"Fact is that Kimi has a contract for the next season and Heikki hasn't. The boys are not standing on the same line but on the other hand Ferrari made a 5-year deal with Santander who has very close links to Alonso so I believe that they are doing as much work as possible behind the scenes so that Santander will get the
driver they want into Ferrari.

I believe that Alonso has a signed contract with Ferrari for 2011 but I don't know if he has a signed contract for 2010. It might happen which would leave them
with one extra driver but knowing Ferrari's appreciation for Kimi I don't think it's Kimi who leaves Ferrari.

Massa could be on a sickleave for some time but then there's still the upcoming FIA
hearing with Renault and who knows which people get stained. If Alonso won the race through a dirty game then the driver gets quite a lot of stain too. In those proportions even one stain is never good for a driver. That could also change things in these final games. "

Q: How well do you know Kimi and Heikki?
I know them very well, their families too and we have always had good relations which on the paddock is vital. If the relations are bad and everybody would be running away from you then you could as well follow it on television and make your articles based on that but since we have good relations it's a pleasure to
be there and share both joys and sorrows.

It's always difficult to share the sorrows because motorsport is so cruel. 'It's
motorsport' as the boys say when things are bad. Heikki is very open and gets along with everyone, Heikki is what you see. Everybody likes him and it's really easy to get along with him. He is a joking and a fun guy.

Kimi is in principle a restrained version of Heikki but when you get to know him better, not from the official events, you have lots of fun with him, he has an extremely good sense of humour and he is a clever guy. During these 9 years a certain role has developed around him and he plays the role precisely: He is cool,
answers unemotionally saying 'I don't know, let's see, I'll do my best, let's see how far it takes' - these typical answers.

But then occasionally when everything falls in place, like in Monza, it was surprising to see how the feeling comes out even on the podium, you saw that the man was as happy as a man can be, that's Kimi's real nature.

His inner being is his strenght since no matter what result he gets he doesn't change like a rollercoaster. Kimi can control himself. Of course a bad result hurts but Kimi is the only sportsman I know who can get really fast over disappointment. It takes about 15-30 minutes, after that the thoughts are completely in what is ahead.

Kimi has a good philosophy 'Why worry about it when it doesn't change the result' - that's a philosophy that would suit any sportsman.

Ferrari had an oiled machinery that drove their successful number one driver. Michael Schumacher earned his status with his speed and exploited it perfectly.

Then Kimi Räikkönen got into the same position completely accidentally and unfortunately too late - when Massa injured severely in Hungary qualification.

After that Räikkönen has shipped the Ferrari armada in the top three. The team focuses so that the car fits Kimi's hand and the results speaks for themselves.

After Monza Stefano Domenicali was grateful telling that this is the Kimi with whom they won the world championship two years ago. Manager Steve Robertson put it even better and says that Kimi has drove his last races even better than he did during his championship year.

Ferrari doesn't take any pressure at the moment for the threat that this is one of the worst seasons. The pressure comes elsewhere. The new sponsor Banco Santander is pushing on so that their favorite Fernando Alonso would drive in Ferrari already next year.

The power to chose Ferrari's drivers lies with Luca di Montezemolo and him only. Stefano Domenicali can only wait for the announcement which of the trio Räikkönen, Alonso and Felipe Massa are his pair next year.

Räikkönen's top form makes it even more difficult. They understand Kimi's speed even better at Ferrari when Giancarlo Fisichella stayed 0,7 seconds behind his team mate on every race lap and crossed the finish line 56 seconds after him. During the practice the difference was even bigger and in qualification it was half a second.

When Fisichella drove at Renault with Fernando Alonson their difference in speed was remarkably smaller.

If Ferrari dumps Räikkönen, then the team knows that next season they will have to compete against one really fast driver - one who is on their own mega-payroll. I guess that Ferrari can't afford it.

Monza / Heikki Kulta

http://www.ts.fi/f1/kolumnit/74123.html

Turun Sanomat 13.9 2009 23:16:00
Italian GP column 13.9. 

Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA
1st Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP), 1h16m21.706s; 2nd Jenson Button (Brawn GP), 1h16m24.572s; 3rd Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), 1h16m52.370s.

