Raikkonen: “My feeling with the Ferrari F14 T is improving”

Kimi Raikkonen believes the changes to the Ferrari F14 T have helped make him feel more comfortable on the track.

The Finn will start Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix from fifth place on the grid, having qualified sixth with Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull who will have to move down the grid due to a 10-place penalty.

Raikkonen has struggled to feel comfortable in the Ferrari F14 T this season, but after beating teammate Fernando Alonso for the first time this season in qualifying, he said he felt more satisfied in the car.

“The feeling is that the feeling with the car has improved,” Raikkonen told journalists in the Sakhir paddock.

“I think the changes I wanted definitely helped. In qualifying I felt the car was more like I expected and wanted. We are certainly in the right direction. We're not yet where we want to be, but we know what we're doing. It will just take time to get to where we want to be.”

The 2007 world champion said there is no specific area where Ferrari needs to improve. As a team they need to make progress in every department.

“We need to move forward with all areas of the car,” he added. “Obviously we need more. Understand more about engines and electronics to improve those little things that make a lot of difference. We improved a lot of things in the first three races, in all areas. And I got a little better with the front end.”

Raikkonen said he hadn't really suffered many problems with the new brake-by-wire system over the last two race weekends, after it proved problematic earlier in the year.

“Brake-by-wire isn't really a problem,” he said. “We had some problems in testing, there were some strange things in Australia. It all has to do with the front end, and if you have a good feeling with the brakes it becomes easier. We have improved in that area.”