Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali admitted he was very happy to see Kimi Raikkonen back on form at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Finn, who has not won a race in over a year, finished on the podium for the first time since last year's Brazilian Grand Prix.

He also came close to securing his first pole position of the year, but was beaten by Jenson Button by just 0.025 seconds.

Domenicali said he was delighted to see Raikkonen show the kind of form that helped him take the title in 2007.

The Italian also claimed Ferrari is now on the right track following a poor start to the season.

"We're heading in the right direction, which is very important after the first part of this very difficult championship," said Domenicali. "The positive signs we've seen at Barcelona have been confirmed at Monaco.

"I'm particularly happy for Kimi, he had a wonderful weekend: he missed the pole by a blink of the eye and in the race he might have done better, if there hadn't been the problem during his second pitstop.

"On a track where talent is important Kimi has shown what he is able to do."

Kimi Raikkonen is convinced Ferrari will win races this season after the team's promising performance at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Italian squad endured a dismal start to the year, but seems to have turned the corner following the introduction of an upgrade package in Spain.

Raikkonen scored the team's first podium of the season in Monaco, with Felipe Massa coming home in fourth to complete Ferrari's strongest outing of the year.

Now the Finnish driver, who was disappointed with third position, reckons it's just a matter of time before Ferrari wins again.

"I wasn't too happy with the third place at the Monaco GP. For sure it was the best result of the last times, but that was nothing new to me and we knew that we could arrive on a place on the top," said Raikkonen.

"When the leaders in the championship are so far ahead in the classification, in the end it's only a victory that counts. Being back on the podium is a nice reward for the whole team. The hard work of the last weeks finally bears some fruit, which is really positive for all of us.

"We know that we're on the right way now: there are still some minor things to be done but sooner or later we will win.

"We'll show up with further improvements of the F60 in the upcoming races and we hope we can then challenge the leaders even more, in the qualifying and in the race."

Raikkonen, who started the race from second place, felt missing out on pole position was a big handicap for him.

"The Monaco qualifying is so much more important than on other tracks and we've almost done a perfect job: we missed the pole by 25 thousandths of a second. Not starting from the first position means that it's very likely you won't win. Furthermore the second position on the grid doesn't help on this track.

"You start from the dirty side of the track and whenever I found myself in this position I always lost at least one position in the field, because the tyres spin a lot at the start. In fact Rubens overtook me, which was really a shame. If I had managed to stay behind Button I think I could have easily opened a gap.

"In the end it was difficult to fight for second position and then there was this story at the last pitstop, where we lost a couple of seconds, due to a problem with the right rear wheel. When I took up the race again I was further behind the Brazilian than before.

"We brought home both cars and gained some important points. There were many things at Monaco we can be satisfied with."

Q. Kimi, a great return to form for Ferrari. Talk about being beaten off the line by Rubens and then your day thereafter.

Kimi RAIKKONEN: Yeah, it is not the first time when I have been in second place and always lose one position. The start seems to be very slippery on that side plus they were on the softer tyres, so it definitely helped at the start. It was not nice to see as we were faster than Rubens but there was no way past him. We lost a lot of time at the beginning and that was the only chance to try and stay behind Jenson. Then I had a little bit longer second stint. I don't know what happened at the pit stop but we lost a lot of time and Rubens was still a long way ahead of me when I came out. We still have work to do to be where we want to be and fight for the first place. But many small things changed this weekend as yesterday being first place probably would have given us a better chance.

We need to be happy after a very difficult start to the season. The people have been working very hard at the factory and here at the circuit, so we improved the car very quickly once we realised we can do something different with the rules. We need to be very happy with what we achieved today. Third and fourth is not bad. We should get some new package again for next race and it should help. I am disappointed, definitely, but in this situation we need to be a bit happier. I am not happy with third place but for the team it is still a good result.

Q. Kimi, you spoke about the start to Peter Windsor; did you use KERS at the start?

KR: Yeah, but there's not much use for it if you start spinning your wheels straight away, so that's where we lost the start. At any other place I could have kept second place. You gain a lot with KERS on long straights but it doesn't really make much difference here. It's more the first jump off the line. They had soft tyres, we had harder ones. The right hand side is probably a little bit better for the start anyhow. We just lost it there. It was all fighting after that. We were faster when Rubens had his problems with the tyres at the beginning but then after that, it all played out with very similar pace. We went a little bit longer in the second stint but they seem to be faster in the pit stops. I don't know what they did but we were still a long way behind when I came out of the pits.

