Race Wins Will not Affect Me: Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen has had a long winless streak. In fact, his last win was not even with Ferrari but rather with his previous team, Lotus; back in 2013. But he feels that he will remain the same, win or no win.

“It does not affect the way I drive. I’ve already won in the past and I don’t see why I can’t win again”, Raikkonen said. “Ok I haven’t won for a while, but when you win, you’re not a different driver.”

It has been five years since his last victory. But Raikkonen has not been completely alienated from the podium as he has been there 25 times since the Australian Grand Prix in 2013, with his latest coming in France this weekend.

The Iceman finished behind race winner, Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen after teammate Vettel missed out on a podium place as he was involved in a first-lap clash with Mercedes’ other driver, Valtteri Bottas.

Raikkonen had a strong start to the season, matching Vettel for pace in qualifying and accompanying him in the front row of the grid. But he has somewhat been off the pace in the last few races, a slump which started in Azerbaijan after he made a small error in qualifying.

Those mistakes have seemingly led to Ferrari backing Leclerc as their second driver alongside Vettel from 2019. When asked about his recent qualifying form, the Finn admitted that he was clueless.

“I don’t know why it’s been more difficult in the last qualifying sessions compared to the first ones, but we are working to improve the situation. You do not get worse in just a few sessions”, he said.

Whether he remains in the grid or not next season, Raikkonen’s legacy in F1 is indisputable. He is in fact Ferrari’s last world champion, as he won his only title with them in his first season with the team back in 2007.