Q: Kimi, it was a bit of a repeat for you of the Belgian Grand Prix in many ways with the Force India in your mirrors just about throughout the whole race.
Kimi Raikkonen: I got a very good start but them something happened with Lewis. He slowed down but I had nowhere to go and I had to go around the left half on the grass, but I needed to back off before then. If I had had some space to go around him I would have got him at the start. Anyhow, it didn't really change the end of the race. In the end he went off. We got third place a little bit on a gift but it doesn’t matter. It all counts. Good points for us. It is a bit disappointing to drive as well as you can every lap, not really making any mistakes, and still finish quite far away from the first two. It is not the perfect position for me or for the team, but at least we scored some points which we needed. I think we got the most out of the car this weekend. It is good for the fans to be on the podium. It is much better than finishing fourth. We are going to keep pushing as hard as we can. We know that there are cars quicker than us, but maybe some races we can still challenge them for the win and that is what we try to do. It was a great thing for the team and everything worked well for us and the guys put in good hard work.

Q: It looked like a small glitch at the second pit stop and you just caught the leg of the refuelling guy. Then you had to brake before you left the pit lane.
KR: I was in a hurry to get out as I knew it was going to be very close. The lollipop guy just moved a little bit and I was ready to go and he put it back down and I stopped. But luckily enough the fuel rig was out and I could go. We lost a little bit of time but not too much. It would not have been enough anyhow for beating McLaren at the pit stops, but we could keep the Force India behind and in the end it did not make much difference.

Q: Kimi, how much pressure was Adrian (Sutil) putting on you, or were you just able to push the button and get yourself a safety margin?
KR: I think it was very similar to the last race with (Giancarlo) Fisichella. OK, sometimes it looks as if it gets very close in the middle of a chicane, but then once you get to the corner exit and you start accelerating and he’s still in the chicane it opens up again, so it never really got very close, so that I would need to defend or anything like that. They seem to be fast in a straight line, fast through the corners, so for sure I needed to make sure that I didn’t make a mistake and I got a good run in the few places on the circuit where I knew that his only chance was going to be. So as long as I didn’t make a mistake in those two places it was OK.

Q: Do you regret the strategy that you chose, the two-stop?
KR: No. I think we still did the right thing. We got the best out of the car. We know that we’re where the top cars are, we’re not as fast. The car feels more or less OK, we’re just missing grip, we’re sliding more than the others and that’s the penalty that we have to pay. We’re not going to have any more new parts for the car, so it is what it is right now. Third place for us is very good, we’re still keeping position in the championship which is what we’re aiming for. I think we got the maximum out of the car.

Q: Much difference between the tyres?
KR: I think the soft one was easier for us. It is normally. It’s hard to get the hard one working. Probably we don’t have as much downforce as the others, so you cannot put load on the tyres, you cannot get them working. In the end they started to work a little bit better again and it helped but for sure, the soft one is the better one.

Q: Will Singapore suit you better?
KR: It should be a bit more than Valencia, Monaco. Hopefully there we will have a bit more of a chance to challenge for first place but I don’t know. We will wait and see. Hopefully we can be stronger there.

Q: (Heikki Kulta –Turun Sanomat) Kimi, you have had four successive podiums. Are you surprised by this consistent record?
KR: A little bit, yes. But we’ve been chasing the car a bit since the last five races and it’s been working well for us, we’ve been getting the best out of it and other people have got the most out of their cars and their package, so it has worked out very well for us. It’s a big surprise to finish on the podium, but OK, here we were a bit lucky to finish on the podium. No matter how it comes you need to finish the race, so we will try again in the next races and try to keep third place in the Constructors’ championship.



http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2009/9/9927.html

Q: Kimi, it looked to be a reasonable trouble-free qualifying for you. At Parabolica the car seemed to be a bit loose at the front end but you got the lap done in the end.
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: It is not perfect for sure but it shows us again that once we put the race fuel in the car it seems to be to always be stronger against the others. It is more difficult especially in the second qualifying than the first and last one to make sure that we get through. The car has been good all weekend. We had some issues with it but unfortunately we cannot fix them as well as we want. But, overall, on the race pace and with the race fuel the car is running nicely and I am pretty happy with it. I think it was one of our best qualifying and it was a good time in our home race to do it and hopefully tomorrow it is going to help us get into a stronger position for the race and try to fight for the first three places. But we will see. It is not going to be easy tomorrow but we will give it our best.

