The Ferrari team think that Kimi Raikkonen should have done better on the restart after the safety cars on Sunday after the Finn lost touch with the three cars in front of him.
The safety car was bought out after Jenson Button was involved in a smash, and at the restart, Massa, Hamilton and Alonso all made perfect getaways. Raikkonen however, did not make a good restart and crossed the start-finish line a full 2.4 seconds down on Alonso.
Ferrari have confirmed that Raikkonen had no problems with the car. Technical Director Mario Almondo has said he feels Raikkonen needs to improve his restarts. “If you are not first or second you can always do a better job,” Almondo explained. “I have to say that he has to think of a better way of managing this specific start and this part of the job. We will re-analyse things and will do the same this weekend. It’s part of the enrichment of every driver and every technician who is part of the team.”
Despite this, the team are still happy with Raikkonen overall, particularly his calm approach to racing. Ferrari believe that Raikkonen’s position as joint championship leader reflects how well he is doing.
“Kimi’s best characteristic is that he’s always cool, he’s always looking behind the fence,” Sporting Director Stefano Domenicali said. “He’s not emotionally involved, at least, apparently, because he’s a thinker and so you can see that. If you look at the numbers, Kimi’s leading the championship with the others of course. But he’s there, so that’s his strength.”
