Formula One news

Raikkonen expects strong season opener

Defending Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen expects to have a better start of the season compared to last year. In 2007 the Finn joined the Ferrari F1 team and had to get used to his new team, but this year he has a title to defend and had the time to get used to the team.

Speaking about the difference about the first race of the year in 2007 and in the upcoming weekend Raikkonen said: "Personally I feel a huge difference to start this season compared to 2007. Now I know the team and the way they work and there won't be any surprises. I've built up a good relationship with my engineers and we understand each other: they know how I want my car to be set up."

And looking ahead of the upcoming race in Melbourne he said: "I really like racing in Melbourne and it's nice having won there already before. The track is very slippery on the first day due to the fact that it's only used once per year. Braking without the engine brake will be a bit more difficult, but we've had already many tests and a driver adapts quickly.

I have good memories from last year: we dominated the whole race weekend and in the end we gained the Pole Position and won the race. It's really nice to get off to a good start. We managed that last year, although afterwards we lost it a bit. I definitely want to win also this year, because it's always better to lead instead of having to catch up! At the beginning of the season it's always difficult to say what will happen, because during the tests you never know how much fuel the others have in their cars. As I've said, I think that Ferrari will be competitive, but we'll only find our for sure in Melbourne."

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• 22 Jul.
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