Kimi Raikkonen says Sebastian Vettel to be stronger in coming events - Formula 1 news
Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen has predicted that it will be extremely difficult to catch Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull, especially if he manages to win a few more
races in the 2013 Formula 1 season.
The reigning champion has got off to a better start this year, as he is currently leading the Drivers’ Championship by 10 points after the end of the first four
races. Although he has suffered some issues and has been involved in a controversy regarding team orders, yet he has managed to focus on his performance more than anything else.
Vettel has won two of the first four races and was simply unmatchable at the previous round in Bahrain. He failed to qualify at the front, but had the race pace
to beat his opponents comfortably in the end. He was a touch lucky though, as his main rival Fernando Alonso of Ferrari encountered some technical issues in the race, which dropped him down the order.
However, Raikkonen managed to perform well despite not starting anywhere closer to the front runners. He managed his tyres well and ended up second on the podium,
which kept him alive in the championship.
The Finn was not entirely satisfied with the result though and stated, “To catch the leaders, we have to work twice as hard as they are. It's going to be hard to
catch Sebastian if he keeps taking good results so we need to start taking more points from him, but you never know what can happen. We'll keep pushing to improve the car and see where we end up.”
Furthermore, the former world champion claimed that his team needs to improve the qualifying pace in order to challenge for race victories with consistency.
He added, “It's so tight up there at the front and we really need to be on the first two rows to fight for victories every time. It's good to be able to start the
European season where we are as this is when you see teams starting to push on with lots of new parts for the cars.”
Last year, Lotus were able to deliver some consistent results, but the team was not strong in all departments. Raikkonen will be hoping for a better development
speed this year, so that he can push for the title until the final round of the season.
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