Q & A with Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen: No, I think in the last few races the qualifying was not really a problem. In Monaco I hit the wall and in the last race it was okay. But we never really saw in the end what is going to happen because of safety cars and everything. I think we are getting where we want to be.

Q. Is it fair to say that you want a car that is sharper in turning in?

KR: There is no point going into the details. It is not going to change anything here. We have still not found it exactly the way we want to go, but it is definitely getting there.

Q. But it looks like once you are stuck in traffic there is not much you can do?

KR: Yeah I think so, because we do not have as much grip from the tyres as last year. You lose the same aerodynamic effect when you are behind people and then you don't have the grip from the tyres. So it is very difficult to overtake or get even close to the people.

Q. Is it the same for everyone, or is it just specific on the Ferrari?

KR: No, it is everybody. You don't see much overtaking this year.

Q. How important are your points this weekend in terms of the championship?

KR: Every point is important, but it all depends on what the other people will do in the races. So, we try to do the best race and score as many points. Hopefully we can try to win the race and that will help us.

Q. This is a track where traditionally Ferrari have gone strongly. Will it be the same this time?

KR: I hope so. It is the first time for the team with me here, so I cannot really say. But we expect to have a good car here, so we will see.

Q. Do you think Ferrari are still a more competitive force than McLaren?

KR: I don't know. Like I said the last two races are special places, Monaco and Montreal, so this is more like a traditional race. We will see here really where we are, but I think the teams are very close to each other.

Q. Do you think the rate of development at Ferrari is the same as you experienced at McLaren?

KR: I think so. We get more compared to what we got last year. But I don't know what they are doing now.

Q. After being so dominant in Australia, has it been a surprise about how quickly McLaren could catch up?

KR: Not really. I knew that they were going to catch up, and I think we have not had exactly the strongest races since then, but it is normal for teams that in some races you do better than others.

Q. The circuit here is grippier than Monaco and Montreal. Will that be better for your car?

KR: I don't know. It is my first time with the team here, but we expect to have a stronger race here than in the last two.

Q. You were right behind Robert Kubica in Canada when he had his accident. What did you see?

KR: It was a pure racing incident. Jarno (Trulli) just get his own line and Robert tried to go around him but he touched his rear tyres. He then took off and hit the wall. It was an unfortunate thing but it was good that nothing happened to either one.

Q. Did you hit any of his car parts? Was it dangerous?

KR: No, it wasn't dangerous. But we got part of his front wing stuck in my front wing so I lost all the downforce of the car, but in the last pitstop we got it out again.

Q. Were you looking in the mirrors to see if he would crash into you once you were past him?

KR: No, I just tried to avoid him. I knew he was going to come back onto the circuit once he hits the wall, but I couldn't see him as he was too much to the side. But looking at the pictures he did not miss by that much, so luckily he did not end up there.

Q. What do you think about the situation for yourself and Alonso at the moment?

KR: Sometimes you have difficult times in racing, in championships. It is not the first time for me, so we just need to be patient, work hard and get everything right. So it is not too late and we will try and get back from there.

Q. You are 21 points behind Lewis Hamilton at the moment. Is that a lot at this stage of the season?

KR: It is a lot of points, but if we can have a good race now and they have one bad race then it is going to look completely different. So we just keep working and try to get back there.

Q. Is it a tougher start to a season than you expected?

KR: You never know exactly what to expect with a new team. We had a good start of the season and then the last three races have been difficult. But it is pretty much what we expected really.