Kimi Raikkonen has admitted to press that he has ‘made mistakes’ following Ferrari’s failing from the Formula 1 series at the German GP last weekend.
According to the Finn, he asked his pit wall several times to specify the team instructions, which he did not find transparent enough. He wanted to have confirmation that he had to let his teammate Sebastian Vettel pass.
Raikkonen had changed tyres 11 laps before his teammate, but wanted to choose the best time to perform the team maneuver.
“Yeah, we have certain rules but it wasn’t clear enough. I had speed and obviously it was a bit in a moment in the race that it wasn’t ideal to stop.” Raikkonen told German perss.
“In the end didn’t change much…. It was a tricky race with the rain and it was pretty slippery in a few places. I had a little hot moment with a latecomer, a Sauber , I braked and Valtteri passed me.
“So it was not an easy race. I’m happy to finish it, a little disappointed, but I take this result and we will try next time.” Raikkonen added.
Lewis Hamilton wins German GP after Sebastian Vettel crashes out. (Source:www.thenational.ae.)
Raikkonen finally changed tyres during the deployment of the safety car. But would not it have been better to stay on track, in front of the Mercedes, since there was nothing to lose? The Ferrari driver himself seemed hesitant on the radio.
“No, it’s always easy to say afterwards what should have been done. But honestly we do not know what would have happened if I had not returned to the pits.” Raikkonen said.
“I am 100% sure that the ultras walked much better. And then I had tires already worn. Of course we knew that Mercedes would have worn tires but they seemed to make the right decision under these conditions. So I have no answer to this question. Nobody knows. That’s it.” Raikkonen added.
Asked about F1 next rounds in Budapest, a much narrower and winding circuit, Raikkonen admitted it will depend on the weather to dominate Mercedes and Red Bull.
“It’s very difficult to say. Traditionally Budapest is a good circuit for us. But many things will depend on the weather. In recent years we felt strong when we arrived there. It will be tight. We will do our best.” Raikkonen said.
