Räikkönen believes there is “no magic” behind his results

After unexpectedly winning the inaugural race of the season in Australia, Kimi Räikkönen then continued with strong results: three second places in China, Bahrain, and Spain, and a relatively underwhelming performance in Malaysia with only six points from a seventh-place finish. This points haul now allows him to hold second place in the world championship, thirteen points ahead of Fernando Alonso and four points behind Sebastian Vettel, both of whom have won twice.

Moreover, if some are surprised to find him in such a position, the Finn is not surprised at all: « I don’t see why we should be surprised. I don’t think there’s any magic behind it. »

Indeed, the 2007 world champion and the Lotus team have come to know each other better over the past year. And this rapport is one of the reasons Räikkönen finds himself in this position today: « We mainly wanted to improve at the start of the year, and that’s what we did. I know the team and they know me. Therefore, we have more experience. We have been more consistent and faster this year. The objective was to start as best as possible from the first race to be in a strong position. We would have liked to win more races, but that didn’t happen. In hindsight, you are never really satisfied. Even by winning all the races, you will never be one hundred percent happy. »

However, the Lotus is often faster in the race than in qualifying. Räikkönen and his teammate Grosjean have difficulties qualifying on the front row, and this is the main area for improvement for the team. Even though his tire management is often praised, the Finn does not think it really impacts his results: « Things have changed a bit in recent years. But I think the important things are still pretty much the same. If you’re not fast, you’re not on the podium. You have to be strong enough to get there. »