We have really dug so deep, that the results we achieved at Fuji feltquite nice. Finally we finished the race, we started from the front row
and got back to the podium. Obviously, the team was happy to get good
points and climb back to the leading position in the constructor’s
championship.
But I have to say, that the second place in qualifying and the third
place in the race are not exactly what we wanted. It was annoying to
know that we had so good chance for the pole and, most of all, for the
win on Sunday.
The team has been working day and night to improve the car. But,
for me, it was that same old story all over again. Setting up the car
the way I like it to be depends too much on the weather and on the
circuit. We know the speed is there in our car. We just have to find
the right set-up to maximise it every time.
And we will!
turn first to the first corner, you should be leading after that. I
cannot understand what they were thinking there behind me. They came
much too fast to that breaking point and caused a big problem for many
people.
You have to learn how to find the breaking points already when you six
years old while starting with GO Karts. Obviously, you should know how
it goes at this level.
I don’t know about the others, but, at least, my father Matti put
sticks on the right places for me and for my brother to know where to
brake. That’s how you learn that lesson the best and you remember it
always where ever you race.
first corner. Both McLarens came too quickly and I could not turn to
the first corner. The worst thing was losing so many places. If I just
could have took the lead, like I should have after that start, probably
we would have won it easily. But now we got stuck behind the others, we
did our best, but we never got back to the positions where you have the
advantage of using the clean air in front of you.
I managed to overtake Trulli and we should have been able to
overtake Kubica in the second pitstop. Unfortunately there was one car
in front of me in my inlap and we lost a fracture of the time also at
the pitstop. That was enough to miss the chance to get back to the
circuit in front of Kubica.
At Fuji you have a couple of places to overtake people. I was trying to
fight and once I got beside Robert and little bit ahead of him, too,
coming to the third corner. It was a good fight, neither of us did
lift, so I had to go wide. After that all we could do was to bring the
car home third.
That was Sayonara to the drivers’ championship. Really I didn’tthink of the title after Spa. I should have won in Belgium, because
that would have been the only way to control the point situation. Now
it was just a matter of time, when it was over.
I have been telling since January, that we do our best to win the
championship again and if that’s not working out, we will try again
next year. That’s what we are going to do now. I know what it takes to
win the championship back.
This week we go to China. Let’s wait and see what we are able to do
there. Last year we won the race. Shanghai is a challenging circuit and
I like it very much. Now we aim at getting 1-2 result for Ferrari and
bringing the best points for the team.
KeepFlying Kimi! I loved his comment about having learned breaking points
during karting, obviously that’s aimed at a certain driver. Kimi was quite scornful there but in whatever he says he stills sounds like a gentleman. It put a
huge smile on my face! Go Kimi!
And Kimi enjoyed his fight with Kubica. People are saying it was more
than just a fight for 2nd place, it was a fight to keep Kimi’s
championship hopes alive. Missing out on two extra points means Kimi’s
totally out of the game now, fullstop. But during a race, the drivers
don’t really know what the points situation is right there and then. I
seriously doubt Kimi was thinking about two extra points when fighting
with Kubica. He had two attempts on Kubica, fairly and decently with
Kimi ending up on the run off area, so what’s the point in going for
another more aggressive approach. Kimi’s not a madman in that sense. We
already know his racing capabilities, his payback was at Spa and he
successfully passed Massa AND Hamilton, fair and square. Spa was the
race that mattered and we’ll never forget his drive there. Superb. And
he couldn’t be more right about the situation after Spa. He wasn’t
going to sit and cry about it and be an idiot in the next few races.
Someone’s already taken that role…
Kimi is sounding quite laidback about losing the title now, in this
column. At Japan, he enjoyed proper racing again with proper racers and
being back on the podium with two great competitors. He brought Ferrari
back in the constructor’s lead. Ferrari have also done some little
developments on the car, particularly on the rear, which is helping
Kimi. Aldo Costa also confirmed that Kimi in particular has a very busy testing schedule; they have planned a total of 10,000km distance
throughout winter testing. That should be more than enough for Kimi to
get things sorted and fight back next year! Cheers to that.
It’s been a difficult year and as Kimi fans it’s been very hard. But I
can’t imagine how frustrating it’s been for the man himself. I remember
during the 2007 Brazil post-race press conference that Kimi said he’ll
try and win it again this year but it’s going to be difficult. He was
certainly right about that. So, let’s enjoy what we can of these final
two races at China and Brazil. Kimi was back in winning positions at
Japan in qualifying and for the race so he’ll try harder at China. But
hopefully that McLaren driver stays well clear of him this time. We’re
with you all the way Kimi! Keep flying ~
FUCK ISRAEL 
sure he couldn’t be satisfied with his result but no matter, we know he gave his best, we saw that and that’s the most important!
WE’RE STILL SO PROUD OF YOU!
and for the championship, our hope was gone too since somes races despite there was still a little flame of hope… it’s really over now, ok but we still want to see him on the top for the 2 last races and just wait for better next year.
So there is big hope with those kilometers during the winter! We never give up too of course! always here to support the best man, always intelligent with his words!
now wait for the week end and his smile again!
