quoteKimi Raikkonen: I'm driving as well as ever in 2016 F1 season
Published on Thursday July 7th 2016
Kimi Raikkonen says he feels he is driving as well as he ever has and is still enjoying racing in Formula 1, as questions remain about his future with Ferrari.
The Finn's contract expires at the end of the season and though he has said he wants to stay at Ferrari, the team is still mulling whether to retain him.
When asked by Autosport about his form and enjoyment in F1 this year compared to when he made his debut in 2001, Raikkonen said: "People always have a lot to say about it.
"But what I say is that I would not be here if I did not enjoy it, if I did not feel like I can drive, if I did not feel like I can do it 100% - it hasn't changed.
"I feel I drive as well as I've driven for ever.
"If I wouldn't feel like I'm driving well, I'm the first one to go away and not do it, but it's not that.
"People are happy to look at the results and say they are not good enough but it doesn't always mean if you have a bad result that you are not 100% giving your best or motivated or something.
"If I wouldn't be motivated, I would not be here wasting my own time or the team's time.
"I enjoy more when the results are better but it doesn't mean that you only drive better, it's that the whole package around you is better.
"A lot of small things that you put in the right places and things will improve."
Raikkonen said he was unsure what he would do after life in F1, but reiterated that Ferrari would be his last team.
"I have always said, way back, that my last team would be Ferrari and it's still like that.
"What happens in the future, I don't know, time will tell.
"I usually don't make plans for the very long future, things change in life very quickly.
"Hopefully I'll stay healthy and then we will see what happens in the future.
"I don't put an awful lot of thinking into it, but I'm sure there's a lot of nice things to do in the future."
Raikkonen, who is level on points with team-mate Sebastian Vettel in third in the drivers' championship, admitted this year has been inconsistent in terms of results.
"I've had pretty good races, some not so good races, some that is not to do with me like the first race, and some that is like Monaco, that was my mistake which is fair enough," he said.
"It's been up and down. Mostly, it's been pretty OK but I'm not satisfied if I finish third or second.
"We are here to try and win, it's the same goal for the team, we want to win and we want two cars there and then we can be more happy.
quoteKimi Raikkonen: I wouldn't waste time on F1 if I wasn't motivated
8:36 PM CEST
SILVERSTONE, Great Britain -- Kimi Raikkonen says he would not waste his time in Formula One if he did not feel motivated enough to win another title.
Since returning to Ferrari in 2014, Raikkonen has failed to win a race and has scored just nine podiums in 47 races. He is out of contract at the end of this year, but says he is motivated to remain at the team next year and continue his pursuit of a second world title.
"I've always said I would not be here if I didn't enjoy it or felt that I can't drive, or do it 100 percent -- it hasn't changed," he said. "It doesn't always mean if you have a bad results you are not 100 percent giving your best or motivated or something, it's not so simple.
"If I wasn't motivated, I wouldn't be here wasting my own time or the team's time. I obviously enjoy it more when the results are better, but it doesn't mean that you drive better than you drove before. It's just that the whole package is better around you and we do a better job improving the package."
Raikkonen confirmed he would not search for another F1 drive outside Ferrari.
"I've always said, for nearly 10 years, that my last team would be Ferrari and it's still like that. What happens in the future I don't know, time will tell, but I usually don't make plans for a very long future.
"Things change in life very quickly and hopefully I'll stay healthy and we'll see what happens in the future. I haven't really put a lot of thought into it but I'm sure there's a lot of nice things to do in the future."
Seb drove in FP1 with the halo. And I read somewhere he admited it disturbs his view. I was wondering because the last time Kimi said he has no problem with it. Hard to believe
Sat Jul 09, 2016 10:54 pm (Last edited: Sat Jul 09, 2016 10:59 pm)
Print view
for the working F1 people, 
for us!
reply
Kimi! 
This is the best team, I am happy to be here" 
sponsor 
.. Not sure Kimi could go much faster in q3. :rb: are clearly quicker in quali trim. It's amazing how Max is performing compared to RIC..