Q: Can you compare how you felt before the race at Spa to how you feel now in terms of how you think it will go on race day?
KR: In both races we knew that car was going to be stronger in the race than in qualifying. Of course if you start from sixth than third place it is a slightly different story. I think it gives us a better chance to have a strong finish. But it is going to be a long, hard race for the car. We give the best and hopefully we can give a good result for all the Italian fans and for ourselves. That’s our biggest aim.

Q: Kimi, tenth and eighth yesterday; you said there was room to improve. What changes did you make overnight?
KR: We made some changes to try to improve the issues that we had but even when yesterday I wasn’t a hundred percent happy, it was still pretty fast. I think it’s been a positive surprise how good the car has been all weekend. Today it was even better with high fuel.

Q: In comparison to Spa when you won but started further back, are you confident for tomorrow?
KR: Yeah, but OK, we are three places ahead of where we started in Spa, but now there is a McLaren with KERS in front of us. At the start, you cannot expect to jump them. We can jump the Force India but probably not the McLaren. So that’s a different story and then we see how the race goes. It’s definitely easier to overtake here than in Spa, so if they have the speed on the straight line, as it looks it will be difficult to keep people behind, it will be difficult to pass them. We will see what we can do.

Q: We’ve seen a lot of drivers weaving on the back straight; how much of an issue have tyre temperatures been here during qualifying and the race itself?
KR: For us it hasn’t been a big issue. It’s more or less the same as at any other circuit but maybe the first lap isn’t always the easiest one, not the fastest one. It takes a few laps but I think it’s the same for everybody. Some teams can use them on the first lap, straight away, very easily and some not. But they may pay the price later on in the race, the tyres would maybe not last, so it’s a bit of a difficult situation.

Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Lewis, gathering that both Brawns are on one-stop strategies tomorrow, presuming you guys are going to be running two, it looks like it could be close with those two cars as well if that’s going to be the case.
KR: It is what it is. We will see in a few hours how much fuel everybody has, then we can make our plans, but until then there’s not much point in thinking about it too much.

Q: (Will Buxton – Australasian Motor Sport News) Kimi, we’re moving into the last few races of the season, who do you think has got the best shot of winning the championship?
KR: I don’t know, there are a few people that can win. We still actually have a chance but it’s not very… I don’t think it’s going to happen for us, so after that it doesn’t really matter who wins. I think Brawn has picked up speed a little bit this weekend, so they are in the strongest position for sure.

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Lewis and Kimi, how much time did it take you to get used to KERS at the beginning of the season? Was it easy?
KR: I had it the whole winter when we started to test, so it’s not difficult for the drivers to use, I think it’s more of a challenge for the engineers to get it working well.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Kimi, you talked about the new kerbs, how the last version was lower than these ones, but do you think that today it helped to get your position? And secondly, no Finn was ever able to win here. Are you superstitious?
KR: No. I will try tomorrow and we hope to have a good result. The kerbs are the same for all the teams and drivers, so it makes no difference. It was more fun with the old kerbs but this is probably a bit more similar for everybody. Nobody can really run over them anymore. It seems to be working OK for us, so no complaints really.

via FIA.com

These are very intense weeks: after the two consecutive races in Valencia and Spa now there is Monza on the calendar, this year's last race in Europe. In Belgium we won and we want to go on like this in the last races, trying to stay on the podium. It's one of the most important GPs of the year, because we race in front of our fans and it would be great to give them satisfaction.

The success at Spa was very important for the team: I could see the guys in front of the podium and understood how much this victory meant for them, especially in such a difficult season. It was great for me to listen to the Finnish and the Italian national anthems after such a long time. And it would be excellent to repeat it until the end of the season. Racing in Monza in front of our fans with all the Prancing Horse flags in the wind is a fantastic feeling. I've never won a race in Italy, but I always liked racing at Monza. For me there's no extra pressure, but I know how much the team wants to have a great race here.

The track is the fastest of the season and the KERS should help us just like in Spa. You need to use the kerbs well and this wasn't the strong point of our cars over the last years. We'll see what will happen as of Friday. We didn't do the usual test on the track so it's difficult to say because the cars haven't used this aerodynamic set up so far. I'll have a new teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella. I always got along very well with him. He's one of the most expert drivers and we will give our best to help Ferrari keep the third place in the Constructors' Championship. The performance levels changed from one race to the next this year.

