Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Hungaroring, 2018

Raikkonen: Many factors behind Ferrari’s 2018 gains

2018 F1 season

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Kimi Raikkonen says no one factor is responsible for Ferrari’s competitive showing in Formula 1 this year, despite widespread claims about the improved performance of their power unit.

Lewis Hamilton is among those who have pointed the finger at Ferrari’s power unit for their strong performances ahead of the summer break. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said Ferrari gained 0.4 seconds in the first sector of the Hungaroring.

Ferrari are 34 points closer to Mercedes in the constructors’ championship than they were after the first 12 races last year. Raikkonen believes that improvement is down to “a combination of many things.”

“We have a decent car, we keep improving things,” he said. “It’s a lot to do with the feel, how you feel the car and tyres and all these things.

“Obviously some circuits are better, some conditions are better for one team than other, and I think we’ve been pretty okay most of the places. I think a lot of things will be falling in the right places.”

Raikkonen’s team mate Sebastian Vettel has scored all four of the team’s wins so far this year but Raikkonen has more podium finishes, with eight. But Mercedes won the last two races and Raikkonen says the team still has many improvements to make.

“There’s still things to improve for us as a whole team, but that’s never-ending,” he said. “It doesn’t matter, even if you win all the races there’s always things to improve. That kind of area in this sport will never stop and I don’t think you are ever good enough in many ways.”

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2018 F1 season

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