Hungary: interview with Kimi’s engineer Mark Slade

Source: ts.fi | Translation courtesy of Nicole

Kimi Räikkönen has, together with Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg, driven every race lap in all 11 races so far. In Hungary he achieved the third 2nd podium. Räikkönen had to prove to all tv-viewers how impossible it is to overtake a fast car in Hungaroring.

“In order to overtake on this track we would need in addition to the DRS-wing a car that would have been at least one second faster than the one driving ahead. Now we didn’t have that car,” Räikkönen’s race engineer Mark Slade told Turun Sanomat.

Then where did Räikkönen lose the victory then – in qualification or in the unsuccessful start with his half-powered KERS?

“Absolutely in the qualification. In order to win Kimi would have had to get at least to P2 or P3. From there he could have gone straight after Hamilton,” Slade said.

Then which of these three 2nd podiums have been closest to victory?

“We got closest in Bahrain. Now the car wasn’t as fast as it was there,” Slade evaluated.

The second half of the season looks good.

“We get to go to Belgium in a good stitch, where Kimi has won 4 out of his last 5 races. Lately we have learned a lot about the car and are in better positions in qualifications also,” Slade got excited.

Kimi was asked after the race if he feels he is driving for this year’s WDC.

“That’s how I have thought during the whole season – more or less,” he said. “Now we are again closer to the top, although we dropped down one position. As long as we get ourselves in good grids where we can race for trophies, we probably get more higher in points also during the second half of the season.”

“The car is going in the right direction. We just have to take everything out of it, then hopefully the victories also start coming,” Räikkönen said.