Return of the King - Kimi Räikkönen on the Belgian Grand Prix (Q&A)

Return of the King - Kimi Räikkönen on the Belgian Grand Prix (Q&A)

After a strong second position last time out in Budapest, Kimi Räikkönen arrives at one his very favourite circuits - where he already has four wins to his name - with everything to play for  

YOU WERE SECOND IN BUDAPEST BEFORE THE SUMMER BREAK ; HOW GOOD WOULD IT BE TO GET THAT ELUSIVE WIN AT SPA ? 

Usually I’ve achieved good results at the Belgian Grand Prix, but what’s happened before doesn’t help me right now. Saying that though it doesn’t do any harm either. Obviously it would be great to win at Spa for a fifth time. I haven’t won during the first part of the season and the extra points are always good. 

HOW HAS YOUR HISTORY BEEN AT THE CIRCUIT ? 

For me there have only been good memories from Spa and it’s great to go racing there. You can’t get the same kind of a feeling anywhere else. It’s great to race with a modern racing car at a proper circuit that has such a great tradition. 

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF THIS TRACK AND DO YOU THINK IT SHOULD SUIT THE STRENGTHS OF THE E20 ? 

Spa offers very challenging high-speed corners and you need to get the right set-up for the car. As we’ve seen so many times this year, a good grid position is extremely important and it could be decisive at Spa too. Everybody knows it. It’s crucial to have a strong car aerodynamically to tackle those fast corners. It’s a long lap and to get a fast time you really need to maintain good rhythm. So much can depend on the qualifying result, so we need to find a decent set-up on Friday and Saturday and have a solid qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. 

WHY HAS SPA BEEN SO GOOD TO YOU ? 

Sometimes there are certain circuits where everything seems to run smoothly and then there are others where you have no luck at all. Of course, we will do our very best to win this race. I have stood in the middle of the podium a few times and I want to be there again. 

IS SPA ONE OF YOUR FAVOURITE TRACKS ? 

I bet every driver likes Spa. For me it is the greatest racing circuit in the world. It is my favourite place. I’ve liked it since my first ever visit there in 2000 with Formula Renault. 

HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT YOUR CHAMPIONSHIP POSITION ? 

I am now fifth in the championship and obviously aiming at getting more points than the guys in front of me. The smaller the gap to the leaders is the better for me and for the team. Every race from here on is very important. The whole team is pushing 100 % and we need to beat our rivals and take more points than they do every time. 

YOU’VE BEEN CLOSE MANY TIMES ; WOULD IT BE GOOD TO SCORE YOUR NEXT FORMULA 1 WIN AT THE LOCATION OF YOUR MOST RECENT VICTORY ? 

We always try to win ; some days you get close to it and it’s a bit disappointing that we haven’t quite made that final step. We know the reason though ; we’ve not been so strong in qualifying as we have in the race which makes life harder for ourselves on Sundays. Of course we would rather win than come second or third but it’s a long season and I think we’re improving all the time. If it comes then great, if not we’ll keep trying. I’ve been in the business long enough that I don’t really worry about things too much. We’ve been improving our position in the championships - both for myself and for the team - so as long as we keep doing that hopefully the win will come. 

Fonte: www.lotusf1team.com

Queria eu ter a calma deste finlandês! Cada dia que passa e a gente se aproxima da corrida em Spa, fico mais e mais ansiosa. #tôlouca rsrsrs

Eu só espero que seja uma ótima corrida para Kimi e a Lotus. Que ele possa finalmente terminar no meio do pódio, como já aconteceu 4 vezes por lá. Conquistar sua primeira vitória no retorno à F1 em Spa, local onde o vimos vencer pela última vez em 2009, seria mágico.

Mas como Kimi bem disse, se ela não vier em Spa, o jeito será continuar lutando para que ela venha em outro lugar, porque definitivamente, ela tem que vir. Kimi merece, nem que seja apenas uma vez, estar no lugar mais alto do pódio nesta temporada.

Beijinhos, Ludy