10/07/2017
NEWS STORY
Not for the first time, Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has called on Kimi Raikkonen to raise his game.
In the wake of the Chinese Grand Prix, which saw Kimi Raikkonen finish fifth, over forty seconds behind his teammate, Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne cryptically warned that team boss Maurizio Arrivabene would be "having words" with the Finn.
Subsequently, speaking in Sochi, Raikkonen played down talk of the team's unhappiness with his form, though admitting that there was room for improvement, particularly in qualifying.
Taking pole in Monaco, the Finn was unhappy when the team appeared to use strategy to help Vettel leapfrog him during the race, the 2007 world champion subsequently finishing second to his teammate.
While Vettel is currently leading the championship however, Raikkonen is fifth, with less than half the points of his teammate.
Suffering just one DNF - when he was taken out at T1 in Barcelona - the ever-popular Finn appears to drop his head when things aren't going as well as he wants.
Visiting Spielberg for the Grand Prix, Marchionne called on the Finn to raise his game.
"I think Kimi has got to show a higher level of commitment to the process," Marchionne told reporters ahead of yesterday's race. "There are days when I think he's a bit of a laggard, but we'll see. I am going to talk to him today, we'll see what happens."
Losing out to a no-nonsense Daniel Ricciardo, Raikkonen, who at one stage led the race after staying out longer on his first set of tyres than his rivals, eventually came home fifth.
"Obviously I want to do well," he subsequently told Reuters. "I can only do the best that I can. It's not like I'm not trying. Unfortunately, it's not been very straightforward sometimes but that's part of F1. We keep pushing and I'm sure things will get better."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Spielberg, here.