Breaking news
Formula 1 Chinese GP
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.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Apr 9, 2017, 5:43 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
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
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Hamilton says "real race" began when Vettel reached second
Next article Chinese GP: Post-race press conference
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1 Dec 31, 2024
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1 Dec 31, 2024
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Dec 28, 2024
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
Kimi Raikkonen
David Coulthard explains why Robin Raikkonen's rise resembles Max Verstappen's
Formula 1
Formula 1
Spanish GP
1 mo
David Coulthard explains why Robin Raikkonen's rise resembles Max Verstappen's
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
2 mo
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Red Bull signs Kimi Raikkonen’s son as junior driver
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
2 mo
Red Bull signs Kimi Raikkonen’s son as junior driver
More from
Ferrari
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 d
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Latest news
Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland win LeMullets 2026 in epic finish
General
Misc General 48 min
Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland win LeMullets 2026 in epic finish
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
7 h
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
7 h
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe