Sunday, Race Day – Barrichello Victorious, Hamilton 2nd, Raikkonen 3rdFull race report can be read here | Valencia GP Photo Album
Kimi Raikkonen took a well-worked third place, having jumped
Kovalainen in the second stops, setting a fastest lap of his own as he
emphasised his pace up to his stop. The Ferrari driver pitted later than his countryman in both of his first two stints and consistent driving did the rest.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1h35:51.289
2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 2.358
3. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) + 15.994
4. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 20.032
5. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) + 20.870
6. Alonso Renault (B) + 27.744
7. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) + 34.913
8. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) + 36.667
9. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) + 44.910
10. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) + 47.935
11. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) + 48.822
12. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) + 1:03.614
13. Trulli Toyota (B) + 1:04.527
14. Glock Toyota (B) + 1:26.519
15. Grosjean Renault (B) + 1:31.774
16. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
17. Badoer Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
18. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) + 3 lapsFastest lap: Glock, 1:38.683
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 42
Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 24
News & Quotes:
Suzuka to host next three Japanese GPs
Ecclestone issues Donington ultimatum
Barrichello hails memorable victory
Hamilton hails team despite mistake
McLaren downplays pitstop problem
Ferrari may replace Badoer after Spa
Ferrari Team Quotes – Kimi Raikkonen – 3rd: "I am happy about this result.
Already on Friday we saw that the car was pretty competitive over a
distance and we therefore thought we could fight for a podium finish.
We were also aware that, in qualifying, we might have struggled,
especially on light fuel. Both these predictions proved correct and
today we were once again able to get on the podium. I managed to make
up a few places at the start and my first aim was to pull out a bit of
a gap over Rosberg, who was going to stop after me. In the second part
of the race, I realized that I could close on Kovalainen and try and
make the most of the run of pit stops to get ahead of him and I managed
it. Now we go to Spa, a track that I like a lot: we must wait for
Friday to see how competitive we can be. At this point in the season,
if we manage to get everything right, then we can aim for the podium
and if anything was to happen to those ahead of us, we can try and do
even better. We must do all we can to hang on to third place in the
Constructors’ Championship."
Chris Dyer: "We are pleased with Kimi’s third place,
which represents the most we could aspire to today. Driver, team, car:
all these elements came together in the best possible way and the
result confirms it. As for Luca, it was another difficult day in an
equally difficult weekend. However, it should be stressed how much he
improved, continuously day by day, lap after lap. We are confident that
he will find himself in much better shape next weekend in Belgium."
Q. Kimi, great drive from you starting sixth and finishing third. How hard did you have to work for that today?
Kimi RAIKKONEN: We needed to go 100 per cent all the time. I
knew from Friday already I had a good feeling with the car. It was
working very well on the longer stints, so I was hoping that it would
be okay in the race and it turned out to be good. We know that we are
not where we want to be. We are not really bringing new parts anymore
for the car, so we are a little bit behind the leaders. But once we get
the car running well and it feels good, then usually we can fight for
third place. If something weird happens in the race, then maybe we can
even fight for the win, but overall it was a good weekend for me and I
am really happy to score the podium.
Q. Kimi, the key target for you I guess was getting Kovalainen at the second stop. Tell us how you did it.
KR: I mean the first target was to try and keep (Nico)
Rosberg behind. But then after the pit stop I noticed that I was able
to catch Kovalainen. The car was very good. We would go the exact same
lap time and sometimes we would go a little bit faster, so I saw that I
was catching him a bit and I had a little bit of traffic, one car, two
cars and yellow flags which cost some time, but we knew that we had a
few laps on him. I put in a few good laps when he came in and it was
enough. I could quite easily get in front of him and the last stint was
just to stay in third place. The car was really nice to drive.
Q. Kimi, same with you really. Right from the start of the weekend you reckoned you were going to be on the podium.
KR: Yeah, that’s what happened, so we were not wrong. The car
felt good on Friday already and usually when you have a good feeling
with the car you can do much more with it. We knew that it was not
going to be easy because usually in qualifying we cannot challenge the
guys but in race conditions we are usually stronger compared to
qualifying. A lot of things always depend on the start and I was again
able to pick up a few places at the start and then we were able to use
our own speed and pick up some places.
