Kimi Raikkonen believes Lotus is capable of a podium finish at Bahrain – Formula 1 news
Kimi Raikkonen says that Lotus is capable of getting a podium finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Next week’s GP in Bahrain has been clouded by controversy because of rioting and protests against the government.
Raikkonen though has been looking at the strategies to improve his performances in the season and be able to live up to the expectations of his fans. The Lotus E20 has shown good promise in terms of pace and reliability. Yet the team has not been able to
live up to its billing so far.
Raikkonen though feels that a podium finish is not out of the question at Bahrain if they can judge the right tyre strategy for the race. The team is not expecting any problems with the car and the confidence is high.
“We had a lot of parts but it was wet on Friday morning and very cold in the afternoon,” Raikkonen added. “We went back to most of the old spec for Saturday as we knew how it worked. Qualifying was okay, but there was a bigger gap to pole which wasn't what
we wanted. We didn't make the car faster which some others did with theirs. The E20 still feels good to drive, but we just need to get a little bit more speed. Hopefully we will find it in Bahrain.”
He also added that it is likely to be very hot which is good for their car. The track has a mixture of corners and it is an interesting track to race on. It provides opportunities to overtake as well so it is going to be a competitive race.
Team principal Eric Boullier also seems confident ahead of the race and said that even though the track conditions were tricky and did not suit the E20 in China, the team managed to perform well.
It will be interesting to see how the team fares in Sakhir and like in China a lot will depend on which team gets the right tyre strategy. The race is scheduled for April 22, 2012.
Tags: