Formula One news

Todt pays tribute to Raikkonen

Ferrari team principal Jean Todt paid tribute to his team and drivers after they scored a resounding one-two at Sao Paulo to snatch the drivers' title for Kimi Raikkonen away from McLaren.

Referring to the Brazilian victory that clinched them the Drivers' championship, Todt said "everything has been perfect: pole position, quickest lap during the race, fantastic job from the team, from the drivers, Kimi, Felipe. In the final result Kimi has been outstanding. The car has been very strong; the team has been very strong. We were not expecting to finish the season like that: nine wins, nine pole positions. So we are very happy."

Todt emphasised Raikkonen's remarkable comeback. "We must not forget that in Japan he was 17 points behind and today he is one point ahead. So he took 18 points in two races. Everybody who was betting on him must be happy tonight. I did not bet on him, but the team did a fantastic job as I said before. In a way, I believe in fair things and it was to the right team and the right driver, but it should not be me who says that. "I always said when we were meeting after races, that until mathematically it is not over we still believe we can make it. That is what we did. Don't forget that Kimi won the first race. So we were strong from the beginning of the championship. We had too many failures but at the end we can be happy tonight."

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