Raikkonen: Easy Alfa transition eliminated doubt
Kimi Raikkonen says his "easy" transition to the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team has eliminated the doubts he had over how his move from Ferrari would go.
The 2007 world champion signed a deal to return to Sauber after losing his Ferrari seat to Charles Leclerc during the 2018 season.
Sauber will run under the Alfa name this year and the team made an encouraging start to pre-season testing last week at Barcelona, where Raikkonen said his off-track preparations had also gone very smoothly.
"It's a different team but I don't think it's better or worse," he said when asked if he felt the team was a better fit than Ferrari.
"We've been working for a while now and everything felt smooth [on the first day]. It's a very normal way [of working].
"When I'm driving I don't feel any different.
"There's always doubt, changing teams. It could be difficult to go and start getting things how you like, but so far it's been very easy transition.
"It's a great group of people. It's not as big as my previous team, but they are good people and everything is running nicely."
Alfa seemed to end the first week of testing as a potential leading runner in the midfield battle over one lap.
However, Raikkonen has predicted a "busy" final two days behind the wheel this week to "sort out" the set-up of the car.
He said he has no set target for the season.
"As long as we do the maximum we can all do, then I have no doubt the result will come," he said. "What the end result will be is impossible to say.
"To see how well how they've been working on the car, and what they've produced over the winter, it seems to match well what we expected.
"Where that takes us, no idea. Nobody knows even, after testing, where everybody is."
Previous article
Bottas hasn't "achieved anything" in F1
Next article
The quietly announced F1 change with big implications
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Drivers | Kimi Raikkonen |
| Teams | Alfa Romeo |
| Author | Scott Mitchell |
Scuderia Ferrari Filming Day Backstage Footage
Back to Work | Valtteri Bottas' 2021 Seat Fit
F1 Explained | Mercedes Power Unit
How McLaren F1’s new investors have already made an impact
The deal McLaren concluded with MSP Sports Capital last year which will help the cash-strapped Formula 1 team pay for much-needed infrastructure upgrades, also points toward the future for F1 itself, says GP Racing's Stuart Codling.
Why Verstappen isn't interested in the hype game
In a pre-season where Red Bull has been unusually quiet, Max Verstappen has also been guarded about the team's fortunes in 2021. Even after trying the RB16B for the first time at Silverstone, the Dutchman was careful to manage expectations
The pros and cons of F1's 2021 rule changes
In the strategy for grand prix racing's future, 2021 represents a significant step towards the goal of closer racing and a more level playing field. That's the theory behind the latest raft of changes, but will they have the desired effect?
What Red Bull is trying to hide with its RB16B launch
Red Bull made no secret of the fact its 2021 F1 car is an evolution of its predecessor, but in keeping the same foundations while hiding some tightly-guarded updates with its RB16B, the team aims to avoid suffering the same pitfalls of previous years
How Albon plans to fight his way out of Red Bull limbo
Alex Albon has faced the media for the first time since he lost his Red Bull drive at the end of 2020 and dropped out of a Formula 1 race seat altogether. He has a history of bouncing back from setbacks, so here's what he must do to rise again
Ranked! Carlin's greatest F1 graduates
Carlin has helped guide enough drivers to Formula 1 to fill out an entire grid, plus a handful of reserves, to create a remarkable alumni list. With Yuki Tsunoda set to join that group, Motorsport.com has ranked its graduates to grace the grand prix scene...
Why Alfa's 2021 launch says more about its 2022 plans
Alfa Romeo launched its C41 with a revised front nose, but there's little to suggest it will surge up the leaderboard in 2021. As the team frankly admits, it's putting its eggs in the basket labelled 2022 and hoping to hold the eighth place it earned last year
Why Gasly’s AlphaTauri haven is a blessing and a curse
Red Bull opted not to re-sign Pierre Gasly even before it decided to drop Alex Albon and so the Frenchman's Formula 1 journey will continue at AlphaTauri. This has positive and negative connotations for one of last season's star performers.