That's how it went. Without being third at the start, we could probably have taken second place but it's still not what we wanted really. I think, overall, we're not fast enough really yet to fight for first place. We need to be happy; we've still got good results for the team compared to what we had in previous races this year. It's disappointing to finish third but good for the team and for sure we're happier now as a team and we're scoring points. We'll probably get a little more peace now from everyone as a team. We're coming back but it will take a while before we're exactly where we want to be but we definitely made big steps in recent months. We need to be positive. People have done a really good job at the factory and at the circuit to push hard, so we're starting to get results and that always helps people to push harder.

Q. (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, did Felipe make it difficult to keep third place?

KR: It wasn't easy for me. I needed to push all the time. We tried to push anyhow, to jump Rubens in the pit stops but we couldn't. I didn't know how many more laps Felipe had than me but I knew that it was going to be close but in the end it was not very close. I was pushing all the time anyhow. We knew it was going to be pretty tight but in the end it turned out to be pretty easy. After that we could slow down and just save the brakes and tyres and speed up a little bit at the end because there was one of the Red Bulls catching us up, so we just had to pick up the pace a bit. But apart from that, after the last pit stop it was great.

Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Kimi, you made your second pit stop before Massa like the first one. Do think that if Jenson Button left the pits after the second pit stop behind Massa, do you think your place would have been at risk?

KR: I'm not interested in even thinking about it. Why should I? I was third in the end, that's the end result. I came in early because at the first stop we tried to jump Rubens because he was so slow with the tyres. We were forced to stop a bit because the people behind us were catching us quickly, so that's why we were earlier than him but in the end we were third and it doesn't matter what they did, that's where we ended up.


via Autosport

I wasn't too happy with the third place at the Monaco GP. For sure it was the best result in the last time, but that was nothing new to me and we knew that we could arrive on a place on the top. When the leaders in the Championship are so far ahead in the classification, in the end it's only a victory that counts. Being back on the podium is a nice reward for the whole Team.

The hard work of the last weeks finally bears some fruit, which is really positive for all of us. We know that we're on the right way now: there are still some minor things to be done but sooner or later we will win. We'll show up with further improvements of the F60 in the upcoming races and we hope we can then challenge the leaders even more, in the qualifying and in the race.

The Monaco qualifying is so much more important than on other tracks and we've almost done a perfect job: we missed the pole by 25 thousandsth of a second. Not starting from the first position means that it's very likely you won't win. Furthermore the second position on the grid doesn't help on this track. You start from the dirty side of the track and whenever I found myself in this position I always lost at least one position in the field, because the tyres spin a lot at the start. In fact Rubens overtook me, which was really a shame. If I had manaaged to stay beind Button I think I could have easily opened a gap. In the end it was difficult to fight for second position and then there was this story at the last pit stop, where we lost a couple of seconds, due to a problem with the right rear wheel. When I took up the race again I was further behind the Brazilian than before.

We brought home both cars and gained some important points. There were many things at Monaco we can be satisfied with.

I'll race in a rally in Italy next Saturday, in the Marca Trevigiana, and I want to thank the Scuderia that they gave me the possibility to take part in such a competition. I really enjoy myself and it will be my first experience on the tarmac after some tests on snow last winter. As I'm coeing from the race track it will be intersting to see what I will be able to do behind the wheel of the Fiat Grande Punto S2000 on the roads close to Treviso.

Kimi Raikkonen said his third place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix had to be considered as a good result for the Ferrari team, given the steps forward it has made since the beginning of the season.

The 2007 world champion started from the front row and ran within a handful of seconds of Rubens Barrichello's Brawn for most of the race, giving Ferrari its first podium finish since last year's Brazilian Grand Prix.

"We need to be happy with this result, given the way the team started the season," said the Finn.

"Of course in the bigger picture I'm not happy with third place - I'm disappointed. But, in this situation, for the team it's a good result."

Raikkonen had expected to challenge pole-sitter Jenson Button for the lead into Ste Devote on the opening lap, due to the Finn having a lighter car and the added advantage of KERS under acceleration.

Instead though, he lost a position to Barrichello, and was unable to improve his position over the course of the race.

"It is not the first time I have been in second place and lost position at the start," Raikkonen added. "It is very slippery on that side [of the track], and they were on the soft tyres at the start, so that definitely didn't help us.

"Then I had a little bit longer second stint, but in the second pitstop, Rubens got a long way ahead. I don't know what happened there.

"We're still not where we want to be – we have many things to do to be able to fight for first position – but the people are working very hard at the factory and we have improved the car quite a lot at least."

Q. Kimi, the first front row start of the season. It looked like you had the pace all qualifying and for a while there you were on pole and then right at the end it was Jenson that got it.

