your thoughts on qualifying today?

To be honest I think we’ve been slightly behind where we wanted to be all weekend. Missing FP1 didn’t help of course but the car itself feels ok; the biggest issue is getting the tyres working. I could have gone a bit quicker on my fastest lap but I locked a wheel in the second part of the swimming pool so unfortunately that lost us some time. Not the best day but Sunday is the priority; that’s our focus.

Do you think getting the tyres working will be the key factor during the race?

I don’t think it will have such a big effect in the race as we’re doing much more laps on the tyres; it’s getting them right for a single lap that’s been a bit difficult. We still have a lot to learn with the super soft tyres though as it’s the first time we’ve used them.

You’ve used up the allocation of super soft tyres already; will this be a handicap in any way?

Obviously it’s always nice to have fresh tyres but I don’t think it will make a huge difference. Degradation is very low here, and strategies will probably be very similar between the teams. Besides, when you look at the front of the grid it was so close that most people are in the same situation as us.

Overtaking is notoriously difficult here; how hard will it be to make progress in the race itself?

You can never tell with Monaco. If we have a completely clean race then it will be tricky to improve but anything can happen here; especially if the weather changes. For sure we expected to be in the top five today and that would have made things easier, but the race could always bring a few surprises…

Confira o grid de largada para o GP de Mônaco

1. Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull) - 1min14s381
2. Nico Rosberg (ALE/Mercedes) - 1min14s448
3. Lewis Hamilton (ING/McLaren) - 1min14s583
4. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Lotus) - 1min14s639
5. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari) - 1min14s948
6. Michael Schumacher (ALE/Mercedes) - 1min14s301*
7. Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari) - 1min15s049
8. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Lotus) - 1min15s199
9. Sebastian Vettel (ALE/Red Bull) - sem tempo no Q3
10. Nico Hulkenberg (ALE/Force India) - 1min15s421
11. Kamui Kobayashi (JAP/Sauber) - 1min15s508
12. Jenson Button (ING/McLaren) - 1min15s536
13. Bruno Senna (BRA/Williams) - 1min15s709
14. Paul di Resta (ESC/Force India) - 1min15s718
15. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Toro Rosso) - 1min15s878
16. Jean-Éric Vergne (FRA/Toro Rosso) - 1min16s885
17. Heikki Kovalainen (FIN/Caterham) - 1min16s538
18. Vitaly Petrov (RUS/Caterham) - 1min17s404
19. Pastor Maldonado (VEN/Williams) - 1min15s245**
20. Timo Glock (ALE/Marussia) - 1min17s947
21. Pedro de la Rosa (ESP/HRT) - 1min18s096
22. Charles Pic (FRA/Marussia) - 1min18s476
23. Narain Karthikeyan (IND/HRT) - 1min19s310s
24. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Sauber) - sem tempo no Q1
*punido com cinco posições no grid por causar acidente no GP da Espanha
**punido com dez posições no grid de largada por causar acidente no terceiro treino livre em Mônaco

Kimi Raikkonen's form a surprise, says Alain Prost

Fonte:Autosport



Alain Prost has admitted that he has been surprised by the strong form that Kimi Raikkonen has shown on his return to Formula 1 this year.

Raikkonen decided on an F1 comeback this season after two years with mixed results in the World Rally Championship - and has already produced two podium finishes.

But it is not just Raikkonen's speed that has left Prost impressed, because the Frenchman also likes the way the 2007 title winner approaches his job, and does not pretend to like aspects of being an F1 driver that he dislikes.

"It is a surprise a little bit when I see him," said Prost, who is attending the Monaco Grand Prix in his role as an ambassador for Renault. "His mentality, his attitude, it is very good. It is still Kimi, and I like him because at least he is not playing a game. We all know him, and if you accept him, his positive attitude and the way he drives is not bad.

"It is not that easy to come back after two years, even if he has done some rallying. It is quite impressive, and he could be quite a surprise this year."

While Raikkonen's comeback is going to plan, Michael Schumacher's return has not been such a success – and Prost admitted that he had reservations even before the seven-time champion got back in the cockpit.

"I was never 100 per cent positive because he has won so much and also because I suppose he really wanted to be world champion again, which was maybe a little bit too high a target," Prost said.