Räikkönen wants to fight for victory

Kimi, you find yourself on the front row for the first time this season. You seem to have kept the pace throughout the qualifying session and for a bit, you would be in pole position?
The car is not too bad here. Since the first free practice sessions, things have improved as the circuit gained grip. During Q1, it was a bit difficult, I made a few mistakes and I didn't have a very good lap. Q2 was good, as was Q3. The car performed very well, so it's good to be back at the front and hopefully we can fight for victory.

You said on Thursday that things could be better. What kind of improvement did you make to the car?
The car is the same as in the last race; in the sense that we have not changed it. I'm happy that we are second after our start to the season but it's not very good for here. I'm ultimately quite disappointed not to have achieved pole because it gives a huge advantage for the race. We will see what we can do tomorrow and try to secure victory.

What satisfaction does this bring you after the start of the season you are experiencing?
Not a lot. I would have preferred to be in front. It's good to be second but we lost first place for nothing even though that's what we were aiming for. In any other race it doesn't make much difference but here the difference is bigger between first and second. It's going to be a long race, we'll see what we can do.