KEEP FLYING KIMI!
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Kimi as always cool and icey to the end of his slight championship hopes. I liked the comments he made about finding braking points and how he was taught them when he was 6. I think at last he wanted a dig at Hamilton who A. Choose to take Kimi out @ Montreal B. forced him in to a situation where he ended up crashing at Spa. Then C. Not braking like Kimi was taught to when he was 6!!!!!!!
I feel so sad at the moment – but Kimi with no pressure will be amazing hope to see him having fun doing the best he can.
KIMI WE ARE PROUD OF YOU !! You are the best – Kick Hamiltons ass !!!!! I know you are to fair but pay back would be fun. I do think that Alonso may try to get a bit of revenge for last year and that might be fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KEEP FLYING KIMI! (Can not wait until next year when you are gonna get him!!!!!!)
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Oh, Kimi! I like you… I like you a lot! We will keep on supporting you and you will come back in 2009! This Kimi is such a decent guy. He could have come down on Hamster big time, but by not stooping to Hamster’s level he earns respect. Hamster wrecked quite a few races for Kimi this year, but Kimi doesn’t rant off – he just continues with the job. Just look at the honest fight with Kubica – both of them are true sportsmen, not like our friend, the Hamster. I he can’t get his way, he plays dirty. I can’t wait for 2009! Keep flying, Kimi!
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Some additional comments from Kimi, here: Raikkonen eyes comeback in 2009:"For sure I’ve had other moments like this in the past. It’s part of
the game," Raikkonen said in an interview with Italian magazine Autosprint.
"Then you happen to have a good result and so, from one week to the
next, the same people that were saying you were incapable start talking
differently about you all of a sudden… It’s not the first time.
"Obviously I’d like to have more results and avoid making mistakes,
but it happens sometimes. I prefer it to happen this season, which
hasn’t been a good one anyway, rather than next year.
"In order to get results you need to have everything you need, but
sometimes this doesn’t happen. Last year we went through a similar
patch and we came out of it.
"This year there have been problems, perhaps originating from
certain decisions, and when we went back it was too late. Maybe this
has cost us the season, but at least we’ve learned something for next
year."
Raikkonen claims that changes made to the car over the course of the
season did not help him as much as teammate Felipe Massa, which is why
stepping back to an old concept from the Belgian Grand Prix marked a
turning point for his campaign.
"Well, we changed the car a bit, and probably this wasn’t good for
me," he said. "So we went back, I think at Spa, and things went much
better. But at that point we were already behind, it was too late.
"However I feel good with the car at least, even though it isn’t
always the way I’d like it to be. Sometimes it goes well, other times
it’s difficult to make it consistent performance-wise.
"But what we’ve learned will be useful next year too. I know we’ll
have different cars and tyres, but certain things remain the same."
When asked about his feelings on the championship battle, Raikkonen
said: "Hamilton is in a better position points-wise, but things can
change quickly. Who knows, maybe the others will crash again, like on
Sunday.
"I wouldn’t have bet on my chances to win the title last year. It
would be nice for Felipe and for the team, if he could do it. But for
me, for my points table, it doesn’t change things anymore."
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I might aswell show this too, as Kimi finally now says he’ll try and help Felipe. He’s saying it now because he has no chance at all for the championship obviously. He always was a team player :)Ferrari Team Preview quotes:Kimi Raikkonen: "We were so low that the result at
Fuji got a whole new significance. Finally I managed to start from the
first row and end the race with a podium finish. The team was really
glad about the points we brought back home and that we managed to get
back in the lead in the Constructors’ Championship. I have to admit
that the second place in the qualifying and the third one in the race
are not exactly what I was looking for, because I had the possibility
to gain the pole and to win the race on Sunday.
"The team worked day and night to improve the car, but in the end my
weekend wasn’t so different from many others this year. Finding the
right set up seems to depend too much on the weather conditions. We
know that we got the right potential, but quite often it seems really
difficult to find the right way to exploit it all the way. We’ll
nevertheless continue to give it a try – all the time.
"The start went well. I was ahead of the rest, just like we had
planned. And when you turn into the first corner in front of everybody
else, you should be there also when you come out of it. I have no idea
what the drivers behind me were thinking. They braked so late that it
was impossible to avoid the following chaos. It was an inexplicable
mistake by the two cars from McLaren, who actually expelled me from the
fight for victory at the Japanese GP. If I had managed to get unharmed
through the first corner, I could have won.
"But instead of leading I was again stuck behind slower cars. We
gave it our best, but we didn’t have the possibility to race with a
free track. I managed to overtake Trulli and I could have passed also
Kubica during the second pitstop. But I was stuck behind Rosberg and
lost precious seconds.
"I tried to pass Kubica a couple of times on the track where it was
possible to overtake; we fought, but we both didn’t lift the foot from
the throttle and therefore I got off the track in corner 3. Later on I
didn’t want to risk too much. It was more important to gain an
important third place.
It’s true Sunday’s result was a "sayonara" to the drivers’ title
although I knew since Spa that there wasn’t much hope left. I should
have won them, because then I still could have decided over my own
destiny. But after the retirement it was just a question of time.
