From KimiRaikkonen.com
This is the one that I’ve been waiting for. The weekend of Spa is always a certain highlight of the season for me. Usually, I’ve got a positive result from the Belgian Grand Prix. What has happened there before doesn’t help me right now, but, it doesn’t make any harm either.
We need that positive result, indeed. The previous race was the one to forget as quickly as possible. It’s never nice to be in the middle of all kinds of negative stories, but it just happens. It’s not the first time in my life, and you just have to live with it.
Back in the old days at school it was not that nice to bring home a bad grade from an exam. You could only try to do better next time. That’s how to react, still.
Since Valencia I’ve been training a lot in Switzerland and last week we also had a test in Monza. The test seemed to go well. We tried some new parts and I feel the package has improved. Having said that, you can only really judge the performance on Saturday at Spa as nobody knows the fuel levels of your competitors in testing. But it is going to be very close. That won’t change in one test.
For me there has only been good memories from Spa. Obviously it would be great to win it a fourth time in a row. I have not won for a few months and it would help to get my championship challenge back on track after that disappointment of the last race.
During the last season we found a good balance that suited my driving style in the middle of the year, and after that, I won many races in the second half of the year.
Obviously I need to try and find a good balance again because with 13 points behind I must start to close the gap. It’s not impossible. I was 17 points behind with two races to go last year.
At Spa I took pole position last year and hopefully I can do the same this year. As we’ve seen so many times this year, a good grid position is extremely important. It will be very decisive at Spa too. Everybody knows it.
It’s so crucial to have an aerodynamically good car to tackle those fast corners. It’s a long lap and to get the time right, you really need to maintain the best rhythm. But so much depends on the qualifying result. Following another car in a race is very difficult. So I need to find a decent set-up on Friday and Saturday and have a solid qualifying session on Saturday afternoon.
Anyway, it’s great to go racing in Spa. You cannot get the same kind of ‘pedal to the metal’ feeling anywhere else. It’s great to race with a modern racing car in a proper circuit which has such a marvellous tradition.
This is going to be a little a bit different weekend for me. In Finland, they will publish a stamp that was designed in honour of my world championship last year. I really value this highly. As a small boy sending a card I would have never imagined that one day I would have a stamp with my picture on it.
For sure, it’s nice to show to the grandkids in years to come.
cannot get the same kind of ‘pedal to the metal’ feeling anywhere else.
It’s great to race with a modern racing car in a proper circuit which
has such a marvellous tradition," are you listening FIA?!
This is the one that I’ve been waiting for. The weekend of Spa is always a certain highlight of the season for me. Usually, I’ve got a positive result from the Belgian Grand Prix. What has happened there before doesn’t help me right now, but, it doesn’t make any harm either.We need that positive result, indeed. The previous race was the one to forget as quickly as possible. It’s never nice to be in the middle of all kinds of negative stories, but it just happens. It’s not the first time in my life, and you just have to live with it.
Back in the old days at school it was not that nice to bring home a bad grade from an exam. You could only try to do better next time. That’s how to react, still.
Since Valencia I’ve been training a lot in Switzerland and last week we also had a test in Monza. The test seemed to go well. We tried some new parts and I feel the package has improved. Having said that, you can only really judge the performance on Saturday at Spa as nobody knows the fuel levels of your competitors in testing. But it is going to be very close. That won’t change in one test.
For me there has only been good memories from Spa. Obviously it would be great to win it a fourth time in a row. I have not won for a few months and it would help to get my championship challenge back on track after that disappointment of the last race.
During the last season we found a good balance that suited my driving style in the middle of the year, and after that, I won many races in the second half of the year.
Obviously I need to try and find a good balance again because with 13 points behind I must start to close the gap. It’s not impossible. I was 17 points behind with two races to go last year.
At Spa I took pole position last year and hopefully I can do the same this year. As we’ve seen so many times this year, a good grid position is extremely important. It will be very decisive at Spa too. Everybody knows it.It’s so crucial to have an aerodynamically good car to tackle those fast corners. It’s a long lap and to get the time right, you really need to maintain the best rhythm. But so much depends on the qualifying result. Following another car in a race is very difficult. So I need to find a decent set-up on Friday and Saturday and have a solid qualifying session on Saturday afternoon.
Anyway, it’s great to go racing in Spa. You cannot get the same kind of ‘pedal to the metal’ feeling anywhere else. It’s great to race with a modern racing car in a proper circuit which has such a marvellous tradition.
