“It’s better”- Kimi Raikkonen’s judgement to Ferrari’s new power unit that will be installed on Alfa Romeo too, as Ferrari vies for prestige.
Ferrari had a tough year in Formula 1 in 2020, but now the Italian outfit would love to keep it as the days of the past and move onto 2021. The biggest issue with Ferrari was its underwhelming power unit.
But Kimi Raikkonen has guaranteed better performances from the engine this year, as he gave a positive response after driving on it during the Bahrain test session.
“I’m sure they’ve made progress,” he said. “It’s better, but then you would expect that the other manufacturers have also improved. But comparing what we had last year, it’s in a better position. We’ll have to wait and see where it is once the racing starts.”
Raikkonen covered 64 laps on the first day of the test session and is now scheduled to be on track for the whole day on Sunday, which is the final day of the test.
The car feels slightly different.
Raikkonen then revealed his experiences with the car after the few upgradations made, and according to him, the car has given no issues till now, though cautions that it is still early days.
“It’s early days, obviously,” says Raikkonen. “We had no issues yesterday the whole day, and I think this morning was the same. So on that side, everything is good.
“The car felt slightly different than last year, but it feels very good in some places. The wind made it very difficult yesterday and in other places off the track. But I think it’s a good starting point.”
Last year, Alfa Romeo finished P8 on the constructors’ table and, in 2021, would be hoping to challenge Alpha Tauri, who came just ahead of them. Meanwhile, Ferrari would be hoping for a leap by the end of 2021.