Raikkonen: I believe 100% in the people at Ferrari

After the last race, Kimi Raikkonen stated he felt he and the team had turned a corner in how he felt at the wheel of the F14 T and today, in his regular press meeting, in the Suzuka paddock, the Ferrari man elaborated on that topic.

“We have improved race by race and my feeling has improved, but it’s hard to be very specific about just why I felt better,” began the Finn. “In Singapore, we had some new parts and they helped, when combined with the tyres we were using and the characteristics of the circuit. It was probably the best feeling I’ve had from the car all year. It felt kind of easy to drive again. Once you get that, everything gets much easier and hopefully we keep going in this direction, with that improvement showing itself under all conditions.”

Kimi is now keen to build on this new found confidence in the car.

“I knew it would take time, we made changes at the front end and the rear end too” he revealed. “It has helped the ride of the car, making it more to my liking. Singapore was the best it’s been all year and I knew what to expect in every corner. There are still a lot of areas where we can improve to get things the way I want, but it’s never been a case of not knowing what to do. It’s just that it takes time to change certain things. I have not had to change my driving style. Changing would not make me go any faster. I can drive around some issues, but I know that is never as good as fixing the issues. I’ve been in Formula 1 quite a few years and I have never changed my driving style, nor will I, because it’s not the way to fix problems.”

Kimi was equally positive when it came to looking ahead past the end of this season.

“We have a good group of people at the factory and they have changed certain things to ensure that the mistakes which happened in the past years won’t happen anymore,” he said. “I believe a hundred percent in the people at Ferrari and the fact that we can turn it around and put the team where it should be, at the front of the field. As for myself, I have a contract and therefore no worries about my future.”