Kimi RAIKKONEN: I mean the car hasn't been too bad here. Since the first practice it has always been getting better once the circuit has been picking up the grip and in qualifying the car was good. In the first qualifying it was a bit difficult and I made some mistakes and I didn't get a very good lap. The second qualifying was good and then in the last one it was good. I had one more lap and I went off in the first corner, so I don't know if it would have made any difference but it was a good result for us especially in this kind of place. The car has been behaving pretty well, so it is nice to be back on the front and hopefully we can fight for victory tomorrow.


Q. Kimi, your third time starting from second on the grid. You said on Thursday that things could be better. What sort of improvements have you made to the car?

KR: I mean the car is basically the same as the last race, so in that way we haven't changed it. There are still a few issues that are hurting all the time but we cannot change it right now. It is mainly for me but that is how it is. I mean it has been pretty good. On Thursday it was okay but all the time when the circuit seems to pick up grip we seem to improve the handling, so that seems to be a benefit for us. I am happy we are second after the start of the season but here it is not very good, so I am pretty disappointed not to be at the front as that gives you a massive edge in the race and that is more or less the only way to win the race, so we will see what we can do tomorrow and try to go for a win.

Q. How much satisfaction does this give you after the season you have had so far?

KR: Not much. I would rather have been in the front. It is nice to be second but still we lost the first place for a small margin but that's what we are aiming for and once we get there I will be happy. But especially in this race. In any other race it maybe doesn't make much difference but here the difference is much bigger between first and second. But it is going to be a long race, so we will see what we can do.

Q. I think the team said that the car was better on the soft tyres rather than the super softs?

KR: No, I did my fastest lap on the softer ones. Both of them work very well but they seem to be best.

Q. (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, is KERS your weapon against Jenson at the start?

KR: Here it can maybe help a little bit but it's such a short straight to the first corner, it's very tight, it's very difficult, you need to really have a jump. Much better to be able to beat the first guy but we will try, we will try what we can and see what happens.

Q. Kimi, given your difficult start to the season will you really risk everything for a victory tomorrow or will you try to ensure some good points?

KR: I'm only interested in winning, so I have nothing really to lose. OK, the team needs points but in the end they are happier with a win than just some points. We're not really in the championship. We know that the team has not had a very easy time this year but we have shown some signs that we are getting better. We still need to work. This is a special place, so if we have good speed here, I wouldn't say that we would be where we want to be on a good circuit, maybe not as good as Brawn, so that's what we're really aiming to improve, so I will definitely try to do everything that I can.

Q. We've seen the car is much quicker now, so what can we expect in Monaco?

Kimi Raikkonen: It was definitely better in Spain. We made a step forward but this race is always a little bit different compared to normal circuits. I think we will do the best we can and see how it goes tomorrow. It is too difficult to say where we are going to be.

Q. Ferrari is going to use KERS this weekend. How helpful can it be in Monte Carlo?

KR: It should be helpful, otherwise we wouldn't have put it on the car. It is the same story as at other circuits we have been using it, but maybe it is not as big a help here as it was compared to the last race.

Q. How would you describe the mood inside Ferrari at the moment?

KR: It is as good as before. Of course, when you have not such good results as you want, it is always not as good a spirit as normal because everybody wants to win and wants to push hard - so sometimes there is a bit of tension. But, overall, the people are the same. It is the same kind of work and we want to get back where we should be.

Q. And what about yourself? Do you feel 100 per cent comfortable?

KR: Yes. There is no reason why I shouldn't. The things are the same for me as they were before.

Q. So what about the rumours that Fernando Alonso is replacing you?

KR: I've always said the same answer. I don't even need to say it again - we can wait until next year and then we will find out. I know what I am going to do, so I cannot even be bothered to talk about all those stories. So you can decide yourself and then we will wait and see what happens.

Q. The courts in Paris rejected the injunction attempt by Ferrari. What is your personal opinion about this situation for F1 and Ferrari?

KR: For me, first of all, it is not good for F1 on any side to have this sort of thing going on. For me, if Ferrari is not in F1 nor any other big team like BMW or McLaren, it is not good for F1. They are the teams that make F1 and if you change the teams for other teams, new teams that come from GP2 or somewhere else, then it is not the same any more.

For me, I am 100 per cent behind the team and whatever they choose to do, I will go with them. Hopefully everything will get sorted out, but I am not the guy there working closely with them, so you need to ask the team for all the details – and probably also the FIA.

Q. Do you feel more a Ferrari driver or an F1 driver in this moment?

KR: I work for Ferrari and we are one big family. So it is my work and it is the place where I want to race. Whatever they do, I will do the same with them. We are one family and we do things together.

