Kimi Räikkönen says that despite their disadvantage to Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport, Scuderia Ferrari are still fighting to claim their first Constructors’ Championship for a decade.
Sebastian Vettel‘s title challenge came to a mathematical end at the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks’ ago, with Lewis Hamilton claiming his fifth Drivers’ Championship with a fourth place finish at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Ferrari sit 55 points behind Mercedes heading into the penultimate round of the 2018 season, the Brazilian Grand Prix. While Räikkönen accepts that the situation looks bleak, he says that Ferrari are still working hard to deny Mercedes a fifth successive championship victory.
“Obviously we’re not in a very good position,” said Räikkönen to Racefans on Thursday in São Paulo. “But we are still in it and we’ll do out best.”
The Finn added that the Constructors’ crown means more to the team than the individual prize, due to the prestige, achievement and increase in prize money.
“I think it’s probably the most important thing for the team obviously for manufacturers to win it, that’s why they are here,” he continued.
“There’s a drivers championship but if you go to any team they’re probably going to say this is more important for them, the constructors’ championship than the drivers’. But that’s what we’re trying to [win].
“We’ll see in two races’ time.”
Räikkönen’s victory at the United States Grand Prix – his first Formula 1 win for over five years – marked Ferrari’s sixth win of the year, in comparison to Mercedes’ total of nine. A tally of 31 points or more in Brazil and Abu Dhabi will be enough for the German marque to secure the championship regardless of Ferrari’s efforts.