There are team like us who stopped developing the car and others making pressure, because there are still several goals to reach. Looking back I'm happy because I'm the driver who gained the most points over the last races (25): who would have said that after such a start of the season?

It will be a difficult weekend, but I can promise the fans that we will give our best as usual.

Kimi Raikkonen is under no illusions that he will be able to repeat his Belgian Grand Prix victory in the remaining races of the season.
The 2007 world champion gave his Ferrari team its first win of 2009 at Spa, after a race-long battle with then Force India driver and now his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella.
But despite his breakthrough win, Raikkonen believes it will be hard to repeat the feat, as Ferrari has already shifted its focus to 2010.
"We knew that it was not going to be easy," Raikkonen said of winning in 2009. "We are still not where we want to be, and we are not going to be, because we are not going to put any more new parts in the car.
"We will try to win more races, but we know it's not going to be any easier, as everybody else will be putting new parts and we are not.
"I think it depends a lot on the circuit and the conditions. We will try our best and see where we end up."
The Finn also downplayed the advantage the KERS-equipped cars are expected to have at Monza this weekend.
"I don't think so," he said when asked if he expected the six KERS cars - Ferrari, Renault and McLaren - to dominate the race.
"There are other cars that can be very fast, as we've seen in many other races this year. Hopefully we can be in the front, but I still think it's going to be very close between the teams."
Raikkonen denied his win in Belgium had given Ferrari reasons to retain him next year, as he made it clear he is not going anywhere despite speculation about his future.
"I think they know what I can do from what I've done. The results sometimes don't give you a true picture. I always say I'm not worried about my future. I have a contract, and it's not going to change whether I'm last or first.
"Of course I want to win, it's good for me and for the team, but for the future it makes no difference.
"I wouldn't have a contract if I didn't want to drive."
via Autosport.com

Heikki and Kimi's blue hands story:P

What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you at a Grand Prix Weekend?
It was funny when Kimi got his hands died blue but my mechanics haven’t done anything to me yet. It was funny when I was at a test in Spain. There is a picture as I am coming out of the garage in my F1 car and Catherine is just reading a book with her legs crossed. I drive straight past her. At the time I didn’t realise afterwards what she was doing, she didn’t realise I just drove past her at 300k.

via http://www.mclaren.com/in-depth/heikki-qanda-september.php

KIMI-MATIAS RÄIKKÖNEN

Born: 17.10.1979 in Espoo
Lenght/weight: 175/66 kg
Home: Wollerau, Switzerland
Education: Comprehensive school.
Managers: Steve and David Robertson
PR-manager: Riku Kuvaja
Trainer: Mark Arnall
Race Engineer: Andrea Stella
Idol: none
Hobbies: Ice-hockey, snowboarding, golf, tennis, cycling, rally and snowmobile
Favourite music: Finnish music
Favourite songs in karaoke: Matti Esko - Rekkamies and Kari Tapio - Paalupaikka
Favourite movie: Scarface, The story of a knight and Blown in 60 seconds
Favourite actor: Al Pacino
Favourite food: Chicken, pasta and deer
Favourite drink: Pineapple- and apple juice, sometimes vodka and Smirnoff Ice
Favourite vacation places: Lapland and Dubai
Favourite subject in school: Physical education and handicrafts
Military rank: Sergeant
Favourite tracks: Spa, Monaco and Donington
Favourite teams: Blues and Leijonat
Favourite thing: mobile phone and iPod
Pets: German Shepard Ajax and Jack Russel Terrier Peppi
Horoscope sign: Libra
Hand: Right handed
Shoe size: 42
Nicknames: Iceman, Kimppa and Kimster

Kimi Raikkonen has played down talk that Ferrari can now consider itself contenders for victory in the remaining races of the season - despite his success in the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Finn ended Ferrari's victory drought with a hard-earned triumph at Spa-Francorchamps, which has boosted the team's hopes of finishing third in the Constructors' Championship.

But despite the result showing Ferrari has made good progress with its car, the fact that the team has frozen development of the F60 to concentrate on its 2010 machine makes it unlikely that more success will follow easily.

"I'll give my best to gain as many points as possible in the remaining GPs," he said. "It won't be easy, because the other teams will show up with further developments, while we froze the F60, concentrating on the project for 2010.

