(Scuderia Ferrari SpA via Twitter)
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen has confirmed that he didn't have much time to talk to new team mate Sebastian Vettel on Tuesday as the Abu Dhabi test got underway as the Finn was very busy working through his test programme with this years F14-T as the team run development parts on this years car that they will aim to transfer to the new 2015 Ferrari challenger.
The Finn also stated that he understood the reasons behind Vettel spending time in the garage with the team despite having time left on his Red Bull Racing contract as he has yet to drive a current Ferrari Formula One car. Speaking to www,ferrari.com following the opening day of the test Raikkonen, who finished in third place stated:
'It was a normal day of testing. With more running time and more tyres to work with, we managed to try various solutions without having any problems. Testing next season’s tyres produced positive results, but will have to wait to try them on the new car in winter testing, to get an in depth understanding of their behaviour.'
It was announced on Monday that Ferrari team principal Marco Mattiacci has left the team with immediate affect and has been replaced by former Philip Morris vice president Maurizio Arrivabene. Raikkonen explained that he was sorry to see Marco Mattiacci leave the team as he felt that the Italian did a good job considering that he came into the team with no Formula One experience,
The Finn welcomed the appointment of Arrivabene as new Ferrari team principal as he knows about Formula One and Raikkonen feels that the Italian is the right man to steer Ferrari in the right direction.
Raikkonen also confirmed that he knows and likes Arrivabene and the Finn feels the Italian is the right man for the job to put in the position he has been placed in.
Raikkonen now hands over the F14-T to Raffaele Marciello who is part of the Ferrari Young Driver Academy. Raikkonen's fastest time on Tuesday was a 1m 43.888s. The Finn will be back behind the wheel at the opening test of the Winter in Jerez, Spain in February.
© Ben Johnston 2014
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