Gerhard Berger believes Kimi Raikkonen not in a position to win the title - Formula 1 news
Former Formula 1 driver Gerhard Berger believes that Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen will be unable to win the Drivers’ Championship in 2013, despite being in a very good position at the moment.
According to the former McLaren and Ferrari driver, “Kimi is sitting in a very good car at the moment. But Lotus don’t have the financial strength to compete with Red Bull and Ferrari over
the whole year. He will make it uncomfortable for them, he will win races, but he won’t fight for the world championship.”
Things were quite uncertain before the start of the season and a tough battle was expected amongst the top teams. Just like the previous season, everyone expected the tyres to dictate terms
at the end of the day.
This is exactly what happened in the first race of the season in Australia, as most of the teams were unable to manage their tyres well. However, Lotus proved to be the best in this department
and that allowed Raikkonen to start off his 2013 campaign in a positive manner with a victory.
Despite that, the Finn was unable to maintain advantage over his rivals and struggled to qualify in a better position, which has been a big issue for the team since 2012.
If Lotus manage to match the speed of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes in qualifiers, the team will be able to fight for victories with consistency. However, they do have an edge of handling
the tyres better than anyone else on the grid.
Talking about the tyre situation in Formula 1, Berger stated, “Basically, it’s the same for everyone, and looking after tyres was always an issue, although maybe not quite as dominant as
now. On the other hand, it makes little sense putting millions into developing cars and engines if the tyre just determines everything.”
The Formula 1 pundits from all over the world agree that the tyre situation should be better compared to what it has been since the arrival of Pirelli. The drivers have mostly been unable
to showcase their true potential because of saving tyres, which is not what the fans would want to see, especially in the pinnacle of motorsports.
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