Kimi Raikkonen remains upbeat about his chances in tomorrows Turkish Grand Prix despite making a mistake in the final sector of his hot lap.
The Finn, who qualified fourth, will line up alongside McLaren s Lewis Hamilton on the dirty side the track for tomorrows grand prix having blown a potential front-row slot by getting out of shape at the last corner on his flying lap.
“I am a bit disappointed but I made mistakes on my second lap in Q3 and I have to accept that,†mulled Raikkonen, “I didn t go into the final corner before the pit straight quite right and lost a lot of speed.â€
“We can count on a car that is good over a distance and we will try and make the most of it, trying to get as many points as possible.â€
The Ferrari ace remained philosophical about his mistake in qualifying and insisted that ultimately it is the race result that counts.
“Obviously, I would have preferred to have been further up the grid, but this position is definitely not the end of the world,†reflected the 28-year-old.
“What matters is the race when the points are given out. We are up against very strong opposition, which is no surprise to us. Of course, there s a question mark over fuel loads and we won t get an answer to that until the first pit stops tomorrow afternoon.â€
Encouragingly for Raikkonen the F2008 appears to be better suited to long runs than some of its competitors which could help the Finn leap-frog the McLarens in the race.
“We have a car that works well over a long run, especially on the softer Bridgestone tyres,†confirmed Team Manager Luca Baldisserri. “We will do our utmost to bring home as many points as possible. The start will be important, as will strategy, while as ever the crucial element is reliability.â€
