Kimi: New car much better to drive
Kimi Raikkonen says he feels much more comfortable with the new generation of Formula 1 cars, but is unwilling to make any predictions about his or Ferrari's prospects in Melbourne.
The former world champion has regularly struggled to find a set-up that suits him since joining Ferrari.
However he feels the 2009 cars - with their slick tyres and smaller wings - are more suited to his style.
"Honestly I can say that I like the new car more than the car we had last year," said Raikkonen.
"This is more fun to drive - it's more like the racing car used to be some years ago."
Ferrari is set to be one of the teams using its kinetic energy recovery system in Melbourne, and Raikkonen said he was surprised how straightforward and effective the device had proved to be in testing.
"It's very easy for a driver to use," he said.
"The whole team were positively surprised that the KERS systems seemed to be working well from the first test."
Ferrari has been among the quickest teams throughout winter testing, but Raikkonen thinks it is too early to predict how competitive the car is - and thinks Melbourne form might prove deceptive too.
"This is a very difficult season to start making predictions, because of the massive change in rules this year," he said.
"However, Ferrari has been competitive in testing, but the real test for the new F60 will be in Melbourne, when we are all back on the track at the same time with the same fuel load.
"Only then will we truly find out just how competitive we are.
"We need some more races to get a better picture.
"Albert Park is a special circuit and a special place, so probably it will take until Malaysia to find out which teams are really ahead of others."
SourcE: itv.com/f1
Kimi Raikkonen says he feels much more comfortable with the new generation of Formula 1 cars, but is unwilling to make any predictions about his or Ferrari's prospects in Melbourne.
The former world champion has regularly struggled to find a set-up that suits him since joining Ferrari.
However he feels the 2009 cars - with their slick tyres and smaller wings - are more suited to his style.
"Honestly I can say that I like the new car more than the car we had last year," said Raikkonen.
"This is more fun to drive - it's more like the racing car used to be some years ago."
Ferrari is set to be one of the teams using its kinetic energy recovery system in Melbourne, and Raikkonen said he was surprised how straightforward and effective the device had proved to be in testing.
"It's very easy for a driver to use," he said.
"The whole team were positively surprised that the KERS systems seemed to be working well from the first test."
Ferrari has been among the quickest teams throughout winter testing, but Raikkonen thinks it is too early to predict how competitive the car is - and thinks Melbourne form might prove deceptive too.
"This is a very difficult season to start making predictions, because of the massive change in rules this year," he said.
"However, Ferrari has been competitive in testing, but the real test for the new F60 will be in Melbourne, when we are all back on the track at the same time with the same fuel load.
"Only then will we truly find out just how competitive we are.
"We need some more races to get a better picture.
"Albert Park is a special circuit and a special place, so probably it will take until Malaysia to find out which teams are really ahead of others."
SourcE: itv.com/f1
