Kimi Raikkonen: Ferrari F1 team 'stuck' in Silverstone conditions
Kimi Raikkonen says the Ferrari Formula 1 team is "stuck" in windy conditions such as those of the British Grand Prix after being outpaced by Red Bull at Silverstone
Raikkonen qualified fifth on Saturday, but was half a second off the third-placed Red Bull of Max Verstappen and 1.5s behind polesitter Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes.
"I kind of expected it to be a bit tricky here and that's how it turned out to be," said Raikkonen.
"We don't have enough speed. In the windy conditions, it's just tricky for us.
"My car was the best it's been all weekend in qualifying but it's still not easy.
"We are a bit stuck with certain things.
"With the set-up we have, we can change a lot but it will not help because there are certain issues where we struggle with the handling.
"Is it the circuit or the conditions? It's more the conditions."
Raikkonen believes Ferrari is struggling to get temperature into its tyres this weekend.
"We need to get more downforce to bolt the car to the ground," he said.
"That will change the behaviour of tyres and many other things. But that's much easier said than done.
"When you come to these kinds of places, with windy conditions, it can make quite a bit of difference."
The Finn, who was re-signed by Ferrari for 2017 earlier this week, outqualified team-mate Sebastian Vettel by 0.6s but shrugged off the achievement.
"Me being ahead of him gives nothing," said Raikkonen.
"If you're one-two then fine, but we're fifth and sixth."
NEW PROBLEM FOR VETTEL
Vettel will start 11th, having received a gearbox-change penalty for a second straight race and the third time in 2016.
He said the Silverstone problem was a new one, but had occurred in practice on both Friday and Saturday.
"This one here was unique, something new, something we haven't suffered before," Vettel said.
"We had the same failure yesterday so we need to have a look.
"I was going for the upshift and the gear didn't go in. Fairly boring.
"We didn't have anything [like it] before so it might be something to do with the track-band, it happened at the same place here.
"We took some precautions going to qualifying, we didn't have anything in qualifying and didn't see anything on Kimi's car."
Share Or Save This Story
F1 testing: Max Verstappen feels 'big difference' in 2018 Red Bull
Williams F1's Oliver Rowland to test Super Formula car at Suzuka
Why F1's under-fire rookie is already causing surprises
What F1 history tells us about three-way title deciders
On this day: Raikkonen’s Suzuka masterclass
The contrasting fortunes of F1's big-name moves to Ferrari
Why Norris and Leclerc have been summoned to the FIA stewards before hitting the track in Monaco
Exclusive: Leclerc on his Ferrari extension and the love he has for his "dream" F1 squad
Is Leclerc's leap of faith with Ferrari the right choice? Our writers have their say
The 'lessons learned' at Red Bull after Verstappen Canada GP criticism
F1 to race in Las Vegas until 2037 after signing 10-year extension
Spool party: How F1's drivers will fight against turbo lag in Monaco
Why Norris and Leclerc have been summoned to the FIA stewards before hitting the track in Monaco
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments