Raikkonen confident of stemming recent troubles before the end of season; Denies he and countryman Bottas have developed a feud; Kimi's form subject of debate on the latest F1 Midweek Report
Thursday 5 November 2015 15:35, UK
Kimi Raikkonen is confident his results will pick up before the end of the season after a succession of race-wrecking incidents in recent weeks.
The 2007 world champion has now scored just four points in the last three events amid a run of form which has seen him twice collide with Valtteri Bottas and also crash at the United States GP in Austin.
Raikkonen has now dropped behind Williams rival Bottas in the Drivers' Championship heading into the final two rounds of the season later this month in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
However, the famously phlegmatic Finn is not expecting his recent troubles to last indefinitely.
"A s*** weekend [in Mexico] but we go for the next one and hopefully at one point, certain things will turn around and we'll start getting good results," Raikkonen said.
"It's not nice for me or for the team but it's a part of a game and unfortunately we've been going through that for quite a while. I'm sure we will get a good result."
One thing Raikkonen will not be doing, however, is seeking clear-the-air talks with Bottas following their clashes in Russia and Mexico. Raikkonen was penalised for ramming the Williams out of the race in the first clash, while the Ferrari driver suffered terminal damage to his car when they collided again last Sunday.
"I don't think it helps or changes anything. What has happened has happened and maybe he feels better now [about] what happened in Russia," Raikkonen suggested.
"I have nothing against anybody. In the end, this is racing and if he has a better feeling now, it's good for him, but things have a certain way of working out in the long run."
Team-mate Sebastian Vettel also endured a forgettable Mexican GP, eventually crashing out after dropping to the back on lap one, but the German leads Raikkonen in the Drivers' Championship by a massive 128 points.
Raikkonen's inconsistent form earlier in the year had led to intense speculation that he was likely to be replaced in 2016, but Ferrari caught many by surprise in mid-August by announcing they had taken up the option on the Finn's services for next year.
The 36-year-old's performances - and the quality of back-up he was providing to Vettel - proved a topic of debate on this week's F1 Midweek Report.
"He's 36 now and the oldest driver out there, he's not the Kimi he was," said Maurice Hamilton, one of F1's most experienced journalists.
"The Kimi that we all loved and remember in 2003, 2005... full-on, going for it, time's gone on and I think it's beginning to tell. He's a driver who lived on his reactions - phenomenal reactions - but when you get older, those reactions aren't there anymore and it will tell. It is beginning to show and he's just not the driver he was and it's just so sad to see."
Former Toyota and Renault technical director, Mike Gascoyne, meanwhile, said that while on paper Raikkonen is the perfect foil for Vettel, the veteran is not there to take on the mantle for Ferrari when the German has an off-day.
"Kimi, if he can perform at the right level, is a guy who doesn't really care what else is happening, doesn't care if the other guy is beating him to pole, just gets on and does what he does, can be a good alternative," Gascoyne said.
"But ultimately he's also got to be able to perform and what we saw at the weekend is if Sebastian has a pretty lacklustre performance, which he did, then Ferrari look pretty lacklustre because Kimi isn't going to step up now and take that on from the lead driver. He's not performing at that level."
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