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Kimi
was again a guest at the FIA press conference after his top three
placement in the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. He spoke about his
physical problems in the race and why he wasn't able to attack for
victory.
Question:
Kimi, that looked like a hard race for you. How much of it was
affected by your accident yesterday in terms of your slightly
stiff neck, and how was the performance of the car?
Kimi:
The car wasn’t too bad actually. In the first stint it was
pretty OK. OK, we were heavier than the McLarens, so we knew that
they would pull away. We tried to keep close enough but actually
we were not quick enough today, but probably the biggest problem
for me was that I couldn’t keep my head upright any more under
braking, so my neck is not in such good shape after yesterday.
That was the main issue. But we just didn’t have the speed today.
That’s how it goes.
Question:
We could see from the replays that you appeared to be looking
forward in the cockpit as Lewis was coming down inside you into
the first chicane.
Kimi:
Yeah, the problem wasn’t under braking. It was a bit hard to
keep the head up. It didn’t help, for sure. After when he passed
me, first of all I couldn’t have a good exit on any lap out of
the last corner, and I knew they were very quick in there and on
the straight. I tried to do my best but then he got too close and
got past me, so after that I just slowed down and drove to the
finish of the race.
Question:
Surprising for Ferrari after their one-two in Turkey for things to
be changing so quickly here at Monza.
Kimi:
Probably this is a bit more like Montreal. We knew that McLaren
would be fast here, very strong, so we knew from last week’s
test that we were not where we wanted to be. For sure they were
strong here, stronger than us but I think once we go back to Spa
it should level out a little bit. Then it will probably be closer
again. But of course we wanted to win our home race but we
couldn’t do that, but we still got a podium, lost some points to
McLaren but they were just better today.
Question:
Well Kimi, you did a long stint on the softer tyres and seemed to
do a very good job, particularly with a heavy fuel load.
Kimi:
Yeah, the car was working pretty well, not ideal but it was not
too bad actually. The first stint was probably better than the
second stint. There was no problem with the tyres.
Question:
Would you do a one stop again or do you think a two stop would
have been better?
Kimi:
I don’t know. I don’t think it would have made much difference
for our final position. We were not quick enough in the end, so we
couldn’t really do better. That was the main problem.
Question:
And when Lewis came out of the pits behind you, did you think
second place or was it just a matter of time before he got you?
Kimi:
I knew that they were going to be fast on new tyres. I had some
other problems to deal with at that time and I tried but for sure
I was expecting him to try to get past me. I did my best but it
just wasn’t good enough.
Question:
When we spoke on the drivers’ parade, you said you had a stiff
neck but you weren’t certain it was going to affect you in the
race, or were you? Or did you fear it might?
Kimi:
No, I already felt it yesterday in qualifying, so I pretty much
expected it to be good fun in the race, but it turned out to be a
bit worse than I expected.
Question:
Kimi, was this physically the most painful race for you?
Kimi:
This year, probably yes. Not because of the circuit, but because
of the problem yesterday.
Question:
Kimi, four races to go and you are still 18 points behind Lewis
and 15 behind Fernando – do you still see a realistic chance?
Kimi:
Yes of course, we still have a chance. It is not going to be easy
because we lost some points again but you never know what is going
to happen in the next races, so we keep pushing as long as we have
a chance and then we see.
Question:
Kimi, you have a better position in the championship than Felipe.
Do you expect that both the team and Felipe will support you to
try and win the last races?
Kimi:
I don’t know. You need to ask the team. The main thing is we try
to win the championship, which is going to be very difficult, but
you never know. After the next two races, we will know if we have
any chance or none at all, but I don’t know what is going to
happen in the next races.
Question:
Kimi, the next track in a very few days is very demanding. Do you
think your neck will have recovered?
Kimi:
It should be okay. If it had happened a few days earlier, the
accident, probably wouldn’t have any problem, but we have a week
so it should be fine.
Question:
Kimi, Looking back, was there any way you could have kept Lewis
behind you in that moment?
Kimi:
I would have tried if there were any chance, but there wasn’t
any…
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