F1 – United States Grand Prix: Raikkonen, “Happy to be here”

Raikkonen – Also at the Circuit of the Americas, as always happens on Thursdays, Kimi Raikkonen met the journalists and told them to look to the next few days with optimism: "I hope to be able to have a problem-free weekend and to be able to carry out the free practice work program regularly, so that I can be as strong as possible", the Scuderia Ferrari driver made his debut. Looking to a much more distant future, the Finn was asked what he expects from next year's car. “I have the utmost trust in the team leaders and in those who are designing the car” – he began – “I am sure that we will have a good package available: only time will tell if it will be enough to be competitive. We have a lot of work to do in front of us but we have also learned many things during this year. We don't expect to be able to immediately be in front of everyone and immediately start winning races but we have to take a big step forward and be in a position to at least fight in the top positions. Until we put the wheels on the track for the first laps of the first test we won't have an idea of ​​our value. But we know where the problems are, and we know that our team is smart enough to be able to solve them. As the regulation says, there are limits to the changes we can make, but we will certainly improve."

It is no mystery that this has been a difficult year for Kimi Raikkonen so far, but this has not undermined his confidence: “I am still 100% convinced that I made the right choice in returning to Ferrari” – he stated – “The results were not what the team and I would have liked, but that's how it happened. We've made some progress from where we started, but it's not easy to make things exactly how you want them to be. However, I am happy to be here, I prefer to be with Scuderia Ferrari than with any other team, which is why I am sure I made the right decision by coming back here." When asked to be more specific about the problems that plagued him in 2014, Kimi preferred not to go into too much detail: “I suffered because of many small things, the front of the car didn't behave as I wanted and it is not easy to correct this type of problem. It's better now, but it took us a little too long to find the way forward."

The last question that was asked to the Finn concerned the double points up for grabs from the last race of the season. As usual, Kimi was very direct in expressing his point of view: “This is the rules right now, whether we like it or not. For the drivers there is no difference because we are not the ones who set the rules” – concluded Raikkonen – “Obviously whoever has the most points at the end of the year will win, whether they have won ten races or just one, and I am sure that whoever he will triumph if he deserves it."