Räikkönen has regained confidence since the Jerez tests

Kimi Räikkönen has gained confidence as the test results in Jerez, Spain this week are encouraging. The F2008 had struggled during the German Grand Prix.

The world champion couldn’t do anything at Hockenheim where Lewis Hamilton won a more than comfortable victory.

And although Räikkönen remains reserved as the ‘iceman’, he thinks that Ferrari has understood what went wrong in Germany.

Speaking about the Jerez tests, Räikkönen admits: We tried a lot of things and we have a better understanding of the car. So it’s better today than it was yesterday. However, we don’t know if it will be the same for the next race. There are still many question marks.

The post-race analysis at Hockenheim remains somewhat vague for the Finn: « We were not fast. So we tried to see how we could improve, » he said when asked what was wrong.

It seems that McLaren has taken a slight lead over its rivals in terms of pure performance of the cars, but Räikkönen has not given up on his chances of final victory.

« We are no longer at the top of the driver’s championship, but it’s only because of one race. We hope that the next Grand Prix goes well. »

Speaking about Hungary, he added: Last year, McLaren was superior to Ferrari. So we hope that we can challenge them and try to win the race.

Finally, Räikkönen made a statement following rumors of a possible retirement by the end of 2009.

« I still have next year to do. I have always said that next season I will still be under contract with Ferrari and we will see what happens after that. »