quoteF1 Monaco GP: Raikkonen doubts wider cars will change much at Monaco
Despite concerns about the added width of F1's 2017 field around the streets of Monaco, Kimi Raikkonen isn't bothered. Kimi Raikkonen doesn't think the wider 2017 Formula 1 cars will make Monaco a more challenging grand prix, saying he hasn't noticed too much difference so far this season.
As part of an overhaul of F1's technical regulations for 2017, the cars were made 20 cm wider and bulked up to offer drivers more downforce.
Monaco is the tightest circuit on the calendar, leading to concerns for many that racing will be even more difficult than usual due to the wider cars.
Raikkonen does not see it this way, though, saying he has not noticed any issues with car placement through the first five races of this current formula so far.
“I don't know. I might be wrong but I don't think we're going to feel an awful lot," Raikkonen said. "If you purely take the circuits that we've been so far, the first time we run it feels different but we haven't seen an awful lot of problems that people are accidentally off the road because the car is that much wider or something.
"It might be different here but usually you go off how the front tire looks and then I don't think it has changed an awful lot between the front and rear from the past.
"I don't think it's going to be an awful lot of a problem, but I might be wrong. We will see tomorrow."
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo is more concerned about the lack of space, particularly when cars bunch together and the increased width adds up.
"20cm wider total, it doesn't sound much but when you put all the cars together and on a tight circuit you see it and notice it more," Ricciardo said.
quoteKimi Raikkonen: “It’s great to be on pole position, this is one of the races where it is probably most important to be at the front. Half of the job is done, but we still have a big challenge in front of us tomorrow. So far so good, I’m happy with the car. This is a very special place, it’s been a bit tricky to get everything working as we wanted, but in qualifying things fell into place: and very small things make a massive difference in the lap time here . We got it right, the team put me in a very good position every time; things were running smoothly and hopefully tomorrow we can get a great result with both cars. We have to make a good start and try to stay out of trouble. It’s quite a short run to the first corner, cars are wide and it’s tricky to pass. We’ll try to do our best, but it’s not going to be easy, as many things can happen out of your control. The most important thing for me is to be in the same position tomorrow when it comes to the end.”
Sebastian Vettel: “I am not happy with myself because pole position was up for grabs, but it’s great for the team. If I had to give up pole position and hand it to someone, I would choose Kimi. I am happy for him. He did a very good job in qualifying. As I said, it’s been fantastic for the team, but I am not totally happy with my performance today. I should have done a better job overall. The car was good, so it was my mistake. I was a bit too greedy in my last run. Now it is impossible to make predictions for tomorrow, all we have to think about is the start, the pace, the strategy, and then try to put everything together. So, we are going to prepare for the race as usual.”
I´m not sure jpp. Kimi was looking very angry and sad after the race. I have the feeling Ferrari play not nice/ fair with him. He was in the traffic after the stop and lost a lot of time there. Maybe they could have avoid this. I´m very sad and angry. I would have wish him this win with my full heart
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Wed May 24, 2017 8:34 pm
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