Räikkönen “knew it would be difficult”

Kimi Räikkönen, during his fourth Rally with the Citroën Junior Team, last weekend in Turkey, achieved his first top 5. A great performance for the World Champion of F1 2007, satisfied to see that he is progressing race after race. “ I'm improving everywhere, he admits in AUTOhebdo this week. You know very well what steps to take! Everything happens at the same time. Little by little, everything seems both better and easier. »

However, the Finn knows that he does not yet have the level of attack that his car could give him. To progress, Kimi Räikkönen decided not to take risks, a strategy which allowed him to score his first points. “ What matters is accumulating the kilometers, therefore being at the finish. The points are just the consequence. Their number depends on the racing events which affected the best. In Jordan, I found the stages so difficult that I never took any risks. My points are due to the simple fact of being at the finish. In Turkey, it was not quite the same thing. First, I tried driving. Then, I took the best, consistently, over Villagra and Wilson. It?s not yet the “top”, but it?s a first satisfaction. »

However, the Finn sometimes experiences serious difficulties, such as during the Jordan Rally, where the complexity of the terrain forced him to adopt a slow pace. “ Jordan, I found it horrible. It?s blind, it?s winding. I felt lost there. I absolutely wanted to be at the finish and, for that to happen, I had no other choice but to be slow. »

Kimi Räikkönen therefore learns step by step, in a discipline that he discovers over the miles. “ I knew it would be difficult. It?s not worse than I expected. Except in Jordan. There, I really suffered. » But, while remaining lucid, the Finn remains no less ambitious. “ I know the depth of the gap that separates me from the first. I know that I sometimes achieve intermediate times comparable to theirs. I still have to multiply these moments. I'm making progress, but fifth to six minutes is not what I want. »

Find the entire interview with Kimi Räikkönen in AUTOhebdo, currently available on newsstands.