Q. If you in the future are just a spectator of F1, would you go to the races and spend 500 Euros on a race with small teams competing?

KR: Like I said before, F1 for me is all about the big teams. We race together and try to be the best. That is my opinion, but everybody has their own ideas – and probably when I stop in F1 I will not come to races anyhow. I will stop when I have had enough and then I will have no interest to come and see it.

Q. The car was quite good at Barcelona but because of strategy problems and reliability the result was not so good. How frustrating was that?

KR: Of course it was even more disappointing because we saw the car was fast and we could not get the results we wanted. That is how it goes in racing, but at least we know we have made the first step forward. We still have work to do, but we are coming back and that is always nice – even if we didn't get the results we wanted.

Q. Is there too much pressure on Ferrari for making mistakes?

KR: Probably it doesn't help, but like I said we made some silly mistakes, we will try to learn from them and try to make sure we don't repeat those things. Unfortunately sometimes it happens, but we will get it right – although it is taking longer than we want.

Q. Jenson Button has won four grands prix. Is he unbeatable, and who could beat Brawn GP?

KR: There can be many drivers who can do it, but of course they look very strong right now. I am sure there will be other teams winning races later this season, but with all the different rules people have, and different situations with cars, they definitely are ahead of people right now. We could see already at the last race that it is getting closer again.

Q. They say there is no margin for error in Monaco, so where can you make a difference?

KR: You make the laptime around every corner, so you need to be fast in every place. The most important thing is to get the car right and then just build up the speed – but you need to have a strong qualifying and it is pretty difficult. Usually you get stuck behind people and can only follow them and unless something goes wrong you cannot do anything to use your own speed.

Q. Last week you were in Maranello for an important technical meeting and to analyse the performance of the car, and mistakes. How was the meeting?

KR: It wasn't what you are thinking. I was there, but it wasn't the reasons that people were talking about – it was just a normal visit I decided to do there. By many different things it happened to be at the same time, so it is normal that we go over sometimes and see people and go through things, what we did in the past races. We just analyse and try to improve.

Q. Ferrari has said it will maybe not participate in F1 next year, and you are doing a rally next week. If they retire from F1, will you split immediately to rallying?

KR: I am pretty sure that we are not going to disappear from F1. But I don't know, but I cannot be 100 per cent sure. For sure they will find something to do for me, I will still have a contract with them – and they are racing in many different categories. So, I think they will find something for me.

Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps
1 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:17.189 26
2 3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:17.499 0.310 31
3 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.578 0.389 26
4 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.686 0.497 30
5 4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:17.839 0.650 30
6 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:18.000 0.811 29
7 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:18.024 0.835 27
8 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 1:18.080 0.891 28
9 7 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:18.283 1.094 31
10 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:18.348 1.159 22
11 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:18.695 1.506 37
12 8 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 1:19.204 2.015 36
13 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:19.233 2.044 16
14 11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 1:19.255 2.066 31
15 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:19.534 2.345 28
16 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:19.560 2.371 20
17 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:19.579 2.390 23
18 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:19.600 2.411 24
19 10 Timo Glock Toyota 1:19.698 2.509 24
20 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:19.831 2.642 28

With fans looking through the chain fencing separating the harbour from the motorhome paddock, Kimi Raikkonen faced the press this afternoon as, in Monaco, Wednesday is the same as a Thursday at all other races, given that practice takes place tomorrow. He began with a look back at the Spanish Grand Prix. “The car was definitely better in Spain and we certainly made a step forward,” he began. “That race was particularly disappointing as we could see the car was quick enough, but problems prevented us getting the results we wanted. We have made some silly mistakes and the important thing is that we have learned from them and hopefully that means we won’t repeat them. At least it showed we had made the first step forward, although there is a lot more to do.

It is accepted that the driver can play a bigger part in the overall package here in Monaco and Kimi outlined what the street circuit has to offer. “This circuit is very special and we will do the best we can, seeing how things go tomorrow. Honestly, it is impossible to make any predictions today. Here in Monaco, every corner counts for the lap time, so you need to be fast everywhere. The whole circuit is a challenge. The most important thing is to have the car set up right and from that you pick up the speed. You definitely need to have a strong qualifying as it is pretty difficult to overtake here and you can get stuck behind other cars and just follow them until something goes wrong with them or they pit.”

