28/08/2008
NEWS STORY
With six rounds of the 2008 World Championship remaining, and Kimi Raikkonen trailing (championship leader) Lewis Hamilton by 13 points, Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali has said that the Finn may have to play support to Felipe Massa in his bid to take the crown.
"If necessary, Kimi will help Felipe," Domenicali told Gazzetta dello Sport. "We discussed it at the beginning of the year. However, let's see how things evolve over the coming races."
In recent races, the Finn has largely disappointed, not having been on the podium since France and failing to win since Barcelona. Meanwhile, a string of strong results, including a win in Valencia, has seen teammate Massa go second in the title fight, just 6 points behind Hamilton.
In 2007, against all odds, a last gasp fight-back saw Raikkonen take the title from under the noses of Hamilton and teammate Fernando Alonso, having been 17 points behind the Englishman with two races remaining. However, that came off the back of a string of good results, with the Finn scoring 38 points (from a possible 50) is the five races leading up to China.
While some doubt Raikkonen's commitment, feeling that the Finn is on the verge of retiring, Domenicali remains convinced that the World Champion will fight back, as he did last year.
"For me it isn't a problem," he said. "He'll react and soon he'll be strong again. He knows how to avoid criticism and polemics.
"He isn't happy with the way the car enters corners," added the Italian, referring to the Finn's problem in recent races. "He would like it more aggressive. It is up to us to help him."
Referring to the team's recent run of poor reliability, which sidelined Raikkonen in Valencia and cost Massa a certain win in Hungary, Domenicali admitted: "We cannot afford the luxury of losing results because of reliability problems. Therefore, it's been decided to strengthen controls over the whole component production of the cars. We have 40 people working in the metallurgy and quality division. However, let's not forget that McLaren last year had 35 points more than today, and we had 16 more.
"What is about to start in two weeks' in Belgium will be a sprint championship over six races," he added, "so we can't give away anything anymore."