Francorchamps, 27th August 2009

Just four days after finishing second in the European Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen was back dealing with the media, in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock, which despite all the usual talk of rain, is actually bright, sunny and warm at the moment. “It’s a nice place and a great circuit,” was the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver’s view of this track where he won three times. “I will be aiming for a podium again, but we won’t know until after tomorrow’s practice, which should give us a clearer picture. The car has worked well in the last two races, as good as it can get really, but when you consider the last two venues were similar to Monaco in some ways, then that is not so surprising.”




With the very short uphill start straight leading to a hairpin bend, the Finn was asked if the car’s KERS would still be of benefit here. “It has helped us at every circuit and I am sure that will be the case here,” replied Kimi. “It will be particularly useful after the first corner and the run up the hill and also the exit of the last corner.”

Even the phlegmatic Finn looked a bit bored, when like every Thursday at a race, some journalist asks about his contractual situation with the Scuderia. This time, Kimi decided to embellish his usual response: “I don’t worry about my contract. Other people seem to worry more than me. I have a contract, but it’s not me that makes the decision, so I don’t think about it. But whatever happens, I am sure I can find something to do!” When it came to the subject of how he assesses his own performance this season, not counting the capability of his car, the Ferrari man was not afraid to admit it had not been perfect “As a driver, I have done my best in every race, although for sure there are some races where I was not happy with how things went, but that’s part of Formula 1. It’s hard to get through a year without being disappointed in yourself at some point, but overall, I’m happy with the way things have gone. Of course, we want to win and to do better, but unfortunately we don’t have the package to achieve that right now. If we were in the fight for the Championship titles, then there might be some logic in developing this year’s car further, but in our current situation, I think that would be the wrong decision, as it would take time out of next year’s car project. Putting a lot of effort to try and get one or two wins before the end of the season is not logical. But even so, there are some tracks where we still might be able to get some good results.”