Raikkonen ’finally’ getting comfortable with Ferrari’s F14 T

Kimi Raikkonen was in buoyant mood after the Singapore Grand Prix. The Scuderia Ferrari man’s good humour was down to the fact he felt he had made a significant step forward in getting his F14 T to behave the way he likes his racing cars to feel.

“In Singapore, we finally had the speed to put together a quick single flying lap in qualifying, as the car behaved the way I’d been hoping for,” the Finn told ferrari.com. “It was just a shame we could not maximise the performance of the car because of a minor issue before the last flying lap. It meant we could not do much in the race, as I was stuck in traffic and couldn’t exploit my pace. But for me, the positive thing that weekend was I finally had a good feeling from the car, something I had been waiting for a long time this year.”

After the streets of Singapore, the Formula 1 circus heads for one of the classic venues and you don’t need to know much about Kimi Raikkonen to realise that Suzuka is just the sort of track he loves.

“It’s a high power circuit, but also technically very challenging,” continues the Ferrari man. “So we are looking forward to see how our car goes there compared to the front running teams. I like Suzuka a lot. It’s an old-school type of racing circuit, the sort that always gives me the best feeling. I’d have to say my favourite is Spa-Francorchamps, but Suzuka comes very near in my ranking.”

The Finn has mainly positive memories of his nine appearances at Suzuka (the Japanese GP took place in Fuji in 2007 and ’08 and Kimi had his two year F1 sabbatical in 2010 and ’11.)

“Apart from my first ever time in Japan and Suzuka, when I was driving for Sauber and had to retire after crashing with Alesi, I have finished every single race in Japan and I have got some really good results, as well. Winning the 2005 race was one of my best ever drives.”

Raikkonen has a huge fan base in Japan, something the Ferrari man really appreciates.

“Driving the Suzuka track is one of the highlights of the season. And I also like meeting the fans there: they are very passionate and they always support you, no matter how the season has gone up to that point.”

Apart from hopes of a good result for himself, Raikkonen knows how important the remaining races are for the Scuderia.

“We need a good result in our fight for third place in the constructors’ championship. Let’s hope we get a nice clean weekend. That would help to keep the good feeling we so much want to maximise in Suzuka.”