Weekend to forget

As I have said many times, I'm here to race, not to make numbers. Well, the Canadian race weekend was not at all the one I would like to try to remember afterwards. A simple reason was that we didn't have speed enough during the whole event.

Obviously, we still have a problem with the wet weather. The qualifying in the rain was a dreadful experience. We didn't have any grip to go fast, so we could not get anything out of it, and then, after a while, we got a grid penalty as the final addition to a bad day.

If you want to find a positive thing in our side, so while the stewards decide to punish you, it's good you have not reached the top position. That would have hurt much more.

The race was very tricky for us. To start in the middle of pack in a circuit like Montreal with a car lacking the speed to compete with the top guys, there is nothing else to do, but try to finish the race with decent points.

We had the worst pit stop during the season so far, the car was dropped, and we lost even more with that. So finishing the race in P9 was the result. They told me, I broke some record, but I don't care about any records, just the points.

Two points is better than nothing, but nothing to be pleased with.

Kimi Räikkönen equalled Michael Schumacher’s record of consecutive points finishes as he endured a difficult Canadian Grand Prix. Romain Grosjean fought through the field to temporarily occupy a points placing, before an unexpected second stop dropped him to 13th place from his back of the grid start in Montréal.

Kimi falls to third place in the Drivers’ Championship, with Fernando Alonso now in second, 12 points ahead of him. The team drops to fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, with Mercedes 20 points ahead in third.

Kimi started from P10 with a new set of supersoft tyres, changing to new mediums on lap 22.

Today was Kimi’s 35th consecutive race finish – 27th consecutive with Lotus F1 Team – and 24th consecutive Grand Prix points finish; the latter statistic meaning he equals Michael Schumacher’s record.

Kimi Räikkönen, P9, E21-03
"It’s been a bad weekend, but at least we scored a few points"

“My race didn’t start very well and then my brakes were fading with the pedal going soft; similar to the problem we had on Friday. It wasn’t ideal but at least the brakes were good enough to slow me down for the corners. Unfortunately though it meant I lost a lot of time and wasn’t able to attack, plus we lost a few seconds in the pit stop which obviously didn’t help either. Most of my race was just following the cars in front and defending from those behind, so not the most enjoyable day nor the most enjoyable result. It’s been a bad weekend, but at least we scored a few points.”

Kimi Räikkönen will start from tenth on the grid after a penalty as he did not leave the pit exit in the order in which he arrived, for FP3 - after a hectic qualifying session for the Canadian Grand Prix. Following a shortened morning practice session, qualifying was wet throughout with a brief red flag period nearing the end of Q2.

Kimi Räikkönen, E21-03. Q: P9, 1:27.432. FP3: P10, 1:20.316
“We didn’t have grip in these conditions so we did pretty much all we could do, but if there’s no grip you can’t go faster. In this weather it’s difficult as sometimes the rain gets harder, sometimes the track is drying so you have to try to be out there when the circuit’s at its best. P9 on the grid is not what we want so we’ll have to see what we can do in the race tomorrow.”

How was qualifying for the team?
It was a disappointing day for us. Romain couldn’t get a good lap in the first session meaning he will start from the back of the grid. Kimi struggled too and will start from ninth, which is not where we want to be. The E21 clearly wasn’t working well in the wet conditions experienced today. We opted for a more dry weather focused set-up which, although it hindered us today, should benefit us tomorrow if the weather does stay dry. We certainly weren’t expecting the level of water that we did see on the track during qualifying.

How difficult was it on the pitwall through qualifying?
It wasn’t that difficult as it was consistently wet rather than being wet and dry giving us a decision to make on which tyres to run. We went for the first lap of Q1 with both cars using the super soft dry tyre and it was immediately clear that it was too wet for slicks. After that, timing and finding space on track became the key considerations. Predicting when there might be yellow flags, unfortunately, is a very difficult science.

What are the predictions for tomorrow’s weather and strategy?
Certainly we expect it to be warmer than today and that should help us. There’s still a chance of rain, but the track and air temperatures should be of benefit. If it is dry then we – like all of the teams – will be learning the slick tyre performance as we go along as there has been only limited running on them so far this weekend. That said, I think it could be a race of 1-2 pit stops rather than a 3-4 stop strategy.

Romain Grosjean ended the first day of practice for the Canadian Grand Prix with the third fastest time, whilst team-mate Kimi Räikkönen – fifth fastest in the morning – saw his afternoon session curtailed as the team investigated a brake issue on his E21.

The morning session saw a damp but drying circuit, with afternoon running conducted in cool, dry conditions. Pirelli’s wet and intermediate tyres were used in the morning; the medium, super soft and developmental medium compound dry tyres in the afternoon.

Technical programme notes:

- Both drivers ran with new, Montréal downforce level front and rear wing specifications today
- Pirelli’s wet (blue), intermediate (green) and medium compound dry (white) tyres were used in the morning session, the medium, developmental medium and super soft (red) in the afternoon
- Kimi had a brake issue in the afternoon which ended his session early

What we learned today:

- The Montréal-spec front and rear wings and related aero package work well
- The E21 looks good in damp conditions but did not display its customary high-fuel pace

Kimi Räikkönen, E21-03
Free practice 1: P5, 1:21.608, 22 laps
Free practice 2: P11, 1:15.599, 35 laps

"We improved the car through the day"

Kimi: “We improved the car through the day and by the end of the session it was ok; not ideal but certainly not a disaster either. It wasn’t easy to get the tyres up to temperature today, but it’s pretty cold at the circuit so that’s not too much of a surprise. If we can get the tyres working better it will be an improvement for sure, but it’s not going to change the world. We’ll be looking at how to get them a bit warmer for qualifying tomorrow and then see what the weather does. After that, we’ll do the best we can.” 

Back to normal

The season so far has not been that bad for me. Monaco was a certain disaster, but, obviously, you cannot escape weekends like that from time to time.

We have dropped some points more behind Vettel, but it’s still long way to go in this championship. Now the main focus is getting back our normal rhythm and be back fighting for good positions in qualifying and even stronger for podiums in the race.

I like the atmosphere in Montreal. It’s always nice to come over to Canada. But usually it means also a certain kind of casino with the weather conditions and the griplevels of the tarmac.

We race whatever is the weather, but, for sure, I would prefer the dry track from the soaking one, at least. The car has been better in the wet, too, but there is always room to improve.

Canada gives always a real tricky challenge with the set-up work. In this circuit getting everything right feels first so difficult, but if you don’t miss too much track time in the practise, you gain good confidence for the qualifying.

The qualifying is always important, but here it doesn’t hurt you as much as it does in Monaco. With a good car and good strategy you can still do well.

It’s a long time since I was on podium in Montreal. Now we do our very best to get back there. We need good points after losing so many in Monaco due to circumstances outside our control.