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Q & A with Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen may be under pressure to get his world championship challenge back on course after the setbacks of Barcelona and Monaco, but he was in a pretty upbeat mood for his first public engagement of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend on Wednesday

The Finn was drafted in by Bridgestone for a special appearance at the Coronation School in Montreal - where he was put up in front of 400 eager children keen to meet a real sporting hero for the first time.

Raikkonen relished the attention and interest, and even dared take some questions from the children themselves about his career, the life of an F1 driver and the sport. But the best question of all came from a kindergarten child who asked simply: How do you drive so fast?

After the event, autosport.com heard from Raikkonen about how he found the experience, his confidence levels for the weekend ahead and what he thought about some slightly controversial comments from local hero Jacques Villeneuve about Lewis Hamilton's driving.

Q. How was it?

Kimi Raikkonen: It is nice to be here at least. It is nice to see the happy kids. I think it is nice to do this kind of thing. It is much more relaxed and they appreciate it much more than many other people, so you get more out of it.

Q. Have you met children at events like this before?

KR: It is up to the team what we do. I don't know really what will happen when we go there. It is nice, the kids get much more out of it and appreciate it much more than some other places where we go.

Q. Did you get to meet sport stars like this when you were at school?

KR: I never had any heroes, but I don't even remember because it is too long ago. But usually sometimes in some schools the kids can meet some people, but I cannot remember too far back

Q. But your presence here can have an impact on their future can't it?

KR: Yeah for sure, and it is nice to see the kids are so excited.

Q. Did the kids' questions surprise you?

KR: Not really. You never know what the kids come up with. I think they always come up with the best questions usually, so I am not surprised.

Q. Can you win the race this weekend?

KR: We try definitely. It is never going to be easy. I think we have a good chance. It all depends how well everything goes through the weekend but we have a good strong package and we have every chance to win.

Q. Are you feeling confident? Do you like the track?

KR: It is a nice circuit, a nice place, but a lot of things can happen here usually. I have had some good races and not so good races here. But the last two races were okay. I won in 2005 and I was third here last year, so I think it is a good place usually for me. I think we have a good package and have all the chances to win the race. That is what we are going to try to do.

Q. Do you feel that Felipe Massa has an advantage in the team because he has won more races since the beginning of the year?

KR: I think he had an easier time with the car. We have improved the car and it seems to be better now for me. We had a good weekend in the last race before I hit the wall, so it didn't help. I think the car seems now to be quite good and I am much easier able to drive it.

Q. So there is no number one driver at Ferrari?

KR: No. As long as I have been there, there has never been a number one. We will see what happens.

Q. What do you think about the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve?

KR: It is a nice circuit. It is quite challenging, quite hard for the car. The long straights are hard for the engines and the bouncing over the kerbs does not give the easiest time for the cars. I think the only question mark is the surface of the circuit. Last year it broke up during the race, so it was like driving on sand at some corners. Hopefully they have done something about that?

Q. Are you still learning the Ferrari?

KR: I think you are always learning every time you go out. We had a good first race, but I still wasn't happy with the car. We start to get more happy with the car now, so hopefully we will get the results.

Q. Do you think you have to win this weekend after what happened in Monaco?

KR: I think the last two races have been difficult, although at least we got one point out of Monaco. That could make a big difference in the end. So for sure it helps if we can win and that is what we will try.

Q. Are you surprised by speed of McLaren drivers?

KR: No, not really. I think when I was there, when we had a good car I was quick. But last year that wasn't the case and there haven't been many years like that. This year they have a good package and they are strong everywhere. So I am not surprised.

Q. Do you think your Monaco form, and the fact that McLaren were so dominant, was a one-off because of the nature of the circuit?

KR: When I was at McLaren we were always quick there. Even last year when the car wasn't quick anywhere else, it was good there. So I wasn't surprised that they were strong because they have a good car. We will see what happens here.

Q. Fernando Alonso has said that he reckons you are just one bad result away from dropping out of the championship fight. Is there pressure on you to get a good result here?

KR: For sure we want the close the gap rather than fall further behind, but I made only one mistake in the last weekend (at Monaco) and it cost a lot.

I think anywhere else that mistake would not have made such a big difference. It is so difficult to overtake there, but at least we got one point. We have had two bad races in a row and without those we could be right up there. But we will try and win and see where we end up.

It is hard to think that every other driver will manage to go through the whole year without any problems, so as long as we don't have any problems any more I think we have a good chance to get back. We are still fighting.

Q. Jacques Villeneuve has said that Lewis Hamilton is a driver who is dangerous on the track and some of the ways he drives warrants a black flag. What do you think?

KR: I don't want to get involved in that...

Q. How do you think Lewis is driving?

KR: He has been doing a good job. I haven't been so close to him in the races to see what he has done, but I don't want to get involved in that situation.

He is a good driver. Everyone knew he was good even before he came to F1 and he has a good team behind him. So he is doing good this year but we are trying to beat him.

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