quote Bahrain GP: Mercedes-engined Formula 1 teams are in a 'different class' - Raikkonen By Ben Anderson Sunday, April 6th 2014, 19:19 GMT
Kimi Raikkonen says it feels like Ferrari is racing in a different class to the Mercedes-engined Formula 1 teams, after the Scuderia's difficult start to the season continued in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Raikkonen lined up fifth, but made a bad start and survived two contact incidents to end up 10th in the final classification, just behind team-mate Fernando Alonso and over 30 seconds adrift of the winning Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.
The 2007 world champion said he could not blame his poor result on contact with Kevin Magnussen's McLaren, nor a later incident with Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso, because the customer Mercedes cars were just too fast for Ferrari on the straights.
"The Mercedes cars seemed to be able to pass us very easily on the straightlines. One Force India got me on the exit of corner eight and it was like a different class," said Raikkonen.
"I was surprised. He came out of the pitlane but I had only done a few laps on the tyres. I went OK out of the corner and he just came inside of me and went past; I had no answer.
"And the next corner he had massive traction also, so it's not just the horsepower."
Both Ferrari drivers reckoned the back end of the top 10 was probably the best Ferrari could have managed in Bahrain, given the F14 T's current performance deficit.
"We are ninth and 10th and we didn't have a crash or any problems. We are ninth and 10th because that's what we could do today," added Alonso.
"I won this grand prix three times. It's not that I forgot how to drive here.
"We are ninth and 10th because there were eight people who were better than us.
"We want to change this as soon as possible and that needs to start in China.
quoteStefano Domenicali: “This race provided an epilogue to a weekend which turned out to be as difficult as we had thought it would be, even before arriving in Bahrain. This circuit is particularly tough for our car and Sakhir’s technical characteristics showed up the gaps in our performance. Now, we must forget this race and look ahead, because I don’t like seeing our drivers fighting hard everywhere and then being unable to attack or defend on the straights. We’ve got an important test ahead of us now, when I expect to see an initial step up in terms of quality. The team must not get downhearted, even if things have not turned out the way they should so far. They must continue to work in order to step up a gear as quickly as possible.”
Fernando Alonso: “Today’s race was complicated for us, even if we knew what to expect because, with its long straights, this track shows up our weak points. The team did a super job and sorted the problem I had yesterday in the final part of qualifying and the start and strategy were perfect. The Safety Car helped us make up a bit of ground on the cars ahead of us and also allowed us to save fuel, but it was not enough to change the result, with eight cars ahead of us doing a better job. Although we did all we could, we can’t be happy with our level of performance and now our sole focus must be on working day and night. The season is in its early stages and I think we can stage a recovery. We have the resources and the potential to do it and it’s all down to us. Next week will be very important as we get back on track on Tuesday and Wednesday to test in preparation for the upcoming races. We have got a very aggressive programme, which we need as our rivals will not just be sitting back and watching.”
Kimi Raikkonen: “I am very disappointed with today’s result, because after how qualifying went, I expected to do better. I didn’t get a good start and immediately lost some places. On the first lap, I was hit by Magnussen, luckily without it doing any damage, but trying to move up the order at this point was very difficult, because the lack of aero downforce and speed on the straight meant overtaking was complicated. We knew this track was less suited to the characteristics of our car than the first two and that the Mercedes would be very quick. Overall, the handling of our car has generally improved compared to the first races and this makes me confident for the upcoming ones. We can expect a lot of work to do and we will make the most of the test days to try and improve already in time for the next race in China.”
Pat Fry: “Today, we could not have asked more of our car and drivers, because here, our most limiting factor was a lack of top speed. That meant we had to run a defensive race and even if in the middle sector, the one with the most corners, the F14 T was competitive, it was not enough to allow Fernando and Kimi to attack our rivals. In Maranello, we are working on solutions to ensure better power delivery and better driveability. We are also trying to improve the efficiency of the car on the aerodynamic front. The data we acquired in today’s race will provide a baseline for the major checking programme we have planned for the test, right here at Sakhir on Tuesday and Wednesday.”
Kimi will have both test days after the GP in Spain. I think its not that bad. They will have not so many new parts in the next days. Maybe more development in a few weeks for Kimi.
Quote: Jalumi wrote in post #101Kimi will have both test days after the GP in Spain. I think its not that bad. They will have not so many new parts in the next days. Maybe more development in a few weeks for Kimi.
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Sun Apr 06, 2014 8:33 pm
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) and JEV.
Good to hear 
