FA:
Very difficult this year. It is true that every time I come here to my home grand prix I had always the possibility to fight for the pole position and fight for the victory. If not, the podium was a real possibility always. This year I don’t think it is a real possibility, just a dream as it was in the first few races. Something strange needs to happen during the race if we want to reach the podium now. Hopefully this will be the first step we need to do during this season to be close to the podium. Sooner or later we need to start improving the car and I think this race will be the first opportunity to see if we are going in the right direction.
Q:
The President of
Ferrari had some interesting comments to make about your chances of joining Ferrari in the near future it would seem. Did they come as a surprise to you?
FA:
No. I have nothing to say. People talk about me, normally very often, which is good. It seems I am quite famous here. Part of that I respect everybody.
Q:
A lot of the press thought that you would be going to Ferrari next year. But you weren’t expecting to?
FA:
I don’t expect anything. This is only the fourth race of the championship. I try to be better and better every year – a better driver. This year will be a tough season for me. It seems I will race in the middle of the group always, so at the end of the year I will be a better driver and for next year we will see.
Q:
Kimi, what does it mean for you to be leading the championship at this time of the year, coming here for the start of the European season?
Kimi Raikkonen:
Of course it’s nice but the season is only a few races old. It is a long way to go and it doesn’t help if you are leading now and you can’t keep it up and lead when it really matters. But so far it has been pretty okay. It could have been better at the start of the season but we are leading in the points, so I need to be happy.
Q:
You won here in 2005 but it hasn’t been a fantastic circuit for you this one, has it?
KR:
No, last year we didn’t finish. I think we only did nine laps in the race. I can’t remember all the things that have happened here but usually they are not very good results. It can turn around. Hopefully this year we can be strong and finish the race at least. We will see how it goes tomorrow.
Q:
How do you feel about the modifications made to your car since Bahrain?
KR:
I don’t really have a clear picture about it. I did four or five laps in the dry and it was a bit damp. The team is happy how we improved the car and we brought some new parts and they seem to work. It should be better. I tried the new front on a few laps on intermediates, so we will see how it goes over the weekend, how the car goes. It should be better than it was in previous races.
