Kimi Raikkonen: "I will help Sebastian, just as I would expect help from him"

The incident which took place at the start of the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix has basically put at end to Scuderia Ferrari’s chances of challenging Mercedes in the Formula 1 Constructor Standings. Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen collided in the first lap at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, ending their race prematurely on a circuit where the Maranello team were seen as favourites to win and reduce the deficit to Mercedes.

At the same time, Kimi Raikkonen now only has a slim mathematical chance of winning the world title and the Finnish driver is more than willing to to contribute to Ferrari’s only hope of winning a title this season, which is Sebastian Vettel’s fight with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who currently has a comfortable 28-point advantage over the Maranello team’s German driver (the largest of the season to date), with six races until the end of the 2017 Formula One championship. The odds are not in Scuderia Ferrari’s favour, but Kimi Raikkonen says that he will do everything possible to play his part in a positive final part of the season and a strong recovery by Sebastian Vettel in order to keep the title fight open until the last Grand Prix of the year: “As drivers, we know exactly what Ferrari expects from us. Of course I will help Seb when it comes to the world title, just as I would expect help from him.” – the Finnish driver explained, as reported by Speed Week.

Kimi Raikkonen looks set to get right behind Sebastian Vettel’s campaign to catch up with Lewis Hamilton in the next two months, but the next race, the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix, seems to once again favour Mercedes given the track characteristics of the Sepang International Circuit. However, Kimi is confident the Maranello team can have a strong weekend and bounce back after the unfortunate events in Singapore: “You assume it will be difficult for us. We don’t. We go there, it is another race, another weekend, and we go there full of fight and we will do our best.” – the Finnish driver concluded.

Scuderia Ferrari is expected to roll out on schedule a new-specification power unit in Malaysia next weekend, with the Italian team clear in its ambition to get both cars on the podium at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. The concern for Sebastian Vettel now is not simply that he faces a win-at-all-costs scenario; rather, the German’s most likely strategy back into contention relies on things outside his control. And given the fact that it is unlikely for Vettel to finish ahead of his main title rival in each of the final six races, Sebastian’s only other hope, therefore, is that his Ferrari teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, can insert himself into the front-running permutations to take points off Lewis Hamilton.