Q. Two successive podiums now: are you going to be a regular on the podium too? There are only three steps of course…
KR: Yeah, it’s not easy to get there, but it really depends
on the conditions of the weekend, the circuit layout a bit. Spa has
usually been good for me but I don’t know if it’s good for our car
right now, so we need to go there and see how it starts to go on Friday
but we will push as much as we can. We’re not going to get more new
parts on the car, so it’s going to get more and more difficult at every
race. Once we get everything running well, we always give ourselves a
chance to be there at least. We try every race and see where we can end
up.
Q. (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, how difficult is it to keep McLaren behind in the Constructors’ Championship?
KR: It’s going to be difficult at the end of the year,
especially if only one car is scoring points and they go as fast as
they are going now. We do the best that we can but it’s not going to be
easy but many things can happen. As long as we can finish in the top
four I think we still have a good chance to hold them back but we will
see what happens. We will give the best that we can and that’s all that
we can do.
Q. (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Kimi, why is the
car’s performance in qualifying worse than in the race; what are the
limitations of the car in qualifying?
KR: It’s not fast enough. It’s not the first time that the
car is fast in race conditions when we put in more fuel. Comparing Q1
and Q2 to Q3 we usually are a bit stronger and the car is working
better with the heavier fuel than the low fuel, but that’s how it’s
been for me at least since I joined Ferrari. We know that if we work
more on the Fridays and Saturdays for the race and really just try to
make it through the first two qualifying sessions to get the fuel in
the car and then try to make the best out of the last qualifying. Our
only chance to score points is to have a strong car in the race and
usually we can help the starts a bit with the KERS, so that always
gives us a little extra help on the first lap, so if we can manage to
make the car good for the race, then we can usually have a strong
weekend.
Q. (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Kimi, do you feel
penalised that you have a team-mate who is learning and can’t share the
data with you, so you have to work with all the team?
KR: No, I’ve always been working… there are certain things
that you can split between team-mates, sometimes when you are not a
hundred percent certain with the tyres, but this weekend the tyres have
been straightforward. It hasn’t been hurting me at all. We always work
alongside and of course there are some things that you can share; at
least this weekend it hasn’t made any difference for us.
FUCK ISRAEL 
Hurrah for Kimi! Brilliant race – here’s hoping for a win at Spa!
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the race was terrible boring but kimi was lovely on the podium. as always.and spa is circuit where kimi knows how to win..keep flying
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fantastic!!!! he was just brilliant!!! his best race of the season so far. his last laps preceding his 2nd pit stop were amazing. ferrari must be very grateful to him because the car is not as quick as it seems, its Kimi’s determination and talent who brought the car on the podium. Hats off Kimi!!! Gud Luck 4 the video Saima, can’t wait 4 it. lol
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Spa – HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!! Hahahahaha, I bet "Spa" was all Kimi could think about towards the end of the race. Or maybe getting that ice cold champagne down his mouth lol
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Well done Kimi 🙂 like i predicted he didn’t deceive us and delivered…Bravo!!!!!Generally speaking the race was boring, i’m happy though that Rubens won instead of Lewis he deserved it after such a long time with no victories…and thank God for once Schumi wasn’t a bad luck for the Iceman, plus this is the 1st time this season that he has 2 consecutive very good races so i guess the 2nd half of the season is turning out to be a lot better Hooray!!!!!!I feel bad for Badoer but he is too slow i’m pretty sure Ferrari will replace him sooner than laterNext in the calendar: a victory in Spa, fingers crossed ;)Keep Flying Kimi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Didn’t see much coverage of Kimi during the race, but so long as we see him on the podium, that the most important result. Fantastic drive Kimi and we were all confident when you said a podium was possible. Bring on Spa, Kimi’s favourite hunting ground, although it’s frustrating when Kimi said Ferrari will not bring new parts to the next race. Basically, Kimi will have to make do with what he’s got. I question Ferrari’s fighting spirit when you see McLaren doing all they can to fight for produms & wins. Ferrari better up their game if they want Kimi to maintain 3rd in the Constructor’s Championship because McLaren is now fast catching up to them in 4th. Excellent win for Rubens!
