Kimi Räikkönen feels the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN team has made a step forward with their C39 compared to the 2019 C38, but it is too early to see whether or not it is good enough to move them to the front of the midfield battle.
The veteran Finn, the oldest driver on the Formula 1 grid, only drove the C39-Ferrari on Thursday, with Räikkönen completing one hundred and thirty-four laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Räikkönen achieved the fastest time of the day on Thursday, although in testing this means very little, particularly as other drivers went faster than his 1:17.091 on both Wednesday and Friday in Spain.
“For my first testing day, it was an ok one,” said Räikkönen. “The important thing is that everything seems to be working well, with no major issues.
“The immediate feeling is pretty positive, but it’s still early days. There is still a long way to go but I think we made a step forward compared to last year: who knows where this is going to take us, but so far so good.”
‘Every New Run Means Getting More Confidence with the New Car’ – Antonio Giovinazzi
Team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi, who drove the car on Wednesday afternoon and all-day on Friday, was satisfied with the work done by Alfa Romeo across the week, with encouraging mileage and feedback being gathered by everyone.
The Italian, who took over the car from test and reserve driver Robert Kubica on Wednesday before driving the whole of Friday, said every additional lap he completed at the Spanish circuit gave him an extra bit of confidence, and he cannot wait to get behind the wheel of the C39 again next week.
“I am pretty satisfied with our work, both today and in the whole of the week,” said Giovinazzi. “The first outings in a new car are a very exciting moment but you can’t really take your eyes off the main objective, which is to get good mileage and give the team the feedback they need.
“We were able to run without issues and that’s the main thing. For me, every new lap, every new run means getting more confidence with the new car: I am looking forward to more of this feeling next week.”