"We have to try to give our best with what we have, trying to fight for a place on the podium. We're very happy for our fans, who finally had a reason to celebrate.

"There's no better way to arrive in Monza. I know that I'm repeating myself, but I want to say it again: it won't be easy, but we'll give our best to be on the podium again."

Although Raikkonen's victory was helped hugely by the advantage delivered by its KERS, the 2007 world champion does not feel that it devalues his success at all.

"Naturally the KERS helped us a lot at the start and when the safety car came in," he said. "That doesn't change the victory's value, but we enjoyed the first success with this car using the KERS.

more at http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78270 

Spa is once again the race I will remember from this season. It just is a place that always seems to be good to me. In Germany again everything always bombs.

When you go to Spa's track you know that you can do well there although you wouldn't get to the front row.

The track is a place where you can have good duels and if you have a good day you can overtake without taking that many risks.

Now the weekend fell totally in place. In quali there was a moment when I felt that it will get tough to get forward from Q2. The lap was good but when the car isn't the fastest and the times are so close you don't get to the top. We got along and when we got the 6th position I felt on Saturday evening that we have great chances to fight for the victory again.

It always needs a good start and after that a good first lap. Barrichello stopped right in front of me and it didn't ease the situation at all. Luckily the start went well otherwise. I had to take a long turn from the outside of the track but I didnt' still lose any positions.

It wasn't the fastest route though. Otherwise I would have taken the turn every lap.

I was well behind Kubica. In Eau Rouge I got side by side with him and KERS helped me overtake him. When I stayed on the track I also stayed ahead of the others holding the 2nd position.

After the safety car situation we knew that I had to immediately overtake Fisichella if I was going to win. It got slippery when I was a little too close to him. The overtake succeeded although it was tough. Luckily we didn't hit and when I was in the 1st position we knew that the biggest job was done.

We had the same strategy and that's why we didn't have to worry although Fisichella's car was faster. There was only one place where he could have tried and we played with KERS so that he never got close enough.

The victory felt really sweet when it has been such a long time since the last one. It's great that we got trophies and everybody was satisfied. Our pace is the same and even though someone might think something else, the hair stays on my head.

So far Spa offered the best feelings this year. Hopefully we get something more from the rest of the season. Our goal is to keep the 3rd place in WCC. Fisichella will now be in the second car.

We need points in the WCC-serie from both cars so hopefully Fisichella can bring them to the team.

Formula One tradition has it that everything should kick off at next weekend's Italian Grand Prix. Monza, a dramatic enough theatre even when the ancient autodrome is empty, will reverberate with more passion than usual following Ferrari's first win of the season in Belgium last Sunday. Monza could not have asked for a more effective call to the faithful followers of what amounts to the only national team in F1 even though Ferrari has no hope of winning the title.

Monza often goes a long way towards either settling the championship or prompting the defining of status within teams fortunate enough to have had two drivers previously in a position to fight for the crown. All of that would be plausible in a normal season of racing. But, as the last race showed with dramatic clarity, 2009 is anything but normal.

The destiny of the title remains just as obscure as the identity of the favourite to succeed next Sunday. Kimi Raikkonen was the sixth different winner in six races, a statistic that would have been the subject of derision had it been predicted on 7 June after Jenson Button had won six of the first seven races. Rather than discussing diversity of success, the talk that evening in Turkey was whether the four races following Monza would be worth attending because Button would surely have become the second Englishman in successive years to be crowned world champion.

more at http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/sep/06/formula-one-italian-grand-prix-jenson-button

Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix continued the theme of unexpected results and giant-killing seen this season. Kimi Raikkonen became the sixth different winner (in 12 races).


Knowing the Finn enjoys a drink some joked Raikkonen's performance was inspired by the beer sponsor advert on the back of the pole position starting car of Giancarlo Fisichella.

In reality the motivation came from the Kinetic Energy Recovery system (currently in use by only the Ferrari and McLaren teams) which boosts engine power by about 15 percent for six seconds every lap. Without this it is certainly possible that Fisichella could have taken a maiden victory for Force India.

Owned by larger-than-life businessman Vijay Mallya, Force India is the latest incarnation of the team started in 1991 by Eddie Jordan. Despite rumblings about slow payments Mallya - the chairman of Kingfisher beer producer United Breweries - insists he is committed to F1 and his actions back this up. A five-year relationship with McLaren-Mercedes for provision of engines, gearboxes and technical support started this year. It includes a senior McLaren engineer being seconded to Force India as CEO.