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Kimi is the best 🙂 Really pleased for Rubens though, he drove an amazing race.Yeah the race coverage was pretty rubbish today. But you’ll get absolutely everything of Kimi’s race in the Valencia highlight video 😉
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Agree with Trixie – and the car is well off the pace of the Mclarens and Brawns – the fact that Kimi managed to get himself ahead of Heikki speaks volumes about how he’s driving that car to its limits. That should shut some of his critics up. I hope that Ferrari will get some updates on that car – after all, they can’t expect Kimi to drive them to a third place in the constructors all by himself. No disrespect to poor Luca but he is looking rather rusty. Nice win for Rubens though, and a lovely gesture for Felipe too!
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Good job!!!
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Yeah that was really sweet from Rubens, Massa must be so happy for him 🙂 and to hear his national anthem. Good feelings.
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congrats to rubens!….nice performance kimi show in the race from P6 to P3 so awesome..Nice to see kimi in the podium every race hope next time kimi stand in the 1st podium not 2nd or 3rd…=) great race Iceman..next race SPA the playground of kimi positive feeling that kimi will make a miracle in SPA….cant wait for the next race…keep flying iceman and saima..
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That was BRILLIANT!!! His start was great, his pace… he was flying. 🙂 And when we saw that Kimi had jumped Heikki in the pit stops- best moment of the race, aside from him crossing the finish line in 3rd. 😀 Wonderful, wonderful drive. Go Kimi!!! :DGreat race by Rubens, too! So sweet, his tribute to Massa. :)BBC commentators were annoying though. Even while waiting for Kimi to cross the finish line they were all "where is Jenson Button?" Geesh.Kimi always puts a HUGE smile on our faces. 😀
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Great race! His lap times throughout were on the pace. He wasn’t put under pressure from anyone behind at any point during the race. Can’t wait for Spa!It was very disappointing that the bbc hardly mentioned him, even when he jumped Heikki in the pitstops and he didn’t even feature in the forum on the red button despite being on the podium. It’s like he can’t do anything right in the eyes of of the bbc. But nevermind because we know he was brilliant today.
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I agree Robyn, a pity the BBC didn’t show his onboard start either 😦 they did in Hungary…
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hi to all and congratulations to kimi ,i wish many more to come!hopefully kimi will come out victorious from spa! my concern is for the next year and ferrari’s decision about keeping kimi in the team or replacing him with alonso.kimi always does his best and i think that ferrari might reconsider the possibility to break kimi’s contract.anyway my thought is with kimi and i will keep supporting him till the end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!keep flynig kimi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!********can’t wait for your video saima……keep the nice and wonderful job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
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Absolutely superb drive from Kimi! Great start,he is beating gays in much faster cars. Well done,i’m so proud of him!!!! And congrats to Rubens, it’s nice to see him wining after so many years. Can’t wait for next race!!!!!
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Fantastic drive from Kimi!! seeing him on the podium again really made my day, Congrats Kimi!!he was absolutely driving the car beyond it’s limit as he was even faster than mclaren’s heikki…his second stint was really good, setting his own flying lap, SUPERB!!! but too bad there were shortage of Kimi’s coverage throughout the race…it almost made me fell asleep in the middle of the race…i wannna see more of KIMI!!hehehe, Kimi is already mentioning Spa, so i think he’s really gunning for a win there, fingers crossed!happy to see rubens there, he deserved the winand really looking forward for the highlight video and of course the Spa race!!KEEP FLYING KIMI!!!!!!=D
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Congrats Kimi for delivering another fantastic drive. A brilliant start by him! Though it was a boring race, but I can’t sat still thru’ out the race, hoping that no bad luck will happen to Kimi. Well said Trixie, MS’s presence this weekend didn’t ruin Kimi’s race.I know that a podium was possible after the 2nd stint when he passed Heikki.Keep Flying Kimi and hoping that miracle will happen in SPA.Also happy for Rubens for winning!
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So happy Kimi proved my feeling after the qualifying XDDGo Kimi go!!!! See you on top of the podium in Spa!!!
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Q:what are the limitations of the car in qualifying? KR:It’s not fast enough. He always cracks me up with his dry answers:P Great race from Kimi, too bad that weasel Barrichello won.
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F1 or WRC,love kimi forever.
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congratulation to kimi,he cando better,we trust him,won’t let us down
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hard to follow but amazing job from Kimi!! awesome! :))Bravo Kimi!can’t wait for Spa!!Keep flying Kimi!!
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great job in valencia
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