quoteKimi sees performance “stronger than in Silverstone”
“It’s hard to know how the weekend will go, the season has been going with ups and downs so far, on different tracks and with different conditions, but I’m sure that here we are going to be stronger than in Silverstone. Is it going to be enough? I don’t know. I expect us to be very close, but I might be wrong, we’ll have a rough idea from tomorrow. A lot of things have to come together to have a good weekend, we have to do a good job to give ourselves a chance to fight in the front. For sure our car is better than it was at the beginning of the season, but it’s still not good enough. I feel that in some circuits we are very close and in others we still suffer a lot. I l expect we can improve and win races, but of course things will not happen overnight. Our aim is to be up there with both cars, win races and fight for the Championship. It’s still far from over but we have to be realistic, we have to start winning races to beat our main rivals. There are still many races to go , we can still turn things around, we’ll fight until the end.”
quoteSeb’s optimism boosted by “knowing the team inside out”
“Looking at the results, it’s a fact that obviously we didn’t manage to score enough points to make ourselves in a better position by now, but I don’t think we need to look constantly at the results we have had. Here and there we could have done better but the bottom line is, we were not quick enough. We know we are not yet where we want to be, so that’s something we’re not happy with, but we are working on it very hard. If we could change it overnight we would, but sometimes is not that easy. We had three races in which we didn’t finish, clearly it hasn’t gone the way we were hoping for, clearly we are not yet where we want to be, but equally it is not as bad. So I don’t think it’s the worst season I ever had. In the last race a couple of things went wrong, but with the tests straight after there were quite a lot of things we understood about our car that should help us get back on track in the future. Obviously it’s difficult to change things overnight but I think here is a different story, a different track. I get along very well with the team, by now I know the team inside out and now it’s easier to deal with problems. Obviously we’re focusing on the race but can’t predict the outcome, that’s why we’re here, trying to work on it and get the best possible result. The motivation to win here is very high, it’s a great race, great atmosphere, hopefully we can repeat what we did last year.”
That was sad yesterday! While I was happy seeing Kimi on P1 he drop and drop and a minute later he was P14 At least Maurizio admit they made a mistake with Kimis timing. But this will not help him today. Lets hope the best for him
quote Kimi Raikkonen Q&A - P14 a shame, as Ferrari ‘felt pretty good’
23 Jul 2016
Saturday’s unpredictable conditions in Hungary were always going to throw up the odd surprise or two, and arguably the biggest was Kimi Raikkonen’s absence from Q3 after he failed to get a quick Q2 lap in at the right time. The Ferrari star hence starts 14th on the grid, but that doesn’t mean he’s ruling out a strong result tomorrow…
Q: Kimi, this afternoon you were caught on the wrong foot...
Kimi Raikkonen: …yes, it really was a shame where we’ve ended up, because the car felt pretty good. But I think others were caught as well, so all will depend on what you do in the first three corners tomorrow. I think we could have probably done things differently - but in hindsight you are always smarter. We will definitely learn from it.
Q: Is this track going to be difficult for you in the same way that Monaco was difficult?
KR: Well, this is a ‘normal’ circuit - nothing in the mould of Monaco. Here you can overtake - yes, not so easy as some other circuits, but you can. And that is what we will do tomorrow. So I think we do have the chance to have a good race. I am sure we will come up with something and improve the position.
Q: You indicated that the car feels a lot better this weekend than was the case at Silverstone. Is this due to the different track, or has Ferrari come up with something in the last 10 days?
KR: Well, it is probably down to the circuit - and the conditions. Silverstone probably had not the best layout for us, so I expect this here to be a lot better. For sure that didn’t show this afternoon, but hopefully tomorrow afternoon.
Q: So if you take away today and look back to the Friday runs, what do you expect for the race - especially if it stays dry?
KR: I have to say wet or dry doesn’t really matter, as the car was also behaving nicely in the wet. So whatever it is tomorrow, I don’t mind. I am aware that from where I start it will not be easy and as I said before, the paramount thing is to get through the first three corners without contact - and from there it should roll on. Regarding the strategy, we will see what happens in the first part of the race. My guess is that we will see a lot of red flags in the race and one or the other safety car. So all I can hope is that when it happens it catches me in the right moment. But that can be a lottery.
Q: A lot of people complained that the safety car stayed out too long at Silverstone, but in Q1 here the conditions were worse. Was it too early to go out?
KR: You cannot compare. And there are always critics from all different places. And here we had to stop Q1 because of severe aquaplaning and impossible visibility due to spray. Probably starting Q1 again you could argue that we could have started two laps later - but that you only know in hindsight. And the most important thing is that everything stayed safe.
Q: Can we talk over your Q2 session, which brought an end to your grid ambitions? You switched from intermediate tyres to slicks. Was that your decision or the team’s?
KR: As the team oversees who is putting on what kind of tyres in what situation, it is normal that they react. Again in hindsight you could argue whether we should have done this, or should have done things different - but that is water under the bridge and that is part of the game. Sometimes things come your way - sometimes not. In the end, with so many red flags and so many aborted laps this is something that you never can plan in advance. You have to react to a certain situation - and sometimes you pick the short end. But the car felt good - and that is all that matters.
quoteKimi: the pace was there to ‘go catch the rest’
“Today my car was really good and behaving well, we had the speed, but obviously this is not the easiest place to overtake. Unfortunately, after yesterday’s qualifying, today we were not in a position that would allow us to get the result we deserved, and this is the most disappointing thing. Regarding the battle with Max, it’s not for me to decide but I think that his maneuvers are questionable. The first time he started to move on the right and I went left, but he moved back there too, so I had to try and get out of it because I was hitting him hard on the rear and I lost my front wing, which didn’t make it easier to attack again. Then later, every time I managed to make a move and I was committed to somewhere he decided to turn afterwards, and at that point I had nowhere to go. It’s not my job to determine if he was correct or not, but I have seen people being penalized for much less. Today we did our maximum, I’m disappointed because I couldn’t get past Verstappen and go catch the rest.”