No doubt, it was one of most difficult weekends for us during the whole season. We knew it before travelling to Monza and, obviously, it proved to be the case, while we started the FP1 on Friday morning.
Very simply we were lacking the speed, or - to be precise - picking up the speed fast enough compared to the other front-runners after coming from those few corners.
The low downforce levels demanded by the layout of the Monza circuit did not suit our car. We could not hang on with the leaders in the straigths and it was tricky even with the DRS on.
Obviously, it could have been a disaster, but at the end of the day, we left the Italian Grand Prix with a fifth place finish and, most of all, with ten more points in the championship table. After the qualifying we hoped for the sixth spot in the race at the best, and got one better, so it was not too bad at all.
Mainly our focus is to cut the point gap to the leader, who is Fernando Alonso. We managed to cut it by 15 points in Spa. This time we lost 5 points to him. It’s never good to lose more at this time of the season, but it’s still possible to catch him. So we shall try our very best, that’s 100% certain!
Actually we gained one place after Italian Grand Prix, but, for me, it’s the same, if we are second, third or wherever, as long as we are in this tightly packed group of the pursuers behind Alonso.
Obviously, we would need good points from the next few races. It will be very interesting to see, how it goes, while all the teams will have a completely different aerodynamics package for Singapore. I have never scored points at that circuit before, but it should suit our car quite well. So let’s wait and look forward to what we can achieve from that exotic night race. http://www.kimiraikkonen.com/story.asp?ArticleID=733
I hadn't watched the onboard video of Massa at race start that closely before. Fernando really works his way from Right to Left across the track on approach to T1. As if he expected Kimi to lift to make way for him. But if you watch really close: Kimi held his line. Alonso made it near impossible for Kimi to do anything by how tight he squeezed him.
So it¹s four races to go in this season, there are as much as hundred points to gain and we are now 48 behind the leaders.
It¹s a tough call in the championship, for sure. However, I have experienced the similiar kind of situations previously; sometimes it has not been easy at all, but we still managed to get through some how.
Today you never could know beforehand what could happen in motor racing tomorrow.
At least I can promise to all you fans, we will give it our best shot! Right now it doesn¹t look like we could be catching Vettel or Alonso, but we will try as long as it¹s possible.
We got some important new parts to Korean Grand Prix. I had never tested them before, so it was pretty interesting weekend all way through. It was not the easiest of races. We got the car working better and better, but there was not enough speed in the race  for that circuit, any way.
I was pleased with the speed in qualifying. It was not our best lap of the season, but it was good enough to get us a decent position in the starting grid. The start was good and I had my chance to win a place. Then I had to back off, and, obviously, that was it.
After that we raced for the fifth place. We had some rough time behind Hamilton, but finally we got some clean air and managed to seal our P5 for the rest of the race.
I felt the new exhaust system giving more potential to the performance. However, this was the debut for it, so it¹s natural we need some time to optimise it and get more out of it in the future.
Obviously, it will depend on the circuit as well. Some places suit better, some not that good. So hopefully we get more out of the system in the next race in India.
India will be a new place for me, like Korea was. I didn¹t have any problems to get acquinted with that circuit, so I don¹t expect it to become an issue in India, either.
Well, as I said in India, I felt the lap time speed was there in the car to fight for the top positions. Obviously, we just couldn’t use it at all after being held up by some others during the race because of a poor qualifying result.
So we went to Abu Dhabi with a good feeling from the car. If we could put everything in place with the qualifying and get a good start, the sky was the limit to fight with the leaders for the top place.
I had one experience earlier at Abu Dhabi to be forgotten, while I had my last race with Ferrari there and there was nothing left from that car to get any kind of result.
Now everything was different. We had a pretty solid practice, we tried some new parts for the last two races, but we got it right with the set-up, as well. I was quite pleased with how it went in the qualifying sessions. Obviously, it was tight as ever, but the lap was good enough to put us to P5, and, eventually, to fourth from there on, as Vettel got a penalty afterwards.
Then next on the agenda it was up to us to get a good start. I was fired up already going to the installion lap, while I felt, everything went so strongly in the practise start. Then we got the launch perfectly in place, and I was in front of Webber and Maldonado before reaching the second gear.
Hamilton had more speed, no question about that, but we didn’t have any problems to follow him. It was as predicted, this could have happened already in India. If we are free to follow the leaders, we can do it. But if there are some people in between, you just cannot do it and the leaders disappear quickly from us.
This time we didn’t have to wait until the pitstop, while Hamilton had some problems and stopped. That’s how it goes in motor racing. You hope to have the quickest car, but when you have it, you have to finish the race, too. The points are shared only after the flag.
We had the lap time speed and I could control the race quite easily until the second safety car came in. Then everything was open again. I knew I had to be able to gain a gap back in the few first laps, I really went for it – and it went ok!
We knew Alonso was there to make every effort to win this one. I saw him coming closer, but, obviously, there was not that big pressure. It’s completely different to come closer compared to try to overtake a fast car in that circuit.
It was in our control until the finish, but I have to confess, it would have been much easier, if the flag had been waved 1-2 laps earlier.
Well, winning means everything for me. It was just a great feeling to clinch the first one of the season, the first one with the new team, and get the 25 points for the first time in my life.
But all in all, it was a great result especially for the team. They have worked so hard all year long. They have had some difficult moments and we all have been disappointed after feeling how close we have been to the P1 without ultimately getting it.
Now it’s done. We all have the best reason to feel happy. Hopefully we'll get more of these moments together again as soon as possible!
Interesting title "Under my Thumb", and perhaps a clue that Kimi doesn't really invent the title of these columns himself. "Under My Thumb" is a Beatles song about domination. Very clever title.
Zitat von BoudicaInteresting title "Under my Thumb", and perhaps a clue that Kimi doesn't really invent the title of these columns himself. "Under My Thumb" is a Beatles song about domination. Very clever title.
Rolling Stones Beatles were always a bit of 'vanilla' h" title="hih" />
Zitat von BoudicaInteresting title "Under my Thumb", and perhaps a clue that Kimi doesn't really invent the title of these columns himself. "Under My Thumb" is a Beatles song about domination. Very clever title.
Rolling Stones Beatles were always a bit of 'vanilla'
Yes, right of course, I honestly dont know why I wrote the Beatles.
Zitat von BoudicaInteresting title "Under my Thumb", and perhaps a clue that Kimi doesn't really invent the title of these columns himself. "Under My Thumb" is a Beatles song about domination. Very clever title.
Are you saying Kimi is a bit dumb? h" title="hih" /> " title="wink" />
But I agree that this previews/reviews most of the time 'sound' nothing like him. Maybe at first they called him to remind him to write them but after a couple of "yes, yes, yes. You don't have to to remind me all the time" they gave up h" title="hih" />
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Beatles were always a bit of 'vanilla' 
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