Räikkönen: Motivation intact at Ferrari

Kimi Räikkönen is having a difficult start to the season since the driver Ferrari scored only his second finish in the points yesterday at the Chinese Grand Prix, taking only eighth place behind the Williams de Valtteri Bottas which has never been threatened. Comparison with his teammate Fernando Alonso is all the harder as the Asturian signed his first podium of the season. If the latter occupies third place in the Championship behind the drivers Mercedes, Iceman is only in 12th position with 30 points behind his teammate.

Assailed by the press who questioned him about his level of motivation, the Finn tried to put things straight once and for all. “I don’t know why people always ask me about my motivation. I wouldn't be here answering your questions if I wasn't motivated. It has nothing to do with that: we had bad races, it's unfortunate but it happens sometimes. Our goal is to progress to be where we want to be. We have progressed a lot since Australia. It's sometimes hard to see from the outside, but we are aware of it and it seems to be working. I was pretty happy with the last race (in Bahrain) but things didn't go as planned. »

Kimi Räikkönen tries to find positive elements by pointing out that he was back in the points at the Chinese Grand Prix even if the Scuderia driver certainly expected better. “I had a problem to start with which prevented me from riding (in the first free practice session). It didn't help and the rest of the weekend was difficult. I finished at least in the points. Even though it's not what we want for the team, this weekend was better overall because we know we improved. His podium (from Fernando Alonso) is a good thing for us. »

Discover the analysis of the Chinese Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 1957 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.