Kimi Raikkonen has vowed not to give up on his championship hopes following another disappointing race result in Monaco.
The Ferrari driver had to start the Monte Carlo race from 16th
position after a driving error meant he missed the cut to go into the
final qualifying session.
From his low position, the Finn was unable to make much progress due
to the traffic, and he had to settle for eighth place at the end of the
day.
The result meant Raikkonen, who had retired from the previous race
in Spain, is now 15 points behind championship leaders Fernando Alonso
and Lewis Hamilton.
But, with 12 races left, the Ferrari driver is not ready to give up.
"We knew we were facing an uphill battle and that’s how things
turned out," said Raikkonen. "I got a good start, quickly moving up to
twelfth, but from then on I was nearly always in traffic, never getting
any chance to overtake.
"I never had a clear track ahead of me and it was only thanks to the
strategy that I was able to make up some more places and get into the
points, but I couldn’t do any better.
"Obviously the situation in the classification is now a bit more
complicated but there is still a long way to go in the championship and
I am not the sort to give up."
Jean Todt: "As we had expected this was a very
tough race for us. On a track where overtaking is almost impossible, we
saw the top four cars on the grid finishing in the same order.
"Kimi, who started from down the back, could only pin his hopes on a
good strategy to try and get a good result, but after spending nearly
the whole time in traffic, he only managed to bring home a single
point.We must congratulate those who, today, were quicker than us and
work to get back to being competitive at the highest level right from
the start of the two consecutive races in Canada and the USA."
Luca Baldisserri: "Today we were not competitive
enough to win. We tried to change things about a bit with Felipe,
switching to the extra-soft tyres at the first stop but this choice
didn’t pay off. Even so, we don’t think this would have changed the
result. Kimi faced a very difficult race starting from sixteenth place.
"He made a good start but then he spent nearly the whole time in
traffic and the point for eighth place was the best he could do. We
have to study the situation and understand why our rivals were better
than us, before tackling the double header in North America in better
shape so that we can fight for the wins."
Other news: Regarding Kimi’s qualifying accident:
Raikkonen scared his mechanics
Finnish TV commentators said that when Kimi arrived to the pits with
the broken suspension, he shouted: āWe need to get that thing fixed,
NOWā. His pit his crew got scared because they had never known that
Kimi could shout as loud as he just had. He had always talked in a
normal voice. When it was revealed that there wasnāt enough time to fix
the suspension, Kimi just sat in the car with his helmet on, went
through what just happened and why, released his anger by cursing
(thatās the reason why he usually keeps the helmet on when he is
angry). Then he relaxed and headed straight to Ferrariās Media Center,
where he gave exceptional, long aswers to reporters.
Source: Warwick
I do not believe it. I will not. It isn’t Kimi’s character to shout, especially at the team let alone mechanics. And it’s probably a hype story from the Finnish media. It sickens me. Yeah Kimi gets really mad at himself or whatever happens when it goes wrong, but that’s just not like him to raise his voice.
However, Warwick (who translated this information from MTV3) says their reporter was near to Kimi’s garage at the time and doesn’t believe the mainstream F1 finnish channel to make up stories like this. He also said perhaps it’s because Finnish people are strange like this, only they can understand each other. Warwick said that it’s just one example that Kimi has shown he isn’t the same
passive "I don’t care" type of guy inside the team as he act towards
the media. Warwick also doesn’t understand how people think he has gotten
this far if he never did care.
Alonso: Raikkonen can’t afford more errors
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen can’t afford any more mistakes if he wants
to have a chance to fight for this year’s title, according to world
champion Fernando Alonso.
The Finnish driver left Monaco 15 points behind Alonso in the standings after scoring just one point at the principality.
Raikkonen had to start the race from 16th place after he damaged his
car during the second qualifying session on Saturday, meaning he didn’t
make it to Q3.
The Ferrari driver, who was tied at the top of the standings prior
to the Spanish Grand Prix, has seen Alonso score 16 points in the last
two races while the Finn himself has scored just one following his
retirement in Barcelona.
Alonso believes Raikkonen is still capable of fighting back, but he has warned the Finn that he can’t afford any more mistakes.
"Being fifteen points behind he’s entering a risk zone," Alonso was quoted as saying by AS
newspaper. "The next mistake will leave him out (of the championship
fight). He’s still in the battle, but he’s risking losing touch.
"(Felipe) Massa is a bit closer, and I prefer to fight for the title
with my own teammate, because then we will be fighting in equal
conditions, not with a Ferrari, which you don’t know how strong it will
be. "
The Spaniard also reckons that he will be champion if he can
continue scoring as consistently as in the first five races of the
season.
"It’s a crucial phase," he added. "I always said the my and the
car’s full potential will come in the second half of the year, and the
team will progress a lot. The positive thing is that we have been
pretty strong in these five first races and, in theory, the best is yet
to come in the last six or seven races.
"I have 38 points in five races, and I if I achieve the same in the
next five, I’m going to win the title. I want to repeat those results
so I have 76 points by the tenth race."
Alonso is tied on points with teammate Lewis Hamilton, but the Spaniard leads thanks to having scored two wins.
(Alonso is completely right. He has clearly thought every single race out and the possibilities. And to be honest, it can be a walk in the park for Alonso this year to win his 3rd straight title in a row. McLaren are a strong team, they always develop quicker than their rivals in a single season and if Kimi or Massa want to make sure they are in the title fight, they firstly have to be there finishing the races; together!)
Long Ferrari to blame for Monaco struggle?
May 28 (GMM) After finishing a minute behind the McLarens, two time
2007 race winner Felipe Massa on Sunday would not speculate as to why
his Ferrari might be simply unsuited to circuits like the narrow Monaco
streets.
It was suggested earlier this weekend that the F2007’s notably longer
wheelbase than its rivals – which proved to have suited the new
single-tyre formula on faster tracks – could make the red car not
nimble enough to cope with the twists and turns of Monte Carlo.
"I would be amazed if it proves detrimental," the team’s former
technical director Ross Brawn said last week.
Massa, however, was oddly off the pace here, sparking suggestions that
Brawn had been wrong about the Ferrari’s misgivings at slow speeds.
"I don’t know. I think it is difficult to say exactly what the
difference was," the Brazilian said. "I hope it is something related
just to this track.
"The only thing you need to say is that they were much better today and
our car was slow."
Tellingly, Massa said he expects Ferrari to be back on the pace on the
long straights in Montreal and Indianapolis for F1’s upcoming trek to
North America.
He said: "We are confident in our package for (there) so hopefully we
can have a great car and try to be in the front again.
My favourite picture of the whole weekend:
< Kimi smilingĀ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā 
My wallpaper for Monaco 2007
Ā
FUCK ISRAEL 