Before Sunday, the team had failed to score any points in 29 races and were edging towards the record held by Minardi (now Toro Rosso) on 55. Force India believe their car is now genuinely quick and second place in Belgium was not a freak performance. Certainly the Mercedes engine should be good: it has won once with McLaren and seven times in the back of a Brawn.

However, Force India operate on a budget probably a quarter of some rivals. Presumably, part of the reason for the team's name and patriotic color scheme is to generate interest in India and thus from companies wishing to sell to the world's second largest population. Currently, most of the sponsor logos on the cars are from Mallya's own companies.

In reality, the team team is as British as McLaren or Brawn despite an Indian figurehead and money. It was surprising Mallya chose not to hire the impressively talented Karun Chandhok - a winner in F1's feeder series, GP2 - at least as a reserve driver who could be prepared ahead of the race in New Delhi slated for 2011.


more at http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2009-09/02/content_8648269.htm

Sources in Italy say it is D-day for the Ferrari to decide who will partner Kimi Raikkonen at Monza a week on Sunday.


Hours after his victory in Spa Giancarlo Fisichella was firm favourite and widely expected to step into Felipe Massa’s shoes and make history in the Italian Grand Prix.


But on Monday it emerged Robert Kubica has entered the frame and his manager had sought to be released from his contract with BMW, who are pulling out of the sport at the end of the year.


The Pole’s insistence the five-race deal includes a full seat at the red racers at some time in the future is proving unacceptable to team boss Luca di Montezemolo.


The case for Spa’s pole qualifier, Fisichella, has been complicated because billionaire Force India owner Dr V.J Mallya is refusing to release his lead driver when there is every chance of the team repeating its spectacular form in Italy.


Unless he relents the popular little Italian will miss out on a dream finale to his career.

If that's the case it is looking increasingly likely that Luca Badoer will get a third race at the wheel of a Ferrari, despite two less than impressive performances.


Within the team apologists argue the task of stepping into Michael Schumacher’s shoes in Valencia and Spa with so little warning and no track time was too much to ask after a decade away from racing, especially since it was in a car he had little knowledge of.


And Monza would therefore be the real test because it is a circuit he has tested on and knows intimately.

via http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/motorsport/2009/09/03/ferrari-face-d-day-on-deciding-who-to-partner-with-kimi-raikkonen-115875-21644997/

As the chequered flag dropped in Spa, Kimi Raikkonen had driven flawlessly to his forth Spa-Francorchamps victory—his first of the 2009 season.

His recent consistency and impressive results, despite a less than perfect car, may have saved his seat at Ferrari for next year.

With an average ranking during qualifying of seventh, and an average race position of fourth, he is making the car work for him during the race, if not during qualifying.

His excellent use of his KERS button at Spa meant that he shot up to second before a crash behind caused the safety car to be brought out.

It was the restart, as the safety car headed back into the pits, that gave Kimi the chance to hit his KERS button out of La Source, staying in Fisichella's slipstream, showing some excellent driving though Eau Rouge, and pass the Force India on the straight.

But this was due to some unexpected qualifying sessions. Because of the apparent lack of grip from the McLaren's, and the distinctive Luca Badoer, in the second Ferrari, in last place.

This meant that Kimi Raikkonen was the only KERS equipped car in the top 10.

Starting from a reasonable sixth place, he looked in a comfortable position for the race win.

Although Kimi did not have the fastest car on the grid, he had made good use of his only advantage. It was clear that the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel and the Force India of Giancarlo Fisichella were quicker than Raikkonen's Ferrari.

Fast forward to Monza 2009. The McLaren's may well struggle again at the fast and slow corners of the impressive, historic circuit.

And, unless Ferrari have found a suitable replacement for Badoer, Kimi may end up being the only KERS car in the top ten again. If McLaren manage to get through, then Raikkonen has almost no chance of winning.

However, if the lack of grip still plauges the McLaren's, then Kimi could have another very good chance to win.

His KERS button, being pressed at the exit of Parabolica, would send his car steaming down to the first corner, and he would be deadly in another car's slipstream, or out braking into the first chicane.

