Kimi Raikkonen says he is satisfied with the speed he has shown in Formula 1 this year. But not with the results. Raikkonen has amassed a tally of 116 points, including four podiums. This is two more than he achieved by this point last season.
He also took his first pole position since 2008 in the Monaco Grand Prix. But is yet to win a race in 2017. He has 76 points fewer than championship-leading teammate Sebastian Vettel.
“Personally, I’m not happy with the results,” said Raikkonen
when asked about his appraisal of his driving so far this season. I want to win races, I want to be up there all the time and that hasn’t been the case this year too often.
I know when things are correct and there are quite a few things that happened and you pay the price for it. Driving-wise, I have the speed, so I’m not worried about that. It’s about putting things in the correct places.”
Raikkonen has been coy on his future, but said he has told the team what he would like to do next year. “I’m not very happy where we have been finishing, considering all the races so far, but this is what we’ve got so far – we cannot change it,” he said.
“Is that enough whatever happens in the future? I don’t know. We’ll see at some point. The team knows what I want. In the end, it’s up to them to choose whatever is best for them.”
Raikkonen, whose last victory came in the 2013 season-opening Australian Grand Prix, says he is only interested in staying in F1 if he can compete at the top.
“My only aim is to do well, that’s the only reason I’m here, not anything else,” he said. “It’s not because I want to be just part of it. That’s the complete other end of the story.
“It’s not always fun when it’s not going well, but that’s how it is. It depends on many things. Speed-wise, we have it. But it’s not enough if you have the speed if the rest doesn’t go as you had hoped.”
