New Ferrari boss Marco Mattiacci said Kimi Raikkonen drove a wonderful race at the Brazilian GP. The champion from the 2007 season returned to Ferrari this year, where he did not and could not adapt to the F14 T car, which basically does not suit his driving style.
The Finn was the only racer to change tires only twice in Sunday’s race, and in the final laps he fought for sixth place with his team-mate Fernando Alonso, who he usually beat easily this year. This time, too, he led to the finish line ahead of Raikkonen, but the advantage was much smaller.
Italian Autosprint reported that in Interlagos, Ferrari engineers worked with Kimi for the first time this year to change the settings of the differential and the braking rate of the car. Mattiacci also confirmed that they have made a big step forward in the settings. “I think they saw a very positive show this weekend,” he said. “Kimi drove a great race. I would say that this was the first weekend where the car suited him and we saw the race as a team, ”he added.
Mattiacci explained that the team has been trying to adapt Ferrari's car to Kimi's style, and at the same time, despite the fact that Alonso beat him this time as well, he denied that the Finn is the one who should drive better.
“Kimi is a top professional. We work very well together. He is a top racer and together, step by step, we are preparing for the future. The drivers of his smith know how to react under pressure. I am really happy with his race, ”Mattiacci repeated.
Raikkonen estimated after the race that he would probably beat Alonso if there were no problems with the front lift at his last stop, which caused him to lose about five seconds. “I think we could have finished the race one place higher, but we had some problems at the stop. The race car was as it should have been all weekend. I was able to race normally. The situation has definitely improved. The tires lasted me a long time, so I think we are on the right track. We still have a lot of work to do, we are aware of that and we are constantly improving. ”
Photos: Ferrari
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