Raikkonen says “nobody to blame” after failing to start in Malaysia

2017 Malaysian Grand Prix

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Kimi Raikkonen absolved his team of blame after failing to start the Malaysian Grand Prix due to a technical problem.

The Ferrari driver experienced a technical problem on his car on his way to the grid. He was pushed away from his starting position moments before the formation lap began and did not join the race.

2017 Malaysian GP in pictures
Raikkonen, who was due to start from second on the grid, said he did not know what caused the failure. “I’m sure we will find out later but obviously it’s too early to say.”

However he said his team were not to blame for the problem. “It’s nothing that they did wrong,” he said.

“The car was working perfectly yesterday and all weekend and suddenly out of nowhere we had some issue today. It’s not blaming anybody, it’s one of those things that unfortunately happens.”

Raikkonen said the team’s problems was particularly disappointing given how competitive they had been at Sepang. Sebastian Vettel was unable to take part in qualifying after suffering a power unit failure during final practice which could not be repaired in time.

“It’s not been the easiest weekend,” he said. “I think car-wise, speed-wise we’ve been very good this weekend. But unfortunately Seb had issues yesterday with the other car and us today.”

“It’s disappointing but there’s nobody to blame. It’s one of those things.”

Raikkonen’s retirement is Ferrari’s first race-ending technical failure of the year. He has failed to finish on two other occasions due to first-lap crashes.

2017 Malaysian Grand Prix

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    13 comments on “Raikkonen says “nobody to blame” after failing to start in Malaysia”

    1. This was cruelty

    2. And that’s how another Kimi chance and Ferrari chance crumbles. The weight of the world.

    3. Now I get it why Lorenzo Sassi the head of engine department was transferred by Marchionne himself to the road car division midseason

    4. Just another gift for Mercedes, losing two weeks worth of championship points… must really hurt.

    5. When I was thinking of what the most likely way Ferrari would get Kimi out of Sebs way today I never considered they’d just put his car on a trolley and wheel it off of the starting grid.

      1. 😝 brutal!

    6. Could it really be that Ferrari just gave Seb kimis turbo or pu?

      1. I’m pretty sure the parts are marked so they can’t be transferred, would be way too easy to cheat otherwise.

        1. Anything is possible with Ferrari and FIA to keep the championship alive!

        2. Wild theory from ex-Ferrari driver Mika Salo: Ferrari swapped numbers on their cars overnight as Seb had likewise issues with his car the previous day as Kimi had on race day!

      2. this nonsense again. c’mon.

    7. Why do I torture myself supporting this guy? Ferrari is gift wrapping the title for Lewis.

    8. This could be an interesting historical moment for Kimi as he won his first Grand Prix in Malaysia in 2003 and he could win the last one in 2017. Everyone claimed that he was the strongest rival and, probably, the front-runner as well for the victory.

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