Räikkönen modest but confident

“Iceman” does not hide his satisfaction after showing off his Citroën C4 WRC on the asphalt. After a second place in the Rally della Lanterna which he finished just 5 seconds behind Sébastien Ogier, Kimi Räikkönen is impatiently waiting to be at the start of the Rally from Bulgaria. “ I've been looking forward to riding on asphalt since the start of the season. From the first test kilometers, I found good sensations. We were able to confirm this feeling by participating in a rally in Italy (Rally della Lanterna: editor’s note) during which I had a lot of fun. The experience acquired since the start of the season is starting to bear fruit ».

Nevertheless, if the surface of the next event on the program this week resembles that which he experienced previously in his career in F1, the Finn adds that the two disciplines have nothing comparable. “ Even though I spent several seasons in F1, the asphalt on the circuits is nothing like what we encounter in rallying. F1 and WRC remain two different disciplines. In WRC, we will discover rallies on asphalt which retain very different characteristics. The Bulgarian Rally should not be comparable to the Spanish Rally, nor to the German or Alsatian roads. In a single special stage, you can go from wide and rolling roads to narrower or bumpy sections. From one turn to another, the grip can change. Understanding with the co-driver and notes are essential to perform well, as much as enjoying a consistent car ».

If the former F1 Champion still has a lot to learn in the discipline, he can nevertheless hope to be less disadvantaged in this event, new to the WRC calendar and unknown to all the competitors. But the Finn knows that a good result will be much more difficult to obtain than in Italy. “ We will once again discover a very different playing field, that is what attracts me to rallying. The other side of the coin is what makes this sport so complicated for a beginner. This first asphalt rally of the season will be a new crucial session in my learning of the WRC. I understood that it was necessary to learn and not skip the steps. The objective is to reach the finish and get to grips with the Citroën C4 WRC. We will see where we are at the end of the first day and we will try to reduce the gap on our competitors ».