Ferrari has tipped Kimi Raikkonen to rapidly get on top of his early season Formula 1 struggles.
The Finn has been unable to get fully comfortable with the handling of the F14 T, facing particular difficulties with how the car behaves under braking and corner entry.
Despite a big effort by the team to cure his problems, Raikkonen has not yet resolved all his issues – and the scale of his troubles was highlighted at the Chinese Grand Prix when he finished more than 50 seconds adrift of team-mate Fernando Alonso.
Ferrari’s chassis technical director James Allison thinks it will not be long, however, before Raikkonen is back to his best.
“Kimi is working extremely well with the team, collaborating with his engineers, with the other car across the garage, helping us to drive this car forwards,” Allison told the official Ferrari website.
“[He is] helping to show us where it is weak and helping us to make it stronger.
“He has class written all over him and we know that within in a very short space of time, we will also be seeing the results on the track.”
Allison had nothing but praise, however, for the job that Alonso has done. The Spaniard lies third in the drivers’ standings despite a difficult start to the season for Ferrari.
“We are very fortunate here at Ferrari to have two such good drivers, two drivers with an impeccable pedigree,” Allison said.
“With Fernando we’ve seen as always an extraordinary level of performance, scavenging every possible point at every possible opportunity. And we have to say thank you to him for what he has managed to do with the car so far this year.”
(Source: autosport.com, ferrari.com)
KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN SPACE 