Raikkonen expects improvement right from next race

The two words that spring to mind after the Australian Grand Prix are patience and work. Scuderia Ferrari’s main aim is clearly to make the F14 T more competitive. The feeling is that many teams used this first GP of the season to get a better understanding of the complicated new cars and that raises the hope that, as the races go by, the spectacle will also improve.

Kimi Raikkonen, one of the most experienced drivers on the grid also believes that patience is the key. “I think that at the start of a season like this one, with new tyres but more than that, completely new cars, the main aim has to be getting to the chequered flag. We did just that and I was finally able to run a full race distance in this car.”

“I’ve been in this game for quite a while now,” continued Raikkonen, “and I can say this is definitely not the first time that I’ve gone through a difficult first race weekend. We identified some general problems which we have to tackle in Maranello and there are other aspects linked to the set-up on my car to do with the brake-by-wire system. Getting this device working correctly is definitely something that contributes to the general feeling from the car, because it has a great effect on corner entry. Having said that, the F14 T improved right through Friday and Saturday and not getting into Q3 was not down to the competitiveness of the car.”

Kimi then returned to the key word of the moment. “First of all, we have to stay calm. The team is united, we know what we have to do and how to go about finding more performance. We also know this development process will not happen overnight and so we must be patient and concentrate hard on our work without watching what the others are doing. However, I’m sure that, if we work in the correct way, then right from the next race in Malaysia, the results can definitely be better.”