Iceman stays cool
Raikonnen relishes the challenge of performing well with Lotus
SEPANG: His return to Formula 1 with Lotus has been seamless. Kimi Raikkonen now wants to make that an emphatic statement of intent at the Petronas Formula 1 Malaysia Grand Prix at Sepang Circuit this weekend.
The Finn, world champion with Ferrari in 2007, was among the points with a seventh placing in last Sunday’s season opening Australian GP in Melbourne. He hopes that Sepang, of which he has fond memories, will provide a podium finish.
Raikkonen switched to the World Rally Championship from 2010-11 but the lure of Formula 1 racing proved irresistible and he is back to claim his rightful place among the elite.
The Iceman, as he is known, had a difficult qualifying in Melbourne and started in 17th place on the grid. He mounted a superb charge, slicing through the field to finish seventh, earning the Malaysian-backed Lotus team six points.
Team-mate Romain Grosjean overshadowed the Finn on qualifying day by clocking the third fastest time but exited the race early after he was involved in a second lap crash with Williams driver Pastor Maldonado.
The performances and progress made in pre-season testing have convinced Raikkonen that the Lotus E20 is capable of fighting at the front at the Sepang track, where he scored his maiden win for Mclaren nine years ago.
“I was happy to get the first race in melbourne out of the way,” he said.
“We will try to improve on our performance in Malaysia for sure. We don’t know how the car will behave but it has been good so far.
“It will be hot and humid at Sepang, which is a challenge, but we have a good car. As long as we don’t repeat the mistakes we made during qualifying in Melbourne, I think we have a chance to fight for podiums. We’ll just have to wait and see,” said Raikkonen.
Raikkonen felt the weekend in Melbourne could have been better but for the lapses.
“We had the safety car out, which I think actually hurt us a bit,” he said.
“I made a good start but then there was an accident in front of me at the first turn. We lost a few places there as I had to almost stop and move onto the grass to avoid it.
“That made the race harder as, although we had the speed, there was a lot of traffic to get through.
“But, like I said, the car feels very good. I was mostly stuck in traffic so it didn’t show so much.
“Who knows what might have happened if we had a better grid slot. There’s a lot of speed in this car.
“We just need to avoid putting ourselves in a position like we did in Melbourne.”