Thursday at Istanbul: Interview with Kimi

Kimi Räikkönen reminded
on Thursday that we have seen many surprising turns in the F1
championship serie. Therefore Kimi isn’t yet ready to declare Button as
a champion in spite of his lead.

How well do you believe the car fits Istanbul’s Otodrom-track?

Räikkönen: It’s hard to say how our present car fits this circuit
but Felipe Massa has won here 3 times and I have won once so our car
has worked well here earlier. Hopefully this time too. We have a few
new parts and we’ll see how well they work tomorrow.

Could one say that so far you have the best chances of winning the race?

Räikkönen: In the last race in Monaco I had a chance if I would
have managed to get the pole. So far we haven’t yet driven here so it’s
hard to say if this is possibly the best place to win a race. We can be
strong here but we’ll find out later if it’s enough.

Still you have made progress all the time?

Räikkönen: The car was already in Barcelona better than before and
Monaco went well too so at least we have made progress when it comes to
performance. Now the car has little by little started to be much closer
to the top than it was in the beginning of the season.

Does the car feel much different after all these changes than before?

Räikkönen: It doesn’t feel much different even though we have more
downforce now. When we got the new floor to the car it made the biggest
difference. Other than that it behaves pretty much like it behaved
before but it has more traction so you can drive faster. In the
beginning of the season the car felt good to drive but when there is no
traction it’s seen in the laptimes. So the only thing that has changed
is that you can now take the corners with a much faster speed.

How important is this race when thinking of the championship?

Räikkönen: We have developed for the better all the time but we
aren’t stil on the level where we want to be. When it comes to the
championship battle it’s good to be realistic because we are much
behind the lead in points.

Which one is in your opinion in a better position when thinking about the championship, Brawn GP or Red Bull?

Räikkönen: Brawn has very reliable cars and they would have to face
quite big problems before the others would have a chance to catch them.
It’s very unlikely. On the other hand we saw really surprising turns in
F1 last season so one should never stop trying. We at least do
eveything in our power so that we would win races and that way put a
little extra pressure on them. Of course we still have a chance but a
very small one if we are realistic. Red Bull might have slightly better
chances in catching Brawn.

When you won the WDC in 2007 you came from behind, pretty far away
from the lead. Do you still think that there would be hope for a
similar rise?

Räikkönen: Always when there is a mathematical possibility to win
the championship, hope is alive. Or maybe you shouldn’t talk about
hope, rather that there is a small existing possibility. Of course you
can also hope for the best result. The fact still is that we should win
quite many races and they would have to fail and that doesn’t sound
realistic.

Will you now drive more for the honor than for the championship?

Räikkönen: It’s natural for the team that we try to win as many
races as possible and score as many points as possible. That is our
goal number 1.

How certain is it that you will drive in F1 next year?

Räikkönen: Well, I think I will drive next year too. We have a
contract and no matter how many different stories are told about other
things, they are just stories. We’ll see next year who drives in which
team.

Many assume that the next season is your last season in F1. Is it possible that you would negotiate for continuing after that?

Räikkönen: Everything is always possible. As long as I enjoy this
work and have a good place to work, it’s always possible. I haven’t yet
decided anything and I don’t even have to think about it yet. We’ll see
where F1 is going. Nobody knows yet what will happen to the sport next
year. I think that they are that kind of things that matter a lot in
the final games.

Kimi: "I am sure I will win a race this year"
From Ferrari.com | Further improvements for the F60 at Istanbul

Istanbul was hit with a very heavy storm this
morning, but the sun was shining by the time Kimi strolled into the
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro media motor home for his first meeting with
the press. Everyone wanted to know if the podium finish in Monaco a
fortnight ago could lead to a win here on Sunday.

“I won here once, so
this circuit is not too bad for me, but let’s see how we get our
package to work first and then we can see what we can expect this
weekend,” began Kimi. “Of course, I will try my best but I cannot
promise we will win. We tried some things in the last race which means
we are moving forward all the time, so we should be in a better
position this weekend. But you cannot compare this track to Monaco, so
we must wait and see what happens in tomorrow’s practice and whether or
not we have closed the gap some more to the Brawns. As for our car, we
just need to improve the package overall and find some more downforce.
When that happens we will be stronger. We were the second best team in
Monaco, but that is a special place, so it is hard to know if that
situation will be the same in Turkey.”

Kimi has won once here, but his
team-mates has the last three victories in Istanbul under his belt, so
is the Brazilian unbeatable at this track?

"Felipe has won many times
here and I’ve won once, so if I get the car working well and everything
works smoothly, I can be strong,” replied the Finn. “I am sure I will
win a race this year, but maybe this weekend is too soon, but like I
say, we can’t know much until tomorrow’s practice.”

On the subject of the future of F1, given the current political
wranglings, Kimi preferred to pass it over: “I don’t know, don’t ask
me, it’s a question for the people who run the sport. This is not an
easy time for those who run the teams and F1, but probably something
will get sorted out soon.”

Although the F60 has improved considerably the gap from Ferrari to the
series leaders is considerable, but Raikkonen refuses to lose hope
about the titles. “As far as the championship is concerned, we are
improving, but in terms of points we are a long way behind. But we keep
trying and hope to put together some very good races soon. Brawn would
need to have a very bad time, not scoring points in several races, to
lose that advantage. I think that’s unlikely to happen, even if we have
seen strange things happen in F1 in the past. If we continue to
improve, we can have a chance, but it’s a slim one. I always feel
there’s a chance until it is mathematically impossible. Even if that
moment comes before the end of the season, we will still try and win
races. For the team this is important.”

Finally, a question about any superstitions he might have when
preparing for a race, when unsurprisingly, the straight talking Finn
had no mysteries to reveal. “I always do the same things, but it’s not
a ritual and I don’t have to do everything in the same order,” he said.
Basically, I put my helmet on and just jump in the car! I don’t have
any superstitions.”