Two-time Formula One world champion Mika Hakkinen comments on Scuderia Ferrari’s result at the 2018 United Grand Prix, in his post-race column for Unibet. The former McLaren driver also analyzed Kimi Raikkonen‘s excellent drive to finish ahead of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton:
“WHAT a fantastic race we had on Sunday. I can only say that when Kimi Raikkonen overtook me to score his 21st Grand Prix victory, I was just as happy as anyone to see this result. My 20th, and final, Grand Prix win also happened in the United States, in Indianapolis in 2001, when Kimi was in his first season in Formula One. There was a neat cross-over between our careers, and the USA has been good to both of us.
The American fans now realise that us Finns are pretty good at what we do, and the reaction in the grandstands was excellent to see – and hear. With Max Verstappen so close in second, and Lewis Hamilton right behind in third, Formula One really put on a good show. It is clear that the lack of running on Friday, due to the bad weather, had a big effect on Sunday’s race. Without sufficient data the engineers were left guessing which way to go with set up and strategy for the race, and the result was that we had a much closer race than expected. It is understandable that Formula One’s Ross Brawn is now suggesting that use of data could be limited in order to create more unpredictable races.
If we could have more races like we had in Austin, everyone would be happier. We all love close, flat-out racing.
Kimi’s win is very popular, partly because he has such a large fan base, but also because he has been too often asked to play a supporting role to Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari. On Sunday he had a proper chance of victory, the car was quick, the strategy was right, and all he had to do was use his vast experience to take the win. There was a critical part of Sunday’s race when Lewis Hamilton made the first of his two pit stops and then caught up with Kimi. This is where he had to work hard to position his Ferrari defensively on the track, and stop Hamilton getting past. If you wanted to see an example of where experience counts, this was it, and Kimi really set up his victory by keeping Lewis behind until he brought his Ferrari in for a single pit stop on lap 21.
It’s not easy to stay in front when your tyres are worn and the guy behind you is on fresh rubber, so you focus on keeping the door shut on the entry to corners where overtaking is possible, and make sure you carry as much speed as possible to a get a decent exit. The Ferrari’s traction and straight line speed was good anyway, but Kimi did a great job managing the tyres for as long as he did.
There has been a lot of comment about Mercedes Benz’s poor strategy on Sunday, but that’s not the reason Kimi won. The Ferrari was quick in Austin, and it looks like some of the developments they tried on the car since the summer had taken them in the wrong direction. It is so often the case that when you have a competitive car, sometimes it is better to stop playing with it and to keep things simple.
Sebastian Vettel’s grid penalty for failing to slow under a Red Flag, and then collision with Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull at the start of the race, meant that Kimi was the only Ferrari in contention for the win. This was another difficult weekend for Sebastian and he must be feeling very frustrated at the moment. The small mistakes keeping coming. Under normal circumstances, Sunday should have been a chance for him to take the win, and keep himself in with a chance of the World Championship, especially with Lewis not having a great day.
I am sure there is going to be plenty of time for Sebastian and the Ferrari team to reflect on how the second half of this season has worked out. At least Kimi’s win has given the team a boost, and Mexico this weekend may produce another opportunity for Ferrari to prevent Lewis from clinching his fifth title.”
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