Kimi Räikkönen – “Sunday is the priority; that’s our focus”

Fonte:Lotus F1 Team

A difficult weekend thus far for Kimi, but as always the Iceman has his eyes on the prize, and all thoughts on the race…

Kimi, P8 on the grid for tomorrow’s race; what are your thoughts on qualifying today?

To be honest I think we’ve been slightly behind where we wanted to be all weekend. Missing FP1 didn’t help of course but the car itself feels ok; the biggest issue is getting the tyres working. I could have gone a bit quicker on my fastest lap but I locked a wheel in the second part of the swimming pool so unfortunately that lost us some time. Not the best day but Sunday is the priority; that’s our focus.

Do you think getting the tyres working will be the key factor during the race?

I don’t think it will have such a big effect in the race as we’re doing much more laps on the tyres; it’s getting them right for a single lap that’s been a bit difficult. We still have a lot to learn with the super soft tyres though as it’s the first time we’ve used them.

You’ve used up the allocation of super soft tyres already; will this be a handicap in any way?

Obviously it’s always nice to have fresh tyres but I don’t think it will make a huge difference. Degradation is very low here, and strategies will probably be very similar between the teams. Besides, when you look at the front of the grid it was so close that most people are in the same situation as us.

Overtaking is notoriously difficult here; how hard will it be to make progress in the race itself?

You can never tell with Monaco. If we have a completely clean race then it will be tricky to improve but anything can happen here; especially if the weather changes. For sure we expected to be in the top five today and that would have made things easier, but the race could always bring a few surprises…

Confira o grid de largada para o GP de Mônaco

1. Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull) - 1min14s381
2. Nico Rosberg (ALE/Mercedes) - 1min14s448
3. Lewis Hamilton (ING/McLaren) - 1min14s583
4. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Lotus) - 1min14s639
5. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari) - 1min14s948
6. Michael Schumacher (ALE/Mercedes) - 1min14s301*
7. Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari) - 1min15s049
8. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Lotus) - 1min15s199
9. Sebastian Vettel (ALE/Red Bull) - sem tempo no Q3
10. Nico Hulkenberg (ALE/Force India) - 1min15s421
11. Kamui Kobayashi (JAP/Sauber) - 1min15s508
12. Jenson Button (ING/McLaren) - 1min15s536
13. Bruno Senna (BRA/Williams) - 1min15s709
14. Paul di Resta (ESC/Force India) - 1min15s718
15. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Toro Rosso) - 1min15s878
16. Jean-Éric Vergne (FRA/Toro Rosso) - 1min16s885
17. Heikki Kovalainen (FIN/Caterham) - 1min16s538
18. Vitaly Petrov (RUS/Caterham) - 1min17s404
19. Pastor Maldonado (VEN/Williams) - 1min15s245**
20. Timo Glock (ALE/Marussia) - 1min17s947
21. Pedro de la Rosa (ESP/HRT) - 1min18s096
22. Charles Pic (FRA/Marussia) - 1min18s476
23. Narain Karthikeyan (IND/HRT) - 1min19s310s
24. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Sauber) - sem tempo no Q1
*punido com cinco posições no grid por causar acidente no GP da Espanha
**punido com dez posições no grid de largada por causar acidente no terceiro treino livre em Mônaco

Kimi Raikkonen's form a surprise, says Alain Prost

Fonte:Autosport



Alain Prost has admitted that he has been surprised by the strong form that Kimi Raikkonen has shown on his return to Formula 1 this year.

Raikkonen decided on an F1 comeback this season after two years with mixed results in the World Rally Championship - and has already produced two podium finishes.

But it is not just Raikkonen's speed that has left Prost impressed, because the Frenchman also likes the way the 2007 title winner approaches his job, and does not pretend to like aspects of being an F1 driver that he dislikes.

"It is a surprise a little bit when I see him," said Prost, who is attending the Monaco Grand Prix in his role as an ambassador for Renault. "His mentality, his attitude, it is very good. It is still Kimi, and I like him because at least he is not playing a game. We all know him, and if you accept him, his positive attitude and the way he drives is not bad.

"It is not that easy to come back after two years, even if he has done some rallying. It is quite impressive, and he could be quite a surprise this year."

While Raikkonen's comeback is going to plan, Michael Schumacher's return has not been such a success – and Prost admitted that he had reservations even before the seven-time champion got back in the cockpit.

"I was never 100 per cent positive because he has won so much and also because I suppose he really wanted to be world champion again, which was maybe a little bit too high a target," Prost said.

Jenson Button predicts Lotus victory at Monaco

Fonte:Motorsport Nextgen Auto
 

Jenson Button believes the two Lotus drivers’ of Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean are the drivers’ to beat this weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix. If Raikkonen or Grosjean does win this weekend, they will become the sixth different winner in six races which would be a new record in Formula 1.

After the first day of practice for this weekends Monaco Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button ended the two sessions fastest respectively. The opening session took part in glorious sunshine, whereas the second session was run in contrasting conditions with rain intervening.

Throughout both sessions, the Lotus of Romain Grosjean consistently finished within the top 2. His team-mate Kimi Raikkonen suffered a difficult opening session, as the Lotus mechanics altered the steering to the Finn’s liking. This meant Raikkonen failed to set a timed lap throughout the duration of first practice.

"The cars that look very fast to me are the Lotuses," Explained Jenson Button in an interview with BBC Sport. "If you look at the runs, when they’re out, they’re very competitive, so I would say the Lotus is probably the car to beat this weekend."

Romain Grosjean feels confident after yesterday’s practice sessions, and believes the team is looking good in both conditions after the majority of practice two was run in slightly damp and greasy conditions.

