Räikkönen to well earned vacation as 2nd in the WDC-standings
Räikkönen to well earned vacation as 2nd in the WDC-standings
F1 | Turun Sanomat 01:03
3 weeks ago Kimi Räikkönen battled fiercly with Sebastian
Vettel for the victory in Germany GP. Now the same buddies hit together when fighting for the 2nd position in Hungary GP.
Vettel won in Germany, Räikkönen in Hungary, so in a way both were more stronger on their home field.
Räikkönen took the 2nd position by managing to do one less stop with the new tires.
– When Friday and Saturday went so badly, I had to try something different so I could overtake the others. I have picked up a bad habit of putting myself in a bad position in quali.
– We planned a 3-stop strategy beforehand, but when the front tires started to work and the car felt good right from the beginning and when we got even the soft tires to last a few laps longer, we changed strategy.
– I drove about 20 laps with the first set and then I got the second set to last 30 laps, which was the intention. The last two laps the tires were quite worn out, but there was nothing to worry about. It was only in the 2nd corner where I had to be on my guard with Sebastian, because he got so close there.
– But there was nothing to worry about. I was on the driving line and even though Sebastian got a good speed he couldn't overtake in that exact spot, Räikkönen said.
Fiercly and fairly
Vettel said in the radio that Kimi left too little space. It didn't however create any bigger litigation between the two buddies. Vettel said that his complaint was due to the heat of the moment.
– Kimi isn't any idiot, Vettel reminded.
In the press conference they asked Räikkönen if defending his position this fiercly would be bad for the rumoured switch to Red Bull for next season.
– I don't even have any contracts for next season, so it doesn't matter what happens on the track. In that situation I knew that my tires were okay and once I got through the last sector well, I felt that nobody could overtake me in the first corner. The other corner again was trickier during the whole race. Sebastian came in once before, so on his second attempt I defended my position.
– Perhaps I went a bit overboard, it was tough, but I kept him behind me. That was the only good time. It's difficult to overtake in that spot when the track is so narrow over the hill. For me it was the only spot where I had some problems with the tires, Räikkönen said.
Paying old debts
Vettel said in his winning-interview in Nürburgring, that after beating Räikkönen maybe he would himself be just as angry as the Finn was at that exact moment.
Are you just as angry as Kimi was after the last race?
– We don't exactly feel hatred in those situations. We raced for the victory so I was happy when winning. Now we raced for the 2nd position and although 2nd is better than 3rd I'm still not completely satisfied with my race, but in the end my position wasn't a catastrophy. I was after all on the podium and have said all the time that some day the others will be ahead of us, Vettel said.
Räikkönen went past Fernando Alonso and caught up Vettel with 3 points in the standings.
– This is a positive result. The season is only halfway and each time that we catch Vettel the situation gets better for us. We need more speed of course and we have to understand the new tires better. Nothing is lost at this point, Räikkönen calculated.
Turun Sanomat, Budapest
HEIKKI KULTA
Fonte: Turun Sanomat / Tradução para o Inglês: Nicole
Legal ler este texto porque Kimi explica sobre a sua estratégia inicial para a corrida, que era de 3 paradas, mas quando na prova eles viram que a situação dos pneus estava boa, resolveram mudar para 2.
Ele também comenta sobre a batalha com Vettel, que na minha opinião, foi normal.
Agora é curtir as férias, aproveitar este segundo lugar no Mundial. Esperar por Spa e que a Lotus seja melhor lá este ano do que foi em 2012.
Beijinhos, Ludy
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