Kimi Raikkonen says Formula 1’s V6 hybrid turbos now feel very similar to drive compared to the previous generation of V8 cars.
The complex hybrid units marked a major departure from the conventional V8 engines – albeit with Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems – when they were introduced five years ago. But Raikkonen says the latest iterations are little different “purely from driving aspect.”“I think it was a big difference when we swapped to these regulations from 2013 to ’14 because everything was new and obviously then everything works differently,” he said. “Plus also they are very complicated cars now.”
Raikkonen had just returned to Ferrari when the current engine rules were introduced in 2014. “I think, at least in Ferrari, [at that time] we were far from where we finished last year. They were pretty poor in many areas, they were for sure far away [from] where it should have been.
“So for sure things didn’t work very well on some of the engine side and pick-ups and stuff like that. It made it pretty poor compared [to] what we had in ’13 because those rules had been for ages so you are a hundred percent in the right areas and everything.”
The 2014 cars were “completely different in the drive-ability side” when they were first introduced, said Raikkonen. “Today when we go, at least what I remember, it’s no different, everything works very nicely. Most of the time at least. On that side the driving itself is no different anymore.”
“OK, the sound is different,” he added, “but the driving itself, we do the same things, it’s not like you do something completely different.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2019 F1 season
- Crying in the Melbourne car park at 2019 grand prix was my career low – Ocon
- McLaren Racing reports reduced £71 million loss in 2019
- Kvyat: Hockenheim podium last year was “my biggest achievement” so far
- How the FIA’s new encrypted fuel flow meter targets Ferrari’s suspected ‘aliasing’ trick
- “He smashed my office door”: 23 must-see moments from ‘Drive to Survive’ season two
georgeboole (@)
7th April 2019, 9:16
He is right. You just turn the steering wheel.
If you have it…
a (@aaaa)
7th April 2019, 11:39
Bwoah + 1
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
7th April 2019, 10:14
I was thinking the other day how many of the current drivers actually come from the V8 era. 9 drivers raced the V8s, with Kimi being the last guy from the V10 era and isn’t that just a bit sad how time flies!
socksolid (@socksolid)
7th April 2019, 12:00
I wonder who was the last retired driver who drove the 3.5 liter engines?
RUTH222
7th April 2019, 12:03
That must be Barrichello.
Dale
7th April 2019, 12:07
Probably Michael Schumacher
Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
7th April 2019, 12:25
Alonso?
anon
7th April 2019, 13:23
@jaymenon10, the last time that 3.5 litre engines were used was 1994, long before Alonso was even close to entering F1.
Dale is right that Michael Schumacher was the last driver to race in F1 from that era, followed by Barrichello, then Badoer and Coulthard.
When you look at the 3.5 litre era, most drivers either dropped out of the sport pretty quickly or were already approaching the end of their careers and retired soon afterwards. I believe that, out of the 46 drivers who competed in the 1994 season (the last season with the 3.5 litre rules), only 6 lasted into the early 2000s and only 3 (Michael Schumacher, Barrichello and Coulthard) were still racing in F1 a decade later.
kpcart
7th April 2019, 13:25
Schumacher. Alonso only drove 3.0, while Schumacher drove the 3.5, 3.0 and 2.4 formulas. Barrichello did too but started his f1 career later than Schumacher.
José Lopes da Silva
7th April 2019, 22:17
Only Kimi for saying this kind of blasphemous sacrilege without getting a “vacuum cleaner” backlash.
Gabriel (@rethla)
7th April 2019, 22:33
This aint about the sound.
RB13
8th April 2019, 10:29
Fair enough he’s got used to it but the torque profile alone on a N/A V8 and a Turbo V6 is night and day.
Just reaffirms that Kimi doesn’t really give a toss and gets in the car and drives as quick as he can and good on him to be fair. He’s as old school as they come.