“I think the car is suiting the track pretty well and I love Monaco, it’s good to be here and it’s nice to see so many fans.” Explained Romain Grosjean after practice yesterday, “The car was looking good this morning and this afternoon – we are working in a good direction. Let’s see what the weather will be like tomorrow and what we can achieve. I think that we are looking good in both conditions.”

With the likes of Lewis Hamilton yet to win in 2012, both Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen will have their work cut-out to beat the 2008 World Champion. However, if either three of those drivers take victory on Sunday, history will be made in F1.

Kimi Räikkönen – “I’m feeling pretty good for qualifying”

 Fonte:Lotus F1 Team

 Having spent the first session in the garage and the second working heavily on setup in mixed conditions, Kimi could have done with a bit more luck today at the Circuit de Monaco. The Finn however is feeling positive, and took time out to talk steering, weather and helmets…

Kimi, a difficult start to the day sitting out most of FP1; did you manage to accomplish what you needed?

It was a bit frustrating, but that’s why we have practice sessions; to make sure we solve any problems before qualifying and the race. Besides, it’s not as if we had a major issue with the car; the modified steering we brought here wasn’t how I wanted it, so we changed it to another setup and that took a while. Like I said, a bit frustrating but not a big deal.

Was the steering more to your liking when you went out for FP2?

It was fine, back to normal which is good. It’s important to get the steering right here; the track is very narrow and the corners are all pretty tight so it’s better to miss one session and make sure everything is how you want it rather than waste time with a setup which doesn’t give you what you need. We made the right decision to change it.

How did the car feel in the damp conditions?

The track was very slippery, but that’s always how it is with street circuits at the beginning of the weekend and it’s the same for everyone. The car felt ok on the intermediate tyres; it was good in a way to have some time in the wet as the weather can change quickly here with the mountains so at least we are prepared if it rains at the weekend.

The E20 looks good around here but obviously it would be better to have had more track time; what are your thoughts heading into qualifying?

We still have one more practice session and the car looks quick so I’m feeling pretty good for qualifying. Ideally we would have had more dry running but that’s how it goes. It always seems like if you miss one session then something happens in the second to make things more difficult but I’m not worried about it; we’ll see what happens on Saturday.

A lot of people have been asking about your new helmet design; can you tell us a bit more about it?

There’s no particular reason for it, I just like how racing was back in those days and it’s a nice design; there’s no more to it than that!

Raikkonen minimiza problemas e Grosjean comemora bom treino

Fonte:Terra Esportes

A escuderia Lotus teve motivos comemorar e para lamentar nesta quinta, durante os primeiros exercícios para o GP de Mônaco. Kimi Raikkonen teve problemas com o carro e perdeu a primeira sessão nas pistas de Monte Carlo para fazer ajustes, em contrapartida, Grosjean teve bom rendimento e terminou as duas atividades com o segundo melhor tempo.

O finlandês minimizou os problemas, depois de ter pedido a equipe para alterar o sistema de direção, o que ocasionou na perda dos primeiros exercícios. "É bom estar de volta a Mônaco, mesmo que tenhamos perdido algum tempo de pista nesta quinta. O sistema de direção não me agradou, então o time mudou isso para mim. É algo normal de mudar em Mônaco e não há como saber como vai ser", declarou.

De volta as pistas na segunda parte dos treinos, Raikkonen também não teve um bom resultado e finalizou na 19ª colocação. "O carro se comportou bem na segunda sessão, mas a pista estava escorregadia", minimizou o piloto, que venceu a etapa de Mônaco em 2005, em sua primeira passagem pela Fórmula 1.

O companheiro de Raikkonen, Romain Grosjean fez boas exibições em ambas as sessões, terminando na segunda posição. Para o franco-suíço, o carro colaborou com sua boa performance.

"Eu acho que o carro está se adaptando à pista muito bem e eu amo Mônaco. É muito bom estar aqui e é legal ver tantos fãs. O carro estava muito bom tanto de manhã quanto de tarde. Nós temos uma boa direção para trabalharmos", celebrou.

Grosjean lamentou apenas a chuva que atrapalho a última sessão em Monte Carlo. "Infelizmente, estava um pouco molhado durante a tarde e nós não pudemos completar todo o programa que nós queríamos".

Lotus descarta possibilidade de Raikkonen correr em rali

 Fonte:Reuters

A equipe Lotus descartou que o piloto finlandês Kimi Raikkonen possa combinar sua carreira na Fórmula 1 com rali, após especulações sobre se ele participaria do Rali da Finlândia neste ano.

Em 2011, a Lotus -ex-equipe Renault- perdeu o piloto polonês Robert Kubica por lesões que colocaram em risco sua vida num acidente de rali, e o diretor Eric Boullier deixou claro na quinta-feira no Grande Prêmio de Mônaco que Raikkonen não assumiria esse risco.

"Contratualmente não pode fazê-lo. Fim da história", disse Boullier à Reuters.

"Obviamente há aqui um trauma depois de 2011... supõe-se que (os contratos) tenham uma cláusula segundo a qual os pilotos não podem assumir nenhum risco porque são muito valiosos para a equipe. O rali, o esqui e os saltos não estão permitidos", explicou.

Kubica, um piloto com grande futuro na F1 como homem principal da Renault, sofreu lesões sérias na perna e na mão num acidente de rali na Itália em fevereiro de 2011.

O polonês foi submetido a várias cirurgias e não voltou a pilotar. Atualmente está sem contrato.

Raikkonen, campeão mundial de F1 com a Ferrari em 2007, retornou à categoria este ano com a Lotus, depois de dois anos competindo no Campeonato Mundial de Rali com a Citroen.