Q&A: Kimi Raikkonen

"I’m just driving at my own pace, not taking any risks"

Saturday 26 March 2011 - 20h20, by www.wrc.com

Kimi Raikkonen is on course for his second world championship points of 2011 after completing day two of Vodafone Rally de Portugal in seventh place overall.

Wrc.com caught up with the Ice 1 Racing star and discovered why the former Formula One world champion feels more at home in the new-generation Citroen DS3 WRC.

You weren’t so happy with the handling of your car yesterday. What was the problem? “There were some issues with the ride height of the car. It was driving wrong, not how I liked and it was a bit tricky yesterday. But at least today it has been okay and has done what I wanted it to do.”

Now that you’re happy with your car have you been able to up your pace? “I’m just driving at my own pace, not taking any risks. I know I can improve [my speed] but I don’t want to do anything stupid.”

It’s your second year in the world championship. What are your main objectives for 2011? “I am trying to improve all of the time and learn more and more to go fast more often. It’s more or less the same story as last year but of course we have more experience so it’s a bit more easy.”

How different is your Citroen DS3 to the C4 WRC you drove last season? “It’s not so much different. Okay this is the first time for us on the gravel with this car after we did not go to Mexico. The car is smaller and has a normal gearbox but it doesn’t really change anything overall.”

Are there any aspects of the DS3 you particularly like? “It’s more like what I did before with the Super 2000 car I drove [in 2009]. The gearshift is in a different place - it’s not the paddleshift - but it’s not a problem. It doesn’t make a lot of difference. When I started the rally in my FIAT it was like this so it is normal.”

What are your thoughts on the Portuguese stages? “The country is nice but the stages are pretty tricky. It’s one of the most difficult rallies and you have to have really good pace notes. Today has been tricky but the roads are still nice. It’s more slippery today and also more difficult.”

And finally Kimi, how has day two been for you? “We were behind a car on stage 11 for eight kilometres in the dust. This was not good but it was okay, no big issues today.”

Via @NextgenAuto

Que bom, fazia tempo que não tínhamos uma entrevista com o Iceman. Duas coisas que quero comentar, a gente percebe pela forma como ele vem pilotando que está se sentindo mais à vontade com o DS3, mesmo quando as coisas não saem tão certinho, como foi ontem. E concordo plenamente com ele, o rali de Portugal é um dos mais difíceis do calendário. #fato

Beijinhos, Ludy