Kimi Raikkonen believes downforce is crucial for 2012 Canadian GP – Formula 1 news
Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen says that top speed complemented with downforce can provide a competitive advantage in 2012 Canadian Grand Prix which is to be held at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal on June 10.
“We've been good in the top speed, but sometimes it's just that we have less downforce than others so sometimes it's just that we're are fast in the straights,” he said. “It's not always the top speed that is going to make you fast [over a lap], if you don't
have the downforce through the corners it doesn't help you. We have to wait and see how it turns out.”
At present, Raikkonen is at 6th place in the drivers’ championship with 51 points. Moreover, he is 6 points ahead of Jenson Button and 8 points behind Nico Rosberg of Mercedes AMG.
The Finnish driver has performed quite convincingly in the season so far. He secured 7th place finish in the season opener held at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia after setting off from 17th grid position.
In the second race at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, he came 5th after qualifying for 10th place in the grid. Conversely, in the third race at Shanghai International Circuit in China, he could not pocket any points even after starting the race
from 4th place in the grid.
Nonetheless, he came back well in the fourth race at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir as he secured an impressive second podium finish after starting from 11th grid position.
Later, in the fifth race at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, he secured an incredible third podium finish after beginning from 4th place in the grid.
Contrarily, he struggled with car’s setup in the sixth race at Circuit de Monaco as he came 9th after qualifying for 8th grid position. Nonetheless, he said that they are not the only ones who faced difficulties.
“We are probably not the only people that have the issues,” he said. “If everybody knew how to fix the problems then we would not have the issue.”
Over and above, he said that he is confidently looking forward to perform well in the season ahead.
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