Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN driver Kimi Raikkonen was one of nine victims of a chaotic Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Despite a strong run on the fringe of the points, the “Iceman”‘s right front tire fell off the car in turn eight as the race was restarting on lap 55. He slid to a halt on the frontstretch, becoming the seventh casualty of the race.
Raikkonen, who qualified nineteenth was very happy with the car and is looking to take positives going into next week’s race.
“It’s a shame to end the race like this when things were looking good. Compared to yesterday, we had made a step forward and we had a reasonable turn of speed,” Raikkonen said.
“The timing of the first Safety Car cost us places, but we were still in a good position and with new tyres I could have fought for some points.
“Unfortunately then we had to retire: the problem came as a surprise, I had no warning it would happen. We will need to investigate what happened. For now, we can take some positives from our pace in race conditions and keep improving the car.”
Team Principal Frederic Vasseur, like Raikkonen, was upset about the incident and said that they will “make sure” Raikkonen is fighting alongside his teammate Antonio Giovinazzi in the points.
“It was a pity to lose Kimi this way, but we will investigate the issue and make sure we can fight for a place in the top 10 with two cars from next week,” he said.
