Kimi Raikkonen insists Lotus must make improvements for 2012 Japanese GP – Formula 1 news
Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen has said that they must improve their performance in the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix so as to make their mark stronger in the championship fight.
Raikkonen struggled during the qualifying of the Singapore GP and failed to make his way into the last session. Although, he started from 12th grid position, nevertheless, he performed quite convincingly and managed to secure 6th place finish.
At present, he is standing at 3rd position in the drivers’ championship with 149 points. Moreover, he is ahead of Lewis Hamilton of McLaren and is behind his main rival, Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing. Additionally, he is now 45 points behind Fernando Alonso of Ferrari who is currently leading the drivers’ rankings with 194 points.
The Finnish driver insisted that they earnestly need to resolve the issues which they faced in the preceding race and to make the essential improvements in their car so as to come up stronger in the Japanese GP which is going to be held at Suzuka next weekend.
“We should get some new parts and setting up the car the way I like it to be depends on the weather and on the circuit,” Raikkonen said. “We know the speed is there in our car, we just have to find the right set-up to maximise it every time. We give it our best shot to be on the podium, but the races are going to get more and more difficult with other teams constantly pushing with new development parts.”
“Obviously, we have to make a step forward from Singapore where we were nowhere to be fighting for top places,” he added.
In addition, he said that he cannot make any kind of projections about the races ahead as the season until now has been full of surprises. Besides, he said that he is waiting for the free Friday practice in order to make the necessary strategy for the forthcoming race.
The Finn believes that the track of the upcoming race is going to suit their car and expressed that he is feeling confident for the remainder of the season.
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