Räikkönen couldn't be faster in Melbourne

Kimi Räikkönen did not have an extraordinary day in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix since the driver of the Team Ferrari hit the wall in Q2 after losing control of its F14 T when trapped in the soggy conditions. The 2007 world champion will only start from 11th position, taking advantage of the penalty imposed on Valtteri Bottas, while his teammate Fernando Alonso will start from the fifth row.

However, Iceman believes he would not have been able to qualify for the final qualifying session in Melbourne. “Qualifying wasn’t fun today, especially with the traffic.”, explains the Scandinavian. " I had one car in front of me at every turn when I was on a fast lap. I couldn't have a clear lap and damaged the front wing at the end of Q2 after spinning. I don't think I could have been faster anyway. I had already eased off at that point because I already knew that I wouldn't be in Q3. It’s a shame because we had made progress compared to the day before. We were fast in the wet and I had more feeling in the car. »

As usual, Kimi Räikkönen is careful not to make predictions for the result of the Australian Grand Prix where many questions still remain unanswered. “The race will be tough, the weather forecast remains uncertain and, above all, we don't know how things will work out with the new regulations. But this is only the first event of the year and we will do our best to get a good result. »

The Australian Grand Prix will be contested from 7 a.m. French time and can be followed live on AUTOhebdo.fr. Photos from the weekend can be found on this link.