Despite Scuderia Ferrari winning the opening race of the season with Sebastian Vettel, his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen trailed home in fourth, and the Finn is cautious about whether the pace shown in Australia will translate into a strong performance this weekend in China.
The Albert Park circuit is a completely different track to this weekends venue at the Shanghai International Circuit, and Raikkonen knows that the fact the team won in Australia does not mean that they will have a race-winning car this weekend.
Raikkonen feels that the result was great for everyone involved in the Maranello-based team after a winless 2016, and they are aiming to continue to avoid mistakes to continue their good start to the year.
“This circuit is completely different from the one in Melbourne, more of a ‘normal’ track,” said Raikkonen. “It’s way too early to know how things will go, we haven’t run a single lap yet and the conditions may change very quickly.
“At the last race in Melbourne the car was feeling good when we were running. The team was very happy for Seb’s win; it was a great result also for all those working at home.
“We have a good team, but we have only done one race, the season is long, and the tracks are all different. We have to keep doing a good job, improve things and minimize mistakes.”