While Kimi Raikkonen looked relaxed and refreshed after the longer than usual break since the last race, the questions he faced this afternoon from the media seemed to be the same as always! Asked if a podium might be a possibility at this circuit, whose characteristics might suit the F60 better than those at the last two races, Kimi was cautious. “We will try our best,” began the Finn. “Certainly, a win would be a very difficult target under normal circumstances, in fact so would a podium. However, it is hard to predict, as apart from the two teams who seem to be regularly at the top, the order behind them seems to change a lot. We will get a better idea once practice starts tomorrow. We have some new parts again for the car, which will hopefully help us a little bit. In general, for the second half of the season, I hope we can bring some major step forward on the car at some point and get closer to the front of the field. I don’t think we are so far off the podium, even if the Red Bull was in a different league to the others in the last few races and they look very difficult to catch. At some point we will need to make the decision to put more effort into next year’s car.”

Raikkonen has always been the type to concentrate on his on-track activities and rather than everything that surrounds the sport, which was obvious when he was asked to comment on the current political arguments in the sport. “I don’t follow the politics much. It is pointless to read all the stories as the situation seems to change every day. I prefer to wait until it is all sorted out and hopefully it will be soon.”

It seems that every race weekend, Raikkonen faces the same question about his future with Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro and his future in Formula 1 and it’s clear the Finn is bored with it. “You ask the same question, so I will give you the same answer – I have a contract with the team,” he said. “Maybe you can ask them if there are any changes planned!” Some of these rumours stem from the fact the Finn has indulged his countrymen’s passion for rallying and is due to compete in Finland’s international rally next month. “I did already two rallies during the winter and doing the Finnish Rally is no different. It is no more dangerous than Formula 1, so I see no reason why I shouldn’t do it. It is good fun and the team is allowing me to do it. It will be nice to do as it is in my home country and everyone says it is a good rally. I am not sure what to expect, but like the other rallies I have done, I expect it will be good fun, even if I don’t have much experience driving on gravel. At least the speeds are slower than in F1, so you have a bit more time to react. Just because I am doing this rally, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to continue in F1 next year. I would have done some rallies a long time ago but I could not. It’s just because Ferrari is kind enough to let me do the rallies that I am doing them now.”