Exclusive Q&A with Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen

Exclusive Q&A with Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen

24 Mar 2012

The Australian Grand Prix probably wasn’t the welcome back to the sport Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen would have wanted. But after starting down in 17th and eventually finishing in seventh, Raikkonen made the best of a bad situation and left with a well-deserved haul of six points. In comparison, the Malaysian weekend is already looking a lot better, even though a five-place gearbox penalty will see him drop from fifth on the grid to tenth. Raikkonen discusses the Melbourne race and looks ahead to Sunday in Sepang…

Q: Kimi, is racing again in Formula One as much fun as you had hoped?
Kimi Raikkonen: It is all the same as before. It hasn’t changed. But the car is good and that always makes it a bit nicer. If you are in 15th place, then that of course is never nice. Okay, in terms of the paddock, I really didn’t expect it to be any different from when I left, but the team is nice so I feel very comfortable.

Q: So things haven’t really changed. You initially left for a reason so can you stomach those reasons now?
KR: I like the racing. And if you do so then it is inevitable you must accept the rest. Sometimes you discover that on your second try.

Q: How would you sum up your first race? Was it business as usual or did you have to warm up first?
KR: I made a mistake in qualifying so I put myself in a very bad position, but at least in the race we got something out of it. I took it quite easy as I didn’t want to get overly excited and throw it away. As for this weekend we’ve got a five-place penalty which means I will start from P10 tomorrow. But I’m used to penalties; I’ve got so many during my career! (laughs)

Q: Was it painful seeing your team mate, Romain Grosjean, start from P3 in Melbourne?
KR: No - we knew that we botched it and that we never gave ourselves a real chance. But that’s racing. Sometimes you are fastest and sometimes you are slower in qualifying. But it’s the race where you get the points.

Q: So were you angry about botching it up?
KR: We did it ourselves so we are the ones to be blamed. So what’s the point in crying over spilt milk now? I have been long enough in the business to know about the ups and downs of racing. It’s not the first time that I had to stop after Q1 - it is what it is.

Q: Today went better though…
KR: It was of course much nicer. The car felt really good. So maybe I am a bit disappointed as I very well could have ended up in P3 - or even on pole position. But I made a small mistake and there you go. And then with the penalty, of course that costs us even more. But sure it is day and night compared to Melbourne. Here the race should give us a very real chance. P5 would have been easier as P10 already means you have a ‘crowd’ in front. But after the first three corners I should be fine.

Q: You said that you missed the direct competition with other drivers when you were rallying. But there wasn’t too much direct competition in Melbourne…
KR: Ha! If I had been further at front the competition would have been much less. But again, the race went nice and smoothly.

Q: There have been rumours that your nickname could change from ‘ice man’ to ‘nice man’. How do you like that?
KR: It’s all just a rumour. It is the media who make up these kinds of things in the first place. It’s all rubbish!

Q: How do you feel seeing your former team Ferrari struggling so much?
KR: I don’t care. We try to beat all the teams and they are just one of them. If they do poorly it is bad for them but as we are ahead of them I could not care less. And if they become better than us then it’s a sign that we have to improve.

Q: What is your strategy for the race?
KR: I will try to get through the first corners without any accidents and then go on from there. There is not a plan or manual of what to do in the first lap. As I said at the beginning, the car feels good and there should be some options for me tomorrow.

Fonte: www.formula1.com

Alguns comentários sobre esta entrevista, acidamente Räikköniana... rsrsrs... Já vou logo nos pontos fortes, a segunda pergunta, quando questionam (nas entrelinhas) se o fato de ter sido demitido da Ferrari é algo que ele já superou. A resposta: "Eu gosto de corridas. E se você gosta, então é inevitável que você aceite o resto. Algumas vezes você descobre isto na sua segunda tentativa". Preciso dizer algo mais?! Excelente resposta do Iceman. Na vida, se a gente gosta muito de algo, tem que fzer sacrifícios e fico muito feliz que ele esteja recebendo esta segunda chance.

Logo na pergunta seguinte, achei o máximo ele mesmo sacaneando sua falta de sorte com as penalidades ao dizer "Mas já estou acostumado. Já tive tantas em minha carreira...(risos)"

A pergunta sobre ele se preocupar em ficar atrás do Grosjean... #aff Depois os jornalistas não sabem o motivo de Kimi não ter paciência com eles. Como se ele se preocupasse com estas coisas. Não porque ele despreze o companheiro, mas simplesmente porque o que importa para ele é sentar no carro e acelerar. O resto é resto.

E este comentário me leva à pergunta sobre Massa e o fato do brasileiro estar lutando para "domar" e Ferrari que tem em mãos. Eles perguntam como Kimi se sente. A resposta?! "Eu não me importo. Nós tentamos bater todos os times e eles são um deles, se eles vão mal é ruim para eles, mas como estamos à frente deles eu não me importo. Se eles se tornarem melhor do que a gente, então é um sinal de que precisamos melhorar".

Na verdade, o que Kimi fala sobre isto serve não só para ele, como para qualquer um dos outros pilotos. Eles querem saber é de vencer, de ficar na frente, quem vem atrás eles nem se preocupam, estão atrás mesmo. Pergunta se a McLaren está precupada com quem vem atrás no momento? Ela quer é vencer novamente e por isto, se foca nesta missão.

E outra? Por que Kimi teria que ter algum tipo de sentimento porque Felipe está sofrendo para dor conta do carro da Ferrari?! #Peloamorné?!

Bom, acho que já falei demais!!! rsrsrs

Beijinhos, Ludy