Italian Kimi Interview Double-Dose

At the test in Bahrain you were able to drive for the first time the F60 with slicks in the dry. How is it going?

KR: "Very well. It was a good first step, everything worked well. As for the
slicks, at the end I did not find many differences compared to when,
before Christmas, we tried on the old car. "

The new Ferrari is better suited to the tyres characteristics?
KR: "It is too early to tell. Certainly the feeling was good. "

With the new rules do you think the races will be more exciting?

KR: "It will always be difficult, but we hope there is an
improvement. It may be that,
since it’s somewhat more difficult, it will increase the interest both of the
drivers and for the public. "



The drivers will have more difficulty?
KR: "We can’t tell yet."

Talk about the Kers (system recovery): does it make a real difference?

KR: "It helps significantly in the lap time, and of course its’ influence
depends on the circuit. If it works it’s a good thing to have in the
car. And for us, so far it has worked quite well. "

All these buttons will make Formula 1 more like a videogame?
KR: "No! Being good with video games is not the same as being in F1. "

You have understood what went wrong last year? There is something to learn?

KR: "You always learn from mistakes, but I’m not particularly interested in understanding last year: we
can’t change the way things went, and it doesn’t help us to do things
better now. I am happy to talk about what we can do about this. "

You’re searching for a comeback?
KR: "No, I
try only to give the maximum. Everyone knows what we can do and our
goal is to win the championship. There are many things that need to go well to achieve that, and I’m not
necessarily talking about luck. But I’m not thinking of that now:
I think good testing and to be as strong as possible in the first few races is important. "

In Finland, the media were writing that you decided to quit drinking alcohol.
KR: "It is my private life, I don’t think I need to talk about it."

Do you expect different rivals or think that the fight going to be between you, Massa and Hamilton again?

KR: "I have no idea how the other teams are working. Until now the lap
times were all very close, but during the tests using different tyres,
you try different things, then, it can be successful or not. But I’m neither interested nor worried about the others. Let’s think about ourselves."

In 2010, your contract expires and you said that Ferrari will probably be your last team: does this mean that you’ll leave F1?

KR: "We will see in two years if I’m still enjoying or if I want to do
other things, but I’m confident that Ferrari will be my last team. But this
does not necessarily mean that I will stop in 2010… "

What would you do next? Rally?
KR: "I
have not planned anything. During the rally I enjoyed it very much, I have another
course in Finland on Saturday. It is one thing that I do as a fun hobby when I have nothing else to do. "

What do you think of the controversy
on the drivers’ superlicense? They complain about the increase of the fee, and Mosley says that
anyone who does not pay, they will not drive.
KR: "Everyone is more or
less happy to pay the license, it’s just that the price should be reasonable. I do
not understand why it is so much more expensive than any other
category. It should be equal for all and reasonable. This is the only
problem, nobody wants to quarrel with anyone. "

You’ve said that sooner or later you will have children?

KR: "In this moment we are not in the best of possible worlds. I am a
lucky man because I would be able to offer a good life for my child. "

What are your hopes for them?
KR: "That they are always healthy. Then they alone will decide their life. I will not force them to do anything, if they choose to race or do anything else. "

If your child were an American citizen, would he have voted for Obama?
KR: "Yes, I do not follow politics much but I think he’s a smart guy. "

Axl Roses, the leader of Guns N’Roses, has thanked you in his last album, Chinese Democracy. Why?

"I do not know, I ask him! But we know each other quite well, we’ve met several
times: the first time was years ago, at my invitation, then he comes to Finland
and we meet again.

Do you think you have a rock soul?
KR: "I’d say no. But I like his music. "

Favorite city?
KR: "Espoo".

Colour?
KR: "Black, red and white."

Food and beverage?
KR: "Pasta and fish. I do not have a favorite drink. "

Pet?
KR: "Dog. I have three."

Your parents and wife are afraid when you’re racing?
KR: "My mom yes, it is certainly the most worried of all."

It is favorable for women to be in Formula 1?
KR: "If you are brave enough, you are welcome.

What do you think of a GP in Rome?
KR: "We are an Italian team, so it would be nice. I was once in Rome before Christmas and is a wonderful city and I’d like to go back. "



After two years at Ferrari, have you understood a little ‘Italy’?

KR: "It works differently than a British or Swiss team, it is a cultural thing. I like the Italians: I find they are nice people and relaxed. "


What a wonderful interview for a change, it’s so refreshing to read after seeing so much rubbish written about him nowadays. Big thanks to Miezicat who pointed out this interview for us (although Autosport have just released their version of it) My favourite colours are also red, white, and black. I don’t like Tuna though! (Kimi’s favourite pasta dish is with Tuna fish) Kimi speaks very wisely about his future and, of course, about having a family. Not to mention the drivers’ superlicense protest! I do hope he continues racing after 2010, as he’s kinda left his answer on that open-ended! Below is another interview which was shown on Italian television yesterday; the video is available to download at Tania’s Space or you watch it here!

N1 Interview broadcast on Rai2
Translation and video courtesy of TaniaS (at GhiaccioInvisibile)

That’s Kimi.

That’s Kimi – he doesn’t wish for anything. You just need to try your best in everything and that’s it. Note
Kimi’s comment in the second question: do you think he’s speaking about
Spa? That was one of his best races ever, in my opinion, and he got no
reward for it just like somes races in 2005 (*cries*) I really hope 2009 will allow Kimi to fly higher than
before, because quite frankly his rivals like Massa and Hamilton
haven’t seen nothing yet! The only worthy rival of Kimi’s has been
Fernando Alonso. I noticed while going through my photo collections that Kimi and Alonso both were there when each took their first wins and first world championships. Fernando was 3rd on the podium with Kimi when he won at Malaysia in 2003, and Kimi was 2nd when Alonso took his first win at Hungary in 2003. Kimi was 2nd when Alonso took his world title at Brazil 2005 and Alonso was 3rd when Kimi took his title at Brazil 2007. Sweet! I’m rambling on now, but I hope that Alonso’s Renault doesn’t perform as badly as it looks because I actually miss the good old days between Kimi and Alonso. Roll on 2009!