Brazil GP: Kimi: It Would Be Nice To Win Title

One of the three contenders to win the World Championship Kimi Raikkonen was at his laconic best ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The mathematical permutations are against the Ferrari ace and he explained how he planned to approach the race. "We don't have much to lose and I think we will treat it more like a normal race," he told Autosport.

"Maybe we will need to do something during the race, but we won't do anything crazy because it probably won't work out."

The Finn reiterated that he will need luck on his side if he is to beat Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso to the title.

"But for sure we have not been in the best position at some points this year," he said.

"We had some problems and we dropped out of the points. So we were quite far away.

"We caught up again a little bit, but for sure we need a bit of good luck also on Sunday to try to win it. To win it would not be a surprise, but it would be very nice."

Raikkonen celebrated his 28th birthday this Wednesday. When asked what he did on the day he said: "Nothing really. It was just a normal day, we just went to eat. That was all."

He also said that he is yet to meet up with the Prancing Horse team in Brazil, although he isn't expecting a birthday gift from them.

"I haven't seen them yet, I am staying in a different hotel to them," said Raikkonen.

"Maybe I get something, maybe not. It is not such an important thing when you are getting older. More or less when you are ten years old, you are more excited."

Schu has fingers crossed for Kimi, Ferrari

Michael Schumacher hopes that Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari do the business and win the Drivers' World Championship at Interlagos.

The seven-times Champion says he has fond memories of the Brazilian Grand Prix, but admits that he is happy to be away from the action.

"The World Championship finale in Brazil will be a great battle," said the German on his official website.

"I can well think back to the tension a weekend like this one means to the driver and to be honest, I'm quite happy to be watching the race from my sofa at home this time.

And the 38-year-old has been impressed that his former team have managed to compete despite massive upheaval.

"Not only as a fan but more so as a driver you dream of a big fight like this and it goes without saying, that I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Kimi and our team," he said Schumacher.

"I'm sure it's going to be a thrilling race -- just like the whole year has been, in my opinion, an extremely exciting championship.

"I was happy to see that no matter what happened we always remained competitive and consistent, despite all the changes within the team and the technical problems we were facing sometimes. The guys have done a great job.

Although Schumacher was nostalgic about the Sao Paulo circuit, he reitereated that he is happily retired.

"It's now been a full year since I drove my last race and, looking back on that final day in Interlagos, I've got some very good memories that have stayed with me.

"But all in all, my family and I feel wonderful with the life that we have nowadays."

Brazil GP : Raikkonen plays down tyre concern

Kimi Raikkonen doesn't think the supersoft tyres will be to Ferrari's disadvantage at this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Finn, who heads into the season finale seven points behind Championship leader Lewis Hamilton and four behind Fernando Alonso, also promised to give it his all to win the Drivers' title on Sunday.

If Hamilton fails to score any points and Alonso finishes no higher than fifth then Raikkonen will claim his first Championship crown if he ends second.

There has been suggestions in some quarters that the Bridgestone tyres will benefit McLaren at Interlagos, but Raikkonen is having none of that.

"I've been reading stories that the supersoft tyres should be better for our competitors," Raikkonen said.

"That might have been true early in the season. But then things improved for us in terms of the set-up. So we just have to wait and see how it goes in Brazil.

"We go to Brazil in position three, so I'm not really the favourite for the title. But as we saw at Shanghai two weeks ago anything can happen. Whatever will happen, it's going to be a very exciting race. We will give it all.

"We couldn't do very much to prepare ourselves for Interlagos," the Finn said.

"I think that our competitors have done their job as we did. There's lots of pressure on both sides. They have two drivers in the race for the title and they also fight each other. Hopefully we can benefit from that.

"I go into this race the same way as into the last two: my aim is to win, and the rest is not up to me. It is a similar situation as in 2003, when I lost the title to Michael [Schumacher].

"Hamilton has seven points more than us: there's not much to calculate. We have to win and that's it."

Brazil GP: Kimi pragmatic about his chances of glory

Kimi Raikkonen is racing in Brazil to win and the rest, whether he claims the title or not, is up to his rivals. The Finn heads to Interlagos trailing McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by seven and three points respectively and therefore has a tougher task on his hands winning the title.

