Kimi’s Column: Australia Review & Malaysia Preview

Turning things around again

It was the first time in many years we were left without a single point
in the first race. So, obviously, yes – it was not a good start to the
season. By far. It’s frustrating, but there is nothing we can do to
change it anymore. We just keep pushing hard and try to improve next
time.


It was only one race and things can turn around very quickly. Also
last year Melbourne was not that good place for us and then one week
later I won in Malasiya. Again things can turn around very quickly.


The weekend overall was a very disappointing experience. We did not
score any points and we did not have the quickest car on the circuit.
There is a lot of work to be done, but I have a great team behind me to
change things quickly.


It was one of the toughest weekends I have ever had in F1. We lost
some valuable time in practise and it was a painful setback. Every lap
counts, expecially now when testing is so limited. It’s always hard to
say how much we lost, but for sure it didn’t help.


Probably the best thing for us was that the KERS system worked well
at the start, but I did not get a clear path to take full advantage of
making up positions. It was not enough to gain places, but the feeling
to use KERS was great.


Our speed was not as competitive as we expected beforehead. I was
not surprise to see the Brawn GP at the front. We already saw in the
testing that they have been very quick. Now there are new favourites at
the top. Obviously it’s going to be really tight and a very challenging
fight for the championship and that’s very good for the sport.


Before going to the season I said that we need to see how things
are after the first two races. Malasiya is more of a normal circuit to
judge how competitive we are.


I think the championship is wide open. This was only the first race
of the season and whilst it would have been nice to start the season
well, there are many races remaining. It’s too early to start making
predictions The picture will become clearer only after four or five races.


Now we go to Malasiya, which has usually been a good place for me.
It’s a proper circiut compared to Melbourne. Due to the cars being so
different this year, it’s very hard to know just where we are compared
to our competitors.


I just love to race in Sepang. It’s a very challenging place, the
weather is hot like a Finnish Sauna and it really demands a lot to
get a good weekend there.



We have a lot of work to be done after Melborne, but we will do our very best to win the race again.