Boullier: Räikkönen can believe in the title even if his chances are slim

Before the Italian Grand Prix, Kimi Räikkönen had a streak of 4 podiums in five races, more than anyone else during the same period. In Monza, however, the Lotus E20 was far from being a contender for the protocol ceremony, which was not a surprise for the Finn: « The car wasn’t fast enough. It seemed realistic to aim for a sixth or seventh place, so fifth was probably the maximum we could achieve. Our top speed on the straightaways wasn’t great, which made it difficult to defend my position against those following me. Considering things this way, the result isn’t bad. »

However, in the drivers’ standings, the native of Espoo lost points to Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, but can still consider himself lucky due to the reliability issues of the Red Bulls that left Monza empty-handed. The Lotus driver nevertheless had a fairly good result, climbing to third place in the drivers’ standings, which allows him to keep all his chances of clinching a second world title at the end of the season: « I lost points to Fernando [Alonso], which is not very good. But I still achieved a decent result and it’s nice to move up to third place in the standings. It’s impossible to say how this season will unfold, but I am very close to second place. We’ll have more clarity in a few races. »

In any case, when asked if Kimi Räikkönen can think about the drivers’ title, Eric Boullier, director of the Lotus F1 Team, affirms: “Of course he can. He is third, one point behind Lewis Hamilton. Anything can happen. But we are not naive either, we know his chances are slim. However, we will push hard as long as there is a mathematical chance to win it.”

To achieve this, the Finn can count on the help of Romain Grosjean, who indicated, in half-words, at the Italian Grand Prix, that he would assist Kimi Räikkönen if necessary. However, the Geneva native assures that he will seize his chance if it presents itself: “I wouldn’t say that I’ll play second fiddle for the rest of the season. If I have an opportunity to podium or win a race, I will take it. Of course, I want the team to achieve the best possible results. Looking at the points gap between Kimi and me, you’d have to be foolish to only think about your own results. I hope we will have a fantastic end of the season, for the team, for Kimi, and for me.”

But the drivers’ standings are not the only challenge for the Enstone team, who, despite having lost their third place in the constructors’ standings, remain satisfied and ambitious: “We have always said that our goal was fourth place this year. But given our performances, it would be legitimate to try to reach third if we can,” says Eric Boullier on the Lotus team’s website. “The fight is so close that anything is possible. We just need to score points, consistently and with both cars, until the end of the season.”