Saturday: Räikkönen Dreams of the Podium, Grosjean a Bit Disappointed
Kimi Räikkönen will start tomorrow from 4th place on the grid, and the Finnish driver hopes to have a good race and maybe secure his first podium since his return to F1. His teammate, Romain Grosjean, expressed some disappointment with his qualification because he hoped for better, but after a mistake in Q2, he had to use all his sets of soft tires and ultimately couldn't compete in Q3.
Kimi Räikkönen – 10th and 5th (4th on the grid)
My position on the grid is good but when you look at the times, I’m disappointed with the car’s pace today. We gained a position after Lewis’s penalty, but the speed wasn’t what it should have been, particularly when you look at the pole time. We tried a few new things this weekend, but they didn’t work as we hoped, so we went back.
We approach the race less confident in the car than in the first two races, but knowing that I will start higher on the grid. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow, we’ll do our best and hope that with this good grid position, we can finish on the podium.
Romain Grosjean – 12th and 10th
I have mixed feelings after today’s session. After struggling a bit yesterday, it’s great to have both cars in Q3, but unfortunately, after a terrible first stint in Q2, we had to use all our new soft tire sets before the last part of qualifying. This means there was no point in trying to set a good time to be well placed on the grid, which is a shame because our pace in Q2 was good.
I felt more comfortable with the car and I think it showed in the lap times today. The team did a great job turning the situation around and getting us back to the front, where we should be. I still have a few adjustments to make, but tomorrow’s 56 laps of the race should help me!