In fact, according to the maths, Raikkonen has to finish in the top two to even stand a chance at winning the Drivers' crown. And if he does that it will then depend on where Hamilton and Alonso finish as to who wins the title.

"My aim is to win and the rest is not up to me," Raikkonen told his personal website.

"For me it is a similar position to 2003. Then I lost the title to Michael (Schumacher), but looking back it was a close call and at one point during the race it looked possible.

"Hamilton has seven points more than us. It is not easy to go to the last race just to get a couple of points more.

"We cannot calculate. We have to win. For us it is a straightforward race."

The Ferrari driver, though, is hoping that the on-going feud between Hamilton and Alonso will play into his hands come Sunday's season finale.

"There is a lot of pressure on both sides," he said. "They are the favourites and they fight against each other, too.

"Hopefully we benefit from that."

Chinese GP debrief: Kimi win, Ferrari - 200th victory

Kimi Raikkonen secured Scuderia Ferrari's two hundredth victory from 757 Grand Prix entered in the Formula 1 World Championship. It is Kimi's fifth win with the team, his fourteenth from 121 races. It is Ferrari's eighth victory of the season and its third in four runnings of the Chinese Grand Prix.

Chinese GP - Race

Kimi Raikkonen: 1st 1:37.58.395 56 laps chassis 262
Felipe Massa: 3rd + 12.891 56 laps chassis 263
Weather: air temperature 28 °C, track temperature 28 °C, rain, then overcast.

Jean Todt: "It is great to be able to celebrate Scuderia Ferrari's two hundredth victory in Formula 1, here in Shanghai, at the end of a difficult race, further complicated by the unpredictability of the changes in the weather. Kimi brings his total tally of the season to five and this is the team's eighth. He drove an extraordinary race, without committing the slightest error. Felipe had a good race, helping us to see how the dry weather tyres were working at a critical moment. Unfortunately, the rain returned for a brief period, which affected his race. All the team had taken badly what happened at a difficult weekend in Fuji which we left with much less than we deserved. I also wish to congratulate our friends at Toro Rosso, who picked up some important points: it is great to see four Ferrari engines in the top eight. We know our aim of bringing home the Drivers' title will still be very difficult to achieve, but we will give it our all, right up to the last lap of the last race!"

Kimi Raikkonen: "I am very happy! It is a really great result for me and the whole team, who done a truly excellent job. We needed this win and we got it. At the start of the race, I had a lot of understeer but then the situation improved. I was one of the last to switch to dry tyres but this was a help as after a little while the rain began to fall again. Even after the second stop I had a bit of understeer, but as before, the situation improved in the final stages. I knew Alonso was very quick but I was in full control of the situation. The car overall was working well both in the wet and in the dry. Last week in Fuji, we were unlucky but today things went right for us. We have had yet another example that in this sport anything can happen. The situation in the Drivers' classification is still difficult, but I will try everything to win in Brazil, even if the final outcome does not just depend on what we do. It should be a great battle, very hard to predict and interesting."

Felipe Massa: "I had hoped to be fighting for the win, but the race was affected by the changing weather conditions. At the moment I switched to dry tyres, the timing was not ideal. The rain came back immediately and it was really difficult to stay on track. In any case, in these instances, it can pay off to take risks: sometimes it works out and sometimes not. After a few difficulties with graining, the situation to the extent that, in the final part of the race, I was going very well. All in all, finishing on the podium in a race like this is very important and I am very happy for the team. There is one race to go: anything can happen and we must continue to work to stay ahead of our rivals."

Luca Baldisserri: "This was probably one of the most difficult races of the season, characterized by very unstable weather, with the rain coming and going. After the first pit stop, Kimi gradually made up ground on Hamilton and could have got past earlier but for the yellow flags. Then, as the track was drying, Kimi stepped up the pace and controlled a possible attack from Alonso. Maybe with Felipe, we rushed the switch to dry tyres, but the rain did not help. Now we can say it was a great race, run by two exceptional drivers who are capable of adapting very well to the changing track conditions. It will be tough in Sao Paolo but we will give it our best shot right down to the final corner."