Kimi Raikkonen is targeting a podium finish in the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix and expects to be more competitive for this weekend’s race at the Shanghai International Circuit, after only a fourth place finish in the first round of the Formula One season, the Australian GP. Scuderia Ferrari had a very strong race pace at the Albert Park track in Melbourne, but Kimi could not capitalize on the SF70H’s performance in the early stages of the Grand Prix, which made it impossible for him to fight with the two Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, for a podium finish alongside teammate Sebastian Vettel.
Ahead of the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix, Kimi expects things to go much better this time: “I think we learned a lot, we understand quite a bit, but everything came a bit late in Australia. We didn’t get a very good result but comparing to the last few years it was far from a disaster. We had some difficulties, we knew afterwards we could have been much faster, but as a team we did a pretty solid, job, we got some points, but now it’s a new place, so let’s wait and see.” – the Finnish driver said, as reported by the online version of Italian newspaper Tuttosport.
“It could be good for us, we have a pretty good package, I’ve got a good feeling in the car in every place we’ve been, but there’s no point in trying to guess how it’s going to go or not. Let’s see over the weekend and on Sunday it will be all clear. We have new wet tyres here, so it’s a bit unknown but of course it is the same for everyone. Usually when a car is good in the dry it’s not too bad in the wet either. Let’s wait and see, but I think we should be pretty ok in any conditions.” – Kimi Raikkonen concluded when asked to comment on the Maranello team’s chances to win the Chinese Grand Prix even in difficult weather conditions, as rain is expected to be present on Sunday in Shanghai, which could make the race even more eye-catching and unpredictable.
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