If Kimi has a reputation for sometimes avoiding difficult questions, he definitely did not hide from expressing his feelings regarding today’s decision in the French courts. “It’s not good for Formula 1 in any way to have this sort of thing going on and for me personally, if Ferrari is not in Formula 1 and if other big teams are also not in the sport, then it’s not really Formula 1 anymore,” he said. “If teams come in from GP2 for example, it won’t be the same. I am one hundred percent behind the team and whatever they choose to do, I will go along with. I hope it all gets sorted out, but I’m not the person to ask about the details. I work for Ferrari and we are one big family: this is my job and this is where I want to do it. My own feeling is that we will not disappear from Formula 1, but if we do, I still have a contract with the team and I am sure they will find something for me to do!”

And a final comment on the team leading the series, with four wins out of five: “Brawn GP looks very strong right now, but I’m sure other teams will be winning races later this season, as the season evolves. For the moment, they have the advantage even if we can see that others are gradually getting closer to them.”

It’s always a very special week, the one of the Monaco GP. It’s a unique track where the qualifying is more important than on the other tracks and we have to try to implement it in the best possible way, learning from the lesson we were taught recently.

I’ve never been very lucky during the two Monaco weekends as a Ferrarista, but I really hope that I can end this streak of bad luck. The F60 improved a lot at Barcelona and now a place on the podium is no longer a mirage. It will be very important to see how things go during the free practice session to understand if we made up some ground also on this track, like it happened in Spain. Last year we were able to place both cars in the first row and it would be a dream to repeat that. We’ll use the KERS also at Monaco: it might not have the same advantage as on other tracks, but anyway there’s a performance improvement.

I’m expecting faster lap times than in the past. In theory this year’s rules slowed the cars down in the fast corners, but due to the slicks we’re faster in the slow ones. To be ahead in this race you have to be absolutely perfect. We drivers know that you can’t loose your concentration not even for a second: the blink of an eye is enough and you end up in the wall. You need a 100% driver and a 100% car for the whole 78 laps if you want to win: that’s the only way to be successful

Kimi Raikkonen has admitted that his failure to score points in Monaco came as “a staggering blow”, but the Finn claims that he has put his Principality pain behind him ahead of Sunday’s Canadian GP.

Reigning world champion Raikkonen was replaced at the top of the Drivers’ standings by Lewis Hamilton after only managing ninth place in Monte Carlo last Sunday week.

The pressure is now on Kimi to bounce back in Montreal and, happily for Ferrari fans, he is confident of doing just that.

”Monaco has been left behind: it was a staggering blow, but there's nothing we can do about it,” he mused.

”I had a lot of trouble to find the right grip on the wet track and we have to find out how that could happened, because usually I like driving under these conditions.

”I didn't like it at all to come in ninth, hence without points. It was the first race of the season where I couldn't gain any points and we can't have another one like that, because the fight for the championship is extremely fierce.

"The preparations specifically for the Canadian GP were planned for the last day at Le Castellet, where we had some tests. Unfortunately it rained that day and we couldn't do much - but we're all on the same level now. Ferrari has a great tradition in Canada and I expect that it will be really balanced there,” he reasoned.

Indeed, Raikkonen does nothing think there will be much to choose between Ferrari and title rivals McLaren for the rest of the season.

"I said at the beginning of the season that I expect the title to be assigned at the last moment,” he pointed out.

”A third of the season has passed, we have 35 points and we are on the second place. It's more or less what I expected.

”Nothing has been won and nothing has been lost. There is no point in panicking after the race at Monaco, because compared to last year the situation is much better.

”I won't change anything in my approach for the upcoming weekend. The designated target is to win and we will give our best."

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali was in upbeat mood despite a disappointing result for the Scuderia in Monaco.



Ferrari claimed the front row of the grid in qualifying but collected just six points from Felipe Massa's third place, as world champion Kimi Raikkonen finished a lowly ninth.


"After a great qualifying it was easy for us to act like prophets foreseeing a possible lottery for the race given the weather forecast," said Domenicali.


"We cannot deny we are disappointed, with the result a combination of errors on our part and bad luck.


"We got off on the wrong foot, with an infringement of the rules in preparing Kimi's car on the grid minutes before the start resulting in a drive-through penalty.


"Then we decided to switch our strategy, going for a one-stop race on the basis that we expected the rain to return and this did not happen.


"With hindsight, it is easy to say we should have made different choices, but the reality is that at every level we did not meet our usual high standards."



Healthy


However, Domenicali maintains the picture is a healthy one for the team.


"We have taken four wins and the same number of poles from six races and we are still solidly in the lead of the Constructors' classification," he added.


"Now we must look ahead and get as well prepared as possible for the Canadian Grand Prix.


"In Monaco, we showed we were capable of fighting for the lead and we want to do the same in Montreal, another track that did not suit us so well last year."