Kimi Raikkonen says he is finally happy at the wheel of his Ferrari despite being struck by a technical problem during qualifying.
Raikkonen was quickest in the first part of qualifying but slipped to seventh on the grid following a software problem on his car during Q3.
But he said he and the team are “going in the right direction” after a difficult season so far.
“I’m very happy with the handling of my car,” said Raikkonen.
“Yesterday we made some changes to the set-up and in qualifying, I finally managed to drive the way I wanted.
“Unfortunately, in Q3, on my final run on new super-soft tyres, a problem forced me to pit. It’s a real shame as I felt comfortable in the car and we had the potential to get a good result.
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Image © Ferrari/Ercole Colombo
HUHHII (@huhhii)
20th September 2014, 18:27
Ferrari used to be the most reliable car in the first half of the season. What’s gone wrong?
I felt very dissapointed after qualy but these are very encouraging words from Kimi. I’m expecting a happy ending to a season, which has been pretty miserable so far.
KaIIe (@kaiie)
20th September 2014, 22:24
Kimi’s car certainly hasn’t been reliable. It feels like he has missed at least one practice session (completely or partly) each weekend due to reliability issues.
erix
21st September 2014, 13:06
software glitch..
WHILE santander_money DO
IF kimi’s time < alonso's
THEN divide_by_zero
ELSE everything_is_OK
BREAK contract
END;
BasCB (@bascb)
20th September 2014, 19:11
Great to hear Kimi is finally getting the car to his liking. Lets hope he can get it scoring now too.
bull mello (@bullmello)
21st September 2014, 0:04
@bascb – Must be the first time this season we heard Kimi say he was happy with the car. Quite refreshing and hope he can stay happy through the race.
BasCB (@bascb)
21st September 2014, 12:20
Exactly.
Paul (@frankjaeger)
20th September 2014, 20:39
Brilliant.
DC highlighted during quali commentary that the anticipation for having champions at Ferrari would give some glorious ontrack duals. It’s a shame they’ve never really been even enough to fulfill this.
Hopefully we’ll now see 2 truly capable racers exchange blows
It also just goes to show how many variables need to be acknowledged and understood before fans should start condemning drivers based on a short time scale
bull mello (@bullmello)
21st September 2014, 0:10
@frankjaeger – Good points. I think some people just like to slam drivers they don’t like. Even my least favorite drivers in F1 are still in F1! Things changed in F1 this season and it affected some drivers more than others. That does not diminish their talents.
Looking forward to some close racing all through the top 10 drivers this race. Not easy to pass here, but the cars are matched probably more closely than at any race so far this season.
lucho19 (@lucho19)
20th September 2014, 21:31
Is it a coincidence that both KIMI and ALO are suddenly happy and feel competitive once….Montezemolo is gone?
Just wondering why suddenly…! No conspiracies. Just a thought that Lucca probably was not directing the team the best way.
I hope we have a great race tonight. Cheers !
SatchelCharge (@satchelcharge)
21st September 2014, 1:34
What a strange thought, that Montezemolo would be involved in the cars’ development and set up.
Dane
20th September 2014, 22:10
Good to hear. Last year Kimi got a podium after a tough qualifying with back pain. Maybe he can pull another surprise.
joe6pac (@joe6pac)
21st September 2014, 10:09
Was is Kimis preference in setup? Over/understeer, brakebias etc
Ash150 (@ash150)
21st September 2014, 11:09
likes a good front end