02/08/2007
NEWS STORY
After the disappointment at the Nurburgring Kimi Raikkonen has recharged his batteries and is ready for the challenge at the Hungaroring.
"It is always a great pleasure to come to Hungary," says the Finn. "Maybe the track is not one of the most fascinating, but it is really challenging. And then it's good to know that after this race we'll have a short break. Whatever someone does, it's always nice to have a break. I have already won this race once. It's very hot here and the race is physically demanding: Only if you win you don't suffer at the Hungaroring! I have archived the European GP already. I don't want to talk about it anymore: What is for sure is that I will not come to Hungary as someone defeated. Not at all!"
Over the last few days the Ferrari driver participated in a very special race in Finland: "It's true, last weekend there was a motorboat meeting at Hanko and me and two friends of mine participated as a team on a boat with a real captain and a real helmsman what a pity that we were dressed like gorillas - we even won the prize for the best costumes! I had lots of fun and I hope that it will be the same during the upcoming weekend in Hungary."
Some say that the Hungaroring does not suit Ferrari, but the Finn does not agree: "Everybody says that McLaren has to be stronger than us here; but I don't think that this will be the case. We have taken a big step forward since the race in Monaco and it will be really interesting to see how competitive we are over the weekend. The Hungaroring is very slow and winding; so the two most important things here are the right angle entry into the corners and the traction: if these two things work out, then you have good cards in your hand. Obviously it is very important to stay ahead in qualifying and if possible also stay clear of the dirty side of the track. Looking at the races of this season one can see easily that starting on the clean side of the track is very important at the start. Beyond that, on this track here it's really difficult to overtake, which makes the qualifying even more important."
Raikkonen's aim for Budapest is clear: "Finishing ahead of all the other three drivers who compete for the title: that's the only way for me to make up ground! I'm more or less in the same situation as I was at the Nurburgring, but it's clear that I can't allow myself another race without points. I still believe that it's possible for me to win the title: just look at the last race and you can see that everything can happen. A bad race for my competitors is enough to immediately reduce the gap.
"The race here in Hungary has been nicknamed the Finnish GP. Many of my fellow Finns fill the grandstands here at the Hungaroring and it is really nice to see so many white flags with the blue cross in the wind: and this time we will see them together with the red flags of Ferrari. I think this is the closest I can get as a home GP, that's if Bernie does not have any more surprises!"