In my opinion, a win at Monza, in front of the Tifosi, at Ferrari's home circuit would seal his future as a Ferrari driver for the 2010 season.

more at http://bleacherreport.com/articles/246797-can-kimi-win-again-at-monza

Kimi Raikkonen conceded he did not have the fastest car at the Belgian Grand Prix after taking his first win of the season, which he labelled as a great result for Ferrari.

The Italian squad has struggled to match the pace of the leading teams this year, but Raikkonen made good use of his KERS technology and his rivals' problems to return to the top step of the podium for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix last year.

The 2007 world champion had to fend off a sensational challenge from Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella, who finished less than a second behind.

Raikkonen admitted he had to work hard for his victory.

more here http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78174

"It hasn't been easy year for us," said Raikkonen. "We were behind straight away in the first race compared to the top teams and we made a big step in Barcelona but it still has not been enough and for sure we have not brought new parts to the car for a few races as we are putting effort into next year.

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali has urged the world's media to keep up speculation about Kimi Raikkonen's future, believing the pressure paid off with his Belgian GP win.

Raikkonen's Ferrari future is in doubt with continuous rumours that Fernando Alonso will be replacing him at the end of this season despite still having a year left on his contract.

His critics have slammed him for poor performances, yet again questioning the 2007 World Champion's motivation.

Raikkonen, though, hit back at his detractors, claiming the victory in Sunday's Belgian GP, putting in an impressive showing as he avoided any mistakes despite persistent pressure from Giancarlo Fisichella.

"This is a lot of speculation. I really hope that you people keep writing that, because if this is Kimi's reaction then please do it day and night," said Domenicali.

more at http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12433_5527635,00.html

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, BELGIUM — Set in the hilly Ardennes forest, the Spa-Francorchamps circuit has often been the scene of crazy Belgian Grand Prix races, usually due to bad weather.

But on a cool and sunny day Sunday, it was the unique characteristics of Formula One’s longest, and one of its most challenging, tracks that created the most topsy-turvy race of the season with surprise leaders and the usual contenders either dropping out in accidents or struggling for speed.

Through it all came the most unlikely battle of the season, that between the reigning world champion team, Ferrari, and its driver Kimi Raikkonen, and the team that was at the bottom of the standings with no points, Force India, and its driver, Giancarlo Fisichella.

Fisichella scored a surprise pole position Saturday, in the first pole for the team owned by the Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya, who owns the Kingfisher beverage and airline companies. And had Raikkonen not passed him near the start of the race after the Finn profited from a felicitous off-track excursion and then a safety car period after a pileup that took out some other contenders, Fisichella would have won the race.

In the end, Raikkonen drove just the race he needed to win for the first time for his Ferrari team this season and take his own first victory since the Spanish Grand Prix in April last year. It was the Finnish driver’s 18th victory, and his fourth at Spa, where he won in 2004, 2005 and 2007.

“Today is a great win for us,” Raikkonen said. “All drivers like it here, it’s so up and down to drive, it’s in the forest, and just everything that you like here. It’s a nice place to win.”

more at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/sports/autoracing/31iht-prix.html

Kimi Raikkonen believes the unexpected grid for the Belgian Grand Prix could present him with the opportunity to take Ferrari's first win of 2009.

The former world champion starts sixth for today's race behind pole-sitter Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, Nick Heidfeld, Rubens Barrichello and Robert Kubica. Of those drivers only Barrichello has been a consistent front-runner and won the last race at Valencia.

In addition to this, Raikkonen's is the only car in the top ten equipped with KERS, which could prove a distinct advantage on the run out of La Source on lap one.

"It would be stupid to say that I don't believe [we can win]," he said after qualifying on Saturday. "We are here to win races, so it is not a big surprise. Yeah, probably we have a better chance with this kind of grid than one with Red Bulls and Brawns and other teams at the front.

"So I think there will be quite a lot of changes at the front tomorrow."

Raikkonen added that sixth on the grid was all that was possible from the F60 at Spa, but that he expected the car to perform better on a heavy fuel load.

"I don't think we could go much faster," he said. "This is probably the maximum that we can get, you can easily see the lap times in low fuel - we are always a bit behind - but it helps us when we put a bit more fuel in the car.