"Since January I tell you that I give it my best to win the title
again. And if I won’t win I’ll try it again next year. I know how to
become a World Champion. Now we’re going to China. Let’s see what we
can do there, where I won last year. Shanghai is a very demanding track
and I really like it. Our goal is a one-two win. I’ll give it all to
help Felipe and the team to gain the results we want."
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Finally he´s speaking his mind about what happened! We´re used to him keeping quiet, no matter what, but what went down in Japan was the final straw coming from Hamster(and Heikki didn´t help either), so I´m glad he´s saying what he thinks about it and it´s not nice, though always respectful.I´m sad that he finally admits that he has to help Felipe, although I sense from his words that he actually wants to, now that he´s out of the championship, he wants to help whoever he can(in this case his teammate), beat Hamster´s ass.Roll on China!!!Hamster should be scared(I´m positive he is) because he has the entire field against him, not only Felipe, but Glock, DC, Trulli, Kimi, Vettel, for all the things he´s done this year……..watch out little Hamster! ;pKeep flying Kimi – Keep flying Evenstar!!!
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Hey Sol 🙂 maybe the Hamster’s wheel is about to break and roll off out of the cage…Here’s Kimi’s Finnish column, translated by Nicole.
MACHINES INTO PLAN
We have been plowing so deep that our result in Japan feels quite nice.
We got to the finishing line for the first time in a long time, I was
in the front row and we got a prize. The team was satisfied when we
brought good points home.
Although 2nd in quali and 3rd in the race wasn’t what we wanted. It
bugs me that we had chances for the pole and even for the victory.
We have been working for so long and so hard in order to get the car better.
Still the setup-things don’t fall into right places. We just have
to try and improve the next time but luckily the machines (car) are
almost in plan.
The start was succesful for once just as we had hoped too. I took
the lead and you should be able to turn from that place into the next
corner. I don’t understand at all what those behind me where thinking.
They came overfast to that place.
As kids in karting we were taught where the braking points are. One
would think that at this level they at least would remember them. I
don’t know what Hamilton’s dad has done with him but at least Masa
(Matti Räikkönen) put sticks to those places where you were supposed to
brake in Bemböle. That’s the way to learn the braking points
everywhere.
My Japanese GP escaped from my hands in the first corner when both
McLaren’s came in front of me and you couldn’t do anything else but
drive straight. First Hamilton came and when I tried to turn again
there was Heikki and I couldn’t do anything else but wait. They broke
the aircontroller from my tyre and the car became a little strange to
drive.
What hurt me most what that I lost so many places. If I would have
been able to take the lead I probably would have won. Now I was left
behind and even though we did our best I couldn’t get so up that I
could have at least for a moment drive in clean air.
I got past one car and should have overtaken Kubica at the pit
stop. It could have succeeded but I had one car in front of me for too
long and some fuzz in the stop so I couldn’t get in front of him. I
just tried to fight when in Fuji the main track gives at least chances
to overtake. I got beside Kubica once and even passed him too but when
neither one of us lifted our foot from the pedal when we came to the
3rd corner I just had to go out and take the 3rd place.
Now I’m not driving for the WDC anymore but somehow I already knew it after Spa.
I should have won in Belgium so that the championship would have
been in my control so that I wouldn’t have had to try too much and
could have just hoped for the best.
I have said all the time that if it doesn’t click this year, then I’ll try and win the WDC back again next year.
We go to China to se what we can do. We won there last year and
it’s a circuit I’ve always liked to drive. We try and bring the team
best points and 2 first places. At least the fight is on.
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and finally, a podium.
I’ve seen tears in his eyes…I don’t know if they were for champagne or emotions but…..tears.
and somenone says that Kimi never has emotions and never give smis and never look ate fans and never signs autographs.
let them all just see photos and take a look.
and take a look inside Kimi, witout saying bad things about him without any interest in trying, only trying to can feel him and know him.
but any way, KIMI THE BEST AND WE LOVE HIM.
finally tears and a big smile for this podium after all troubles, and someone had tried to say that he’s happy for the third place.
yes, he’s happy! is it a faul to be happy for a podium after troubles and after tears in singapore?
KEEP FLYING KIMI, WE ARE WITH YOU
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(sorry for errors, this evening my line has a terrible feedback in writing on line…..)
thank you very very much for posting the interview and thank you to Kimi to can let us enter into his heart.
KEEP FLYING KIMI!
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Hey, thanks for posting the Finnish translation!!! And yes, Lulu(as Nicki calls Hamster on the forum, it´s hilarious) is definitely in trouble….can wait for tomorrow´s press conference transcript.:p
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i love those translated words from finnish column, that sounds so much like…… like our Kimi! a real great man! i’m glad to read what he feels deep inside but sometimes i feel like he wants to justify himself, but Kimi, you don’t have too, we know you always give your best and we love you for that with your class , no matter the results, you couldn’t overtake Kubi and finaly kept your 3rd place, that’s great for us! So just keep smiling and trying and flying!!!!!
oh just so nice, big thanks Saima, for that , for the aerport pics too, i really want to see what happen in this press conf.!!!!!
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