Scuderia Ferrari Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen thinks that it is wrong to assume the Maranello team will struggle in the upcoming grands prix after losing ground to Formula 1 title rival Mercedes. Scuderia Ferrari had been expected to achieve a strong result in Singapore as the tight and twisty street Marina Bay circuit suited its car.
But pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel, his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen collided on the run to Turn 1, with all three retiring from the race on that lap. Lewis Hamilton won the race with Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas third, allowing Lewis Hamilton to extend his lead over Sebastian Vettel to 28 points while Mercedes moved 102 clear of the Maranello team.
The upcoming races in Malaysia and Japan are expected to suit Mercedes, but Kimi Raikkonen believes that Scuderia Ferrari can be in the mix: “You [the media] assume that it is difficult, we don’t. We go there, it’s another race, another weekend, and we go there full of fight and we will do our best. In Singapore everybody said that Ferrari and Red Bull will dominate, but we saw Mercedes finish with both cars on the podium and win the race comfortably in front of a Red Bull car so anything can happen. It’s a pity we couldn’t show our pace [in Singapore]; but we have other races ahead of us and I am sure there will be more opportunities for us.” – the Finnish driver explained, as reported by the Italian media on Thursday.
Scuderia Ferrari overcame worse odds before, even back in 2007 when Kimi Raikkonen won the Formula One world championship, despite the fact that both McLaren Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, were seen as the main favourites even in the final round of the season, which means that the Maranello team has everything to play for in the final six rounds of the championship.
Buy official Ferrari F1 products!
Leave a Reply