(from autosport) Kimi Raikkonen is not concerned by Lewis Hamilton's championship lead and says he is still in a position to retain his world title. Although the Finn has recently been outperformed by McLaren's Hamilton and his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa, he gained ground on Hamilton and overtook Massa with his third place in the Hungarian Grand Prix. And though he says he has kept himself in touch and can be on top at the end of the season, the world champion recognises that he needs to be at his best for the rest of the year. "This season shows that you should never give up," he said. "There were some races where things didn't go well for one reason or another, but I was able to collect some precious points. "My position after Hungary is better than it was before the race. We haven't lost anything, but we need to get better results consistently. From now on, every single race will be extremely important and every single point will have a great value, the fewer there are the more important they become. "I think the championship will be very tight, but I need to have at least one point more than my competitors after the last race. This is the sole aim, the rest is just details." Raikkonen is looking forward to this weekend's race on the new Valencia street circuit and believe he will be able to learn the track quickly on Friday. "I've only seen the new track from an on-board camera and it seems to be very fast for a street circuit," he added. "I always love to drive on new tracks and I'm always very quick to know them, I can't wait to race at Valencia. "It will be more important than in other places to drive with continuity from Friday on. Qualifying will be extremely important, although I think there are some possibilities to overtake. "If it's hot, that will help Ferrari. Like at Montreal, you also need a bit of luck and I hope that it will not end for me as it did in Canada."
Kimi should have had this attitude 5 races ago. He under performed all season and now he wants to play catch up. Let Jenson Button drive the red car, I'm sure he would not get rock star flu.
He's underperformed yet he stills sits second in the championship, closer now than he was at this same point last season. I don't get the Kimi critics, perhaps because many of them are the same ones who wanted him fired 4 races into last season? Has he appeared less competitive some times than others? Perhaps. Is he still positioned to and capable of winning the WDC? Absolutely. Do we really need to archive the Kimi criticism by the so-called Tifosi again this year? Haven't you eaten enough crow from last season? I would suggest that for all you complaining about Kimi's performance, you should bear in mind that Massa has looked far more dismal in his off-races this seasonn than has Kimi in his off-races. Kimi has a bad race and still finds himself on the podium. Massa has a bad race and finds himself finishing 13th after 5 spins (like England) or completely out of the race through unforced errors. For all of Kimi's faults, he is still Ferrari's best bet for the WDC. As for JB and the rock star flu, I suggest you re-visit his experience in his sophomore season with Benneton/Renault. He most certainly had his bout with rock star flu.
very good point senna. kimi's off days still usually results in WDC points, where as massa's off days usually result in DNFs.
Kimi recognizes his shortcomings (his qualifying performance is below par). He knows that if he doesn't get on top of his game he'll lose the championship. He's still in touch but the odds aren't that great if you consider his poor qualifying performance so far this year. The expectations last year were high and the tifosi had every right to do so. This year is no different. They might be even higher considering he's a defending champion. So far he hasn't really lived up to that position so it's understandable that he's being critized.
