The Russian Grand Prix was associated with a mixture of emotions after its end. While some drivers achieved more than they expected, others lost a lot. Among the winners, the only result that cannot be overlooked is Raikkonen’s eighth place in his Alfa Romeo. However, Kimi Räikkönen does not want to attribute his excellent driving skills in the wet to his experience in rallying.
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DIVE DEEPER
The ice man made a statement with his performance
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After missing two races due to COVID, the Finn returned with a bang. He used all his experience to make the decision to switch to the intermediate tires when the first raindrops appeared while others were still on their dry tires.
SOCHI, RUSSIA – Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen speaks at the upcoming driver press conference. F1 Grand Prix of Russia at the Sochi Autodrome in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Clive Mason / Getty Images)
Kimi drove in rallying from 2009 to 2011 during his Formula 1 break. The excellent control of the car that Kimi demonstrated under the critical conditions naturally suggested that Kimi had acquired these skills while rallying.
Kimi Raikkonen rejects the ‘rally skills’ hypothesis
Kimi himself rejected this hypothesis in his statements after the race. When asked about it, Kimi replied in his usual manner. “No, they (the rally skills) didn’t help me.”
Kimi continued: “I think our car is often not the best in wet conditions. Fortunately, we stopped at the right time and then had enough speed to allow me to overtake on the last two laps. We were the first to change tires when it was already pretty wet – he summed up – and in the end it was the right step. “
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Formula 1 F1 – Eifel Grand Prix – Nuerburgring, Nuerburg, Germany – Alfa Romeos Kimi Raikkonen and Haas’ Romain Grosjean in action during the pool race via REUTERS / Matthias Schrader
It is therefore very clear that the result of this race does not reflect the skills that the “Iceman” acquired during his rally stint. Nevertheless, the result was enough to satisfy Alfa Romeo’s team principal Frederic Vasseur.
Vasseur said: “The race was very close and we took home a lot of points. Despite some difficulties on Saturday, we started the race with optimism because we knew we would be able to fight. Kimi got off to a good start and climbed to 10th place, while Antonio had to regroup after a hit. He made some overtaking maneuvers – he concluded – and he had no radio contact. “
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This is Kimi’s final season in Formula 1 and all Formula 1 fans will miss his presence in the paddock. Before he leaves, let’s hope we can see a few more of his brilliant drives.
The post Kimi Raikkonen destroys rally skill myth after the Russian GP first appeared on monter-une-startup.
