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After
the disappointment at the Nurburgring Kimi
Raikkonen has recharged his batteries and is ready for the
challenge at the Hungaroring, where the Hungarian GP, the eleventh
run of the Formula 1 season, will be held next Sunday.
"It
is always a great pleasure to come to Hungary. Maybe the track is
not one of the most fascinating ones, but it is really challenging.
And then it's good to know that after this race we'll have a short
holiday break. Whatever someone does, it's always nice to have a
break. I have already won this race once. It's very hot here and
the race is physically demanding: Only if you win you don't suffer
at the Hungaroring! I archived the European GP already. I don't
want to talk about it anymore: What is for sure is that I will not
come to Hungary as someone defeated. Not at all!"
Over
the last days Kimi participated in a very special race in Finland:
"True, last weekend there was a motorboat meeting at Hanko
and me and two friends of mine participated as a team on a boat
with a real captain and a real helmsman what a pity that us three
were dressed like gorillas -- we even won the prize for the best
costumes! I had lots of fun and I hope that it will be the same
during the upcoming weekend in Hungary."
Every
now and then one could hear that the Hungaroring does not suit
Ferrari, but Kimi does not agree at all: "Everybody says that
McLaren
has to be stronger than us here; but I don't think that this will
be the case. We have taken a big step forward since the race in
Monaco and it will be really interesting to see how competitive we
are over the weekend."
"The
Hungaroring is very slow and winding; so the two most important
things here are the right angle entry into the corners and the
traction: if these two things work out, then you have good cards
in your hand. Obviously it is very important to stay ahead in
qualifying and if possible also stay clear of the dirty side of
the track. Looking at the races of this season one can see easily
that starting on the clean side of the track is very important at
the start. Beyond that, on this track here it's really difficult
to overtake, which makes the qualifying even more important."
Kimi's
aim for Budapest is very clear: "Finishing ahead of all the
other three drivers who compete for the title: that's the only way
for me to make up ground! I'm more or less in the same situation
as I was at the Nurburgring, but it's clear that I can't allow
myself another race without points. I still believe that it's
possible for me to win the title: just look at the last race and
you can see that everything can happen. A bad race for my
competitors is enough to immediately reduce the gap."
"Very
often the race here in Hungary has been nicknamed the Finnish GP.
Many of my fellow Finns fill the grandstands here at the
Hungaroring and it is really nice to see so many white flags with
the blue cross in the wind: and this time we will see them
together with the red flags of Ferrari.
I think this is the closest I can get as a home GP, if Bernie does
not have any more surprises!"
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