Formula One news

Raikkonen promises to come back stronger

Former F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen has promised to come back stronger in 2009, after struggling for much of this season and failing to defend his 2007 crown.

"The last season didn't go as I wanted," Raikkonen said. "It started very well, but then there were too many negative moments. We made some mistakes, as did our competitors. But we paid a higher price for them, we couldn't make up and I was out of the title race too early."

"But this is already part of the past," he added. "Next year we'll be back to win again. There will be new rules and many things will change. So it's difficult to say how it will look like in 2009. But I think that we'll be competitive again. Whenever there were changes Ferrari usually managed to adapt to them faster as all the others. We have to wait and see what our capacities will be and we can reach in the next Championships."

Raikkonen is reportedly planned to be doing the lion's share of Ferrari's track testing this winter, during a time he would otherwise usually take as holiday, but such is his determination to get to grips with the 2009 regulations.

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