Ferrari – Räikkönen: “We are not stupid”
Stuck in engine performance problems, the Ferrari team seems to have identified the areas in which it needs to improve. Just like his teammate Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen remains confident in his team and is ready to work hard to advance the F14-T in the hierarchy.
The latest tests in Bahrain did not go smoothly for Ferrari. While the first day, Tuesday, was rather productive with 69 laps and a third-fastest time for Fernando Alonso, yesterday’s session was more chaotic as the Spaniard had to wrap up quickly after just 12 laps due to a chassis problem.
During this second day of testing, Alonso was driving Kimi Räikkönen’s chassis, which has been facing quite a few difficulties in getting the car up to speed since the beginning of the season. However, just like his teammate, the Finnish driver believes that the Sakhir track is not the most suitable to demonstrate the progress made by his team: On paper, Bahrain is the toughest track for us, but we have some new developments coming up that, hopefully, will make us progress.
The 2007 world champion remains confident in his team and expects to work hard to climb up the ranks: « We know what we need to do. Everyone is pushing at 100% but it takes time, that’s how it is. We are not stupid, we have good things coming. Unfortunately, at the moment, it doesn’t show when you look at the results at the end of the race. But I believe in the team and I know we can turn things around. I’ve been with this team and other teams too that have had tough times, and I’m sure we will make progress. »
However, even if the results do not yet prove it, Räikkönen feels much more comfortable behind the wheel of his F14-T, and progress should not take too long to appear: « I find that we have improved the car, I feel it better. I have a better feeling even though, of course, the results don’t show it. We still have a lot of work to do, but I’m sure we will be stronger in the upcoming races. »