This is going to be a little a bit different weekend for me. In Finland, they will publish a stamp that was designed in honour of my world championship last year. I really value this highly. As a small boy sending a card I would have never imagined that one day I would have a stamp with my picture on it.
For sure, it’s nice to show to the grandkids in years to come.
cannot get the same kind of ‘pedal to the metal’ feeling anywhere else.
It’s great to race with a modern racing car in a proper circuit which
has such a marvellous tradition," are you listening FIA?!
p.s Here’s a wallpaper I made from the Monza Test last week, nothing special, just messing with colours and liked the result so I thought I’d share it!
FUCK ISRAEL 
Hi Saima! Awww, this column sounds so emotional for Kimi!!! He´s talking about his fondness for Spa, how he´d like this track to be were he starts winning again, and he´s so touched about being honoured with the stamps, mentioning grandchildren in the future!!! More generations of Raikkos to come ;p.He says the have sorted a few things out with the team, let´s hope this is true, and I, like you, won´t be making any predicitons about the race outcome, I´ll keep mum until the chequered flag , though you know what I´m hoping for. But he´s excited, it shows, "pedal to the metal"!Keep flying Kimi – Keep flying Evenstar!!!
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Hi Saima..i’m Alessandro..GO ICEMAN GO!!!!…SPA IS RAIKKONEN HOUSE..BYE-BYE FROM ROME..
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Hi Alessandro! :)This is the translation of the Finnish column by Kimi, thanks to NCW from the PlanetF1-forum. It’s slightely different and probably more to Kimi’s real words lolSTRAIGHTEN THE ANKLE
This one I’ve been waiting for. The Spa-weekend has always been the indesputable highlight for me.
I often get a positive result from Spa. What has happened before doesn’t help at all now for sure but it doesn’t harm me either.
Now we do need the positive result. The last race went totally up in the a**.
It isn’t nice after that when the press really crushes you and you get
critisism from the right and from the left. But it happens. And it
isn’t the first time in my life and you just have to live with it.
When I got something like 6- in school from a test, it wasn’t nice
to bring it home. There was nothing else to do than to try and do
better the next time.
We have prepared for Spa by testing in Monza and then I have been
training a lot and given a go in golf to my trainers in Switzerland.
The tests went well. We had a few ideas that we tried out and I
felt that the package became, thanks to them, better. But you never
know with the tests. The real test is our performance in Saturday’s
quali against the others. But we already know that it’s going to be a
tough battle again. One test doesn’t change that at all.
I have won the last times in Spa and hopefully it goes as well
again. A lot depends on how we find the right setup so that the quali
goes well. It is a big deal. Everybody knows that.
Last year I was on pole in Spa. We need it and we aim for it. Like
I have been telling all the time – the good position starts to be an
extreme-thing in racing.
No matter how it goes, it’s great to go to a real racing track. In
Spa you can drive the lap with a "straightened ankle" feeling. It is
really great, when you get with a modern car to race in a place that
was a place for racing back then when the tracks were tracks.
The lap is long. You have to have that kind of an aerodynamic
setting in the car so that you can go all the quick corners so that the
rythm stays with you all the time.
I haven’t won in a few weeks and that’s why it’s important again to
win in Spa. A win would help us back to better positions to win the
championship. There is quite many races left and everything can still
happen. Last year we had similar problems but in the end everything got
straightened out and we found the setups that made us quick.
That’s where we aim now too. This 13 points difference to the lead isn’t impossible to catch up with.
This weekend is different for me when they are publishing in
Finland a stamp in honour of my last year’s WDC. I value it really
highly. When I was a small guy I would never had believed when I sent a
post card that I could someday have a stamp of my own. It will be great
to show it to the grandchildren someday.
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Hi Saima,i’m Alessadro from Rome…I wanted to ask a question about Singapore Street Circuit(the race some night)… For you it will be one flop as Valencia Street Circuit that is null overtakes,noy much show,very much boredorm..?…bye-bye Saima!…answer soon!..;)..
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Hi there! How are you my dear? Hope everything is ok. Well the translation is always closer to Kimi´s actual words; he´s very enthusiastic about Spa, and apparently we the fans are not the only ones who want to see F1 in real race tracks: "it´s great to go to a real racing tack……when you get a modern car to race in a place that was for racing back then when the tracks were tracks".I bet most F1 drivers are fed up with the new circuits where they can´t race properly and overtake, and the pole-sitter ends up winning, of course this applies for the real drivers, those who enjoy the sport and are passionate about it; afterall, what´s the point of getting pole position and then just driving with no one in front of you, that´s not racing!Keep flying Kimi – Keep flying Evenstar!!!
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