Kimi Raikkonen is hopeful that Scuderia Ferrari will have as strong a car this weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix that they’ve had so far in 2017, but knows it will be a challenge no matter what in the principality.
The Finn was forced into retirement in the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago after first corner collisions with both Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen, but is now focused on Monaco, where he knows when something goes wrong early it could lead into a long weekend for a driver.
Raikkonen has won at Monaco before back in 2005 whilst driving for the McLaren F1 Team but has not stood on the podium there since 2009 during his first stint with Ferrari, and he knows a lot of things have to go right in a weekend to get a good result.
“I enjoy the circuit here, I have had some good races and weekends,” said Raikkonen. “I wouldn’t really compare this place to any other track.
“It’s such a big challenge and there’s a lot of things that have to go right. When the car is working well and you have a good feeling, then it’s nice to drive here: but things can go bad quickly and then your weekend becomes very long…
“We have to put laps in, get a good feeling with the car and try to make it work the way we want. Hopefully our car will behave the same as it has done at other circuits we have been to this year.”
