(© Ben Johnston 2015)
Scuderia Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen believes that the
Italian team showed in Australia that they are beginning to close the gap to
Mercedes as a result of impressive race pace show by the SF15-T.
While the Finn was forced to retire from season opener Down
Under at the weekend as a result of a loose wheel, his team mate Sebastian
Vettel ended the race as best of the rest behind the Silver Arrows duo of race
winner Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg scoring Ferrari’s first podium since the
Hungarian Grand Prix last year.
For his part Raikkonen had been running well inside the top
ten before retiring and could have potentially finished the race in fifth
place. Despite the retirement both Ferrari drivers showed over the weekend that
the team have made huge strides in terms of overall performance over the
winter.
The Iceman believes that in race trim his team are now
capable of fighting at the front of Formula One once again.
Over the course of the weekend in Australia, Raikkonen was
not particularly happy with his own driving and was happy as there were absolutely
no problems with SF15-T. Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene has
echoed Raikkonen’s assertion regarding Mercedes. Addressing the team following
the race, Maurizio called on them to concentrate on the Silver Arrows and not
on the Williams Martini Racing Team or Infiniti Red Bull Racing.
Ferrari are currently second in the Constructors champion on
15 points just one ahead of the Sauber F1 Team heading to round two in Malaysia
next week.
© Ben Johnston 2015
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