Ferrari wants talks with Raikkonen to discuss his form
Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne wants his Formula 1 team to sit down for talks with Kimi Raikkonen on the back of a second difficult race for the Finn.
While Ferrari’s car has proved a match for main rival Mercedes in Australia and China, Raikkonen has not been as strong as teammate Sebastian Vettel and has yet to finish on the podium.
To further compound his problems, Marchionne expressed some frustration after the Shanghai race about the failure of Raikkonen to get past Daniel Ricciardo in the early stages of the race when Vettel behind him needed to make swift progress.
As well as Raikkonen's pace costing both Ferrari drivers valuable time, the fact that Vettel was able to barge his way past Ricciardo shortly after pulling off a move on Raikkonen highlighted there was no deficiency in the Ferrari car.
Speaking as he left the Shanghai paddock on Sunday, Marchionne said he had spoken to team principal Maurizio Arrivabene about Raikkonen’s form – and suggested that the matter get discussed soon.
“I talked about this with Maurizio,” explained Marchionne. “Maybe they should sit around a table and he should talk to him. Today he seemed to be busy with other stuff. Vettel was more aggressive."
When asked if it was fair to say the 2017 Ferrari is more comfortable for Vettel than it is for Raikkonen, Marchionne said: “Absolutely no.”
Safety Car cost
Marchionne reckoned that the early safety car, which was brought out after Antonio Giovinazzi crashed on the start-finish straight, probably cost Vettel victory.
Reflecting on the race, he said: “We are fighting with Mercedes. Without the safety car the story of the race should be different. I can confirm that our choice to change the tyres of Vettel was correct.
“It was a nice race, we arrived second, we are second in the constructors’ championship by one point and Seb has the same points as Hamilton. That’s not bad after two races.”
Additional reporting by Roberto Chinchero
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