Raikkonen relishes Monaco challenge

The Monaco GP has always had a very particular spell for drivers, persons involved in the work and fans of Formula One. Even Kimi Raikkonen is not immune at all: "If I had to follow Formula One as a spectator and had to choose one race, I would have ...

The Monaco GP has always had a very particular spell for drivers, persons involved in the work and fans of Formula One. Even Kimi Raikkonen is not immune at all: "If I had to follow Formula One as a spectator and had to choose one race, I would have no doubt: I would go to Monte Carlo," said Kimi, before leaving in the direction of the Principality.

Kimi Raikkonen, Scuderia Ferrari.

Photo by xpb.cc.

"It is the most important amongst all the Grands Prix, with an extraordinary combination of the emotions during the race, the particularity of the place and the prestige, surrounding the event. It must be as wonderful to watch this race, as it is to participate in it. Not so much as far as the race is concerned but more in terms of the challenge: driving fast in a F1 car through these streets is biggest challenge of them all for sure. I love challenges: the more challenging they are the more I'm attracted. I really can't wait to race this GP."

Two years ago Kimi won the race through the streets of Monaco, while last year he was dictating the rhythm, when he was stopped by a technical problem. "This is a very special place for me and I will never forget my success in 2005, in a race, which I think was one of my most beautiful ones. It will be the seventh time I am going to race here and the first time with Ferrari. As usual we will have lots of work to do, but I hope I can also pass some time with my friends and family."

It's obvious that here - more than anywhere else - the qualifying plays a crucial role for the final result. "It is fundamental to have a good lap and I will give it all. Until now the qualifyings did not work out as I wanted it to be, but we did a lot of work to improve the situation. It would be wonderful to win with a red car and it would be much easier if I could start from the front row."

Last week Kimi worked for two days on the race track of Paul Ricard in southern France: "Every time I get into the car my knowledge of the tyres improves. They are really different to the ones I used during the last year. As far I as understand by reading the papers, also Fernando is in a similar situation. The test sessions in France went really well and now I feel even better with the F2007."

"Obviously we don't know what our competitors have done so we will see things a bit clearer only on Thursday, during the free practice sessions. There are four drivers competing for the top spot in the championship, but there's no particular driver I am concentrated on. I will go to every race with the same attitude: trying to give my best and collecting as many points as possible. After the test session in France I went back home, where I trained very hard: I'm ready for Monte Carlo."