Impressed Kimi Raikkonen says Ferrari have improved old car's failings with SF15-T
Finn says first experience of 2014 car was "completely different story"
Tuesday 3 February 2015 18:17, UK
Kimi Raikkonen believes Ferrari have succeeded in making “a lot of improvements” to their weakest areas from last season after the team’s impressive start to 2015 continued on his first day in the car at Jerez.
Against most pre-season expectations, Ferrari have made the early running on the timesheet at Jerez with new signing Sebastian Vettel setting the pace on the first two days and Raikkonen finishing second to the Ferrari-engined Sauber on Day Three.
Raikkonen’s return to the Scuderia last season proved to be instantly forgettable as the Finn struggled to marry his driving style to the troublesome F14 T. However, after driving the new SF15-T for the first time on Tuesday, the former world champion was immediately more upbeat about its initial performance.
“The whole team has done a very good job over the winter after last year when we had difficult times. It was a positive first day,” Raikkonen said.
“[The team have made] a lot of improvements in the areas that we had difficulties.
“Obviously it’s just the first day and unfortunately the weather was pretty bad, somehow the circuit stayed damp for most of the day. But we had good running and thanks to the team for building us a reasonably good starting point.”
Perhaps the 35-year-old’s most telling remark came when he was asked how his first respective days in the 2014 and 2015 cars compared.
“It’s a lot different. It’s a new car and you usually know if a car is going to be good or not good and this year is a completely different story from last year,” he reflected.
“It was a positive start and it was a good day from straight away when I went out.”
Indeed, Ferrari’s impressive start in both pace and reliable terms has not gone unnoticed elsewhere with Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg even admitting the Scuderia's form had been an “eye-opener”.
Having failed to even reach the podium in 2014, Raikkonen was characteristically guarded, although did agree that Ferrari were making tangible progress.
Paddock Uncut: First Winter Test Jerez Day Three
“It’s too early to speak about results. We had a good positive first day and Sebastian had a good couple of days,” he added. “We try to do our best and I’m sure if we keep working as a team and push forward as a team we can get some good results. We are going in the right direction for sure.”
Despite the arrival of four-time champion Vettel, Ferrari entered 2015 amid dampened external expectations on the back of their worst season for two decades and also the sheer weight of upheaval at Maranello in recent months.
Raikkonen, though, is pleased with the situation inside the team as they build up to the new campaign
“The atmosphere is very good in the team. There have been a lot of changes but the changes have been for the right reasons and hopefully we can have a good year with some good results.
“It would only make a better feeling. It has been great to see how good it is and how people are working together.”
The Sky Sports F1 Online team will be providing live commentary from all four days of testing in Jerez – from dawn on Sunday to dusk on Wednesday. Sky Sports News HQ will also have live updates from trackside.