"For tomorrow's race it is definitely looking different to normal, so I think it looks like a more open race situation than usual. So we will see what we can do."

more at http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78167

Kimi Raikkonen has said he has no worries about his future in Formula 1, amid continued uncertainty that he will see out his contract at Ferrari.
Raikkonen has a deal with the Maranello-based team until the end of 2010, but the outfit is believed to have been looking to reach a deal to buy out the contract so the Finn can move aside for Fernando Alonso.
Although those talks have reached a stalemate, Raikkonen has said he is calm about what will happen next year after claiming he has options with other outfits if he did not carry on with Ferrari.
"If for some reason I am not at Ferrari next season I know I'll have a seat at another team in the paddock," the Finn was quoted as saying by the British media on Saturday. "It's not a problem. Other teams want me.
"I'm too young to retire. I have a contract with Ferrari for next season. If I didn't want to race next season I would not have signed a contract."

more at http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78094

Kimi Raikkonen is looking to continue the strong run of form he has experienced at the Spa Francorchamps circuit in recent years.

The Finn has won three of the last four races held at the legendary circuit in the Ardennes forest and he believes the team have the ability to challenge for the top-step of the podium again this year.

Last weekend in Valencia Raikkonen secured his second consecutive podium finish, bringing his Ferrari F60 home in third place behind the Brawn GP car of Rubens Barrichello and the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton, but the Finn thinks he can continue his competitive form.

"Spa is definitely my favourite circuit because it is quite different from other places," said Raikkonen.

"It seems to be a good place for me and of course, last year I was leading until I had an accident on the second to last lap.

"It’s a shame, because we’ve had a good thing going on there for many years.

"This year we are not so strong, but hopefully we can be up there and challenging for a good finish."

more at http://www.inthenews.co.uk/sports/formula-one/sports/formula-one/sport/general-sport/raikkonen-we-can-challenge-for-a-good-finish-$1321381.htm

Six revolts left. The pace in the last races has been good but there's still empty spaces left in my trophy shelf at home. I could easily squeeze in a couple more.

We found a good marching pace in Hungary and Valencia and thanks to that we are still in the games.

I have to say that last weekend turned out perfectly. I felt immediately in the practice during the longer stints that we have a good racing car. All we needed was a decent qualification and a strong start so that we could fight instead of just bumping along in the pack.

During the middle stint the team told me lap by lap Heikki's times so that we could challenge them and pass them in stops. We went 110 % and in the final games it wasn't dificult to keep the 3rd position.

The car is the same we have had all summer. It won't be developed anymore when investments are put in next year's car development. It will get more difficult race by race. But I will give my best every time with whatever the lunch in the basket is.

Of course we want to win and only win but you can't be disappointed in the podiums from the latest races. We achieved possible maximum result with the car.

Now we go to Spa. It's always a cool place and it's always great to go back there. It's a legendary racing track that always has been raced on and hopefully also will be raced on for a long time.

It ain't gonna be easy for us because the fast corners don't suit our car the way slower corners in Hungary and Valencia do. But with a 10 point performance we have possibilities to fight for the podium. It's gonna be a tough twist when Red Bull, McLaren and Brawn will be going real fast there.

Let's hope that our good phase continues. The goal is to fight for the 3rd position in the WCC but it's not really realistic if only one car scores points.

Last year I fought for the victory in Spa. Back then I had nothing to lose. It was either victory or destruction and when I went into the wall it became destruction.

Let's try again. The quali is important but luckily KERS helps in Spa too.

Kimi Raikkonen believes it will be hard for his Ferrari team to retain third place in the constructors' championship this season.
Although the Italian squad has made progress since the start of the campaign, the Maranello outfit decided to stop development on this year's car.
Rival McLaren is now in fourth position, just five points behind and with a bigger momentum than the Italians.
Despite Raikkonen finishing on the podium at the European Grand Prix last Sunday, the Finn is aware that keeping third place will be a difficult goal to achieve.
"I really enjoy winning, but even a third place can give you some good feelings," said Raikkonen.
"We started into the European GP from the sixth position on the starting grid, we had a good start and we managed to gain another place on the podium: we can hardly expect more than this.
"With the points we gained, we are still ahead of McLaren in the constructors' championship. This is our goal as a team, but it's very difficult to reach, considering that we stopped developing this car, concentrating on the one for the upcoming season."
The Ferrari driver said his target for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix is to repeat the Valencia feat and be in the top three again.
"The main goal is to hold the standard of the last races, which means that we have to try to get on the podium again," he added.

more at http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77995