In an interview with yesterday with the media, Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen is hoping this year’s Belgian GP will prove to be a high point in his season as it was the last time he raced a Ferrari at Spa.
Raikkonen has a mixed record racing Ferraris at the Belgian track as he either wins or he falters. In 2007 and 2009 he claimed the race win while in 2008 he crashed out in rain. This year though, Raikkonen is hoping particularly for a repeat of 2009 as his Spa win came at a time when he was having a few troubles with his car. In his interview with the media yesterday, Raikkonen stated the following about his chances at Spa this weekend:-
‘Last time I drove here in a Ferrari I won, and that was in a year when we had been struggling since the start. But, in Spa we managed to get things going a bit more in the right direction and it would be good if the same thing could happen this year. That would hopefully mean the racing would be a bit more fun. It’s always more fun when we get the results!’
As Raikkonen points out, the last time he was at Spa with Ferrari, he won the race and it was also a season where he was struggling with the car also. But it would seem that Raikkonen appears to be confident that the team is heading in a good direction and feels that he could gain a result this weekend which I feel personally will be hard to achieve.
Further on his interview, Raikkonen like many of his rivals, is a fan of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit with its long straights and sweeping corners. Raikkonen added the following:-
‘Spa is probably my favourite circuit because it’s an old-style track which climbs and drops through the forest and I like the fact it’s fast and flowing. Also, it usually provides good racing to watch for the spectators. I think you can make a difference as a driver at every part of the circuit, but as with every track, it’s a combination of factors.
‘At Turn 1, the hairpin, you can actually lose or gain a lot of time and you need good speed out of it because after it comes the very long straight including Eau Rouge. That corner has been easily flat out for quite a long time now, although actually, with this year’s cars, that might not be the case.’
I think most pundits and fans would agree with Raikkonen and love the Spa circuit. The challenge that is presents to the drivers is absolutely unique, special and thrilling and it is truly awesome to watch the best drivers in the world racing and battling with each other in Belgium.
As Raikkonen says it is important to make sure that good speed is gained in the car setup from Turn 1 up to Eau Rouge in order to get a competitive lap time. It would appear that Raikkonen would agree with a few of the current drivers on the grid that Eau Rouge will be losing its appeal for the drivers this year and they won’t be able to take the corner flat out, but all we can do is see what happens.
In regards to what Raikkonen has stated yesterday, I believe it would be great for him to get a great result in Spa this weekend and hopefully it will be the start of a great second half of the season for him. However, I do feel that it will be hard for Raikkonen to repeat the success of his win in 2009 unless the weather plays a part in the race (which it has been known to do over the past few years).
Question is; will this weekend in Belgium be the start of Raikkonen improving his performances and having a stronger half to the 2014 season? Only time will tell.
