Alfa Romeo ‘better than expected’ says Kimi Raikkonen | 2019 Monaco GP. Alfa Romeo 'better than expected' says Kimi Raikkonen | 2019 Monaco GP.

Alfa Romeo Racing Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen admitted that the team’s performance in FP1 and FP2 at the Monaco Grand Prix was a “better start than we expected”, after a disappointing outcome two weeks ago in Spain. Heading into his 300th career race, 2007 Formula One world champion finished both sessions on Thursday in ninth place, while his under-pressure team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi enjoyed a fine afternoon as he finished ahead of his team-mate in P8.

Kimi Raikkonen claimed his one and only win around the streets of Monte Carlo back in 2005, and although 2019 a repeat looks unlikely, he is at least pleased with the foundations that have been laid for the weekend: “We”ll take it [P9], there is still work to be done,” he told reporters. Probably it is a better start [to the weekend] than we expected. But, it’s only free practice so we will see [what happens on Saturday].” – Alfa Romeo Racing Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen explained, ahead of the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix.

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal Alfa Romeo Racing and CEO Sauber Motorsport AG:
“It’s good to start in Monaco with two clean session, as track time is essential to build confidence around this track. We are satisfied with the work we did today but we are not getting carried away. Finding some extra performance is crucial if we want to target two places in Q3, which is our objective.”