Kimi Raikkonen
was extremely satisfied when he left China, after the two
races in the Far East. "I was really happy on Sunday night:
we couldn't get the maximum in China and Japan, but we
showed that we were able to win both of the races, which was
very important in view of the race in Brazil," said
Raikkonen. "The situation seemed to be compromised after the
race at Fuji, but in Shanghai we managed to put things
straight. Now we have new hope to win the title and it's
good to know that we can go to Sao Paulo and try our luck.
"It would have been better if also Alonso would have not
made it, but Hamilton's retirement, his first in this
season, was very important. It has been since the race at
the Nürburgring, when I had to stop with a hydraulic
problem, that we didn't control the championship. We have to
go on working the way we did at the last two races. We have
to give our best to try to have another double win. We do
have the possibility, as you could see. If we manage to do
the same at Interlagos everything depends on what our
competitors can do."
Before the race Kimi was convinced that Ferrari could be
competitive at Shanghai: "Since the first laps on Friday I
knew that the car went really well under any weather
conditions. We just needed to find the right setup for this
kind of situation we had ahead of us: we checked on the
weather forecast and we were well prepared. We knew that we
would be behind in the first part of the race, but then we
were able to up our game, once the track was dry. In the end
it was exactly like that. We didn't get the pole although I
had a very quick lap in Q3. Hamilton had less fuel in his
car so it was much easier for him.
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"I was really happy on Sunday night: we couldn't get
the maximum in China and Japan, but we showed that
we were able to win both of the races, which was
very important in view of the race in Brazil," said
Kimi Raikkonen (above, in Shanghai). |
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"I played only a small part in this great history,
but I'm very proud to be a part of this legendary
team," says Shanghai GP winner Kimi Raikkonen
(above, in Shanghai), "200 wins show how strong
Ferrari really is." |
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"At the start of the race, I had a lot of understeer but
then the situation improved and I managed to pick up on
Hamilton. Due to the yellow flags I had to wait a bit before
I could pass him. I had to slow down a couple of times in
some corners, when I was right next to him. There was no
point in pressing too hard and throwing it all away. When
the yellow flags were gone he took one corner slightly too
wide and I benefited from this situation. Later I just had
to remain concentrated and bring home the victory. At the
end I was asked if that was the most beautiful victory with
Ferrari: undeniably it was a very difficult one; the first
one on a wet track; and it was really a great feeling. It
could have been even better if there hadn't been the bitter
aftertaste from what had happened at Fuji, with the rules
handed out by the FIA without us having been informed."
Kimi didn't hide his satisfaction that he is back in the
title race: "We're back in the fight. After the one in 2003,
when I came to Suzuka with nine points behind Michael, this
is the second time that I will play it in the last race. Now
I'm seven points behind Hamilton and three behind Alonso.
Anything can happen in the race. There are more
possibilities to pick up on Alonso. In China it was the
200th victory in a GP for Ferrari: I played only a small
part in this great history, but I'm very proud to be a part
of this legendary team. 200 wins show how strong Ferrari
really is."
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