Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 F1 world champion, says that Ferrari has made improvements on the new F1 car making it a completely different story from the model that was developed last year which drew a dismal blank on the tracks and was widely criticized too.
For the first time in 21 years, Ferrari did not win a grand prix in 2014 as Raikkonen went through with his worst season in the sport, finishing only 12th overall and without a single podium appearance.
Podium appearance for F1 race car drivers means that they land on the top 3 for every gran prix event.
The forgettable season last year allowed Ferrari to rethink its F1 car model and come up with something better for this year.
An improved race car
Raikkonen says that the new F1 car is a lot better from the one that Ferrari has developed and he drove last year.
The whole package was improved and this is obvious in many different areas of the car, says the former world champion after his first day of testing the new Ferrrari F1 car at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain.
After the debacle that was 2014, Ferrari made a lot of changes and work on improving a lot of things in its F1 race car. Raikkonen says that it’s definitely a positive start and it also shows the commitment of the company to bounce back from a disappointing 2014 in the grand prix circuit.
The 2015 season for F1 race car driving begins in Australia next month.
Better year for Ferrari
Ferrari had three team principals last year in a major shake-up. Maurizio Arrivabene came on board in November and he has set a minimum target of two wins for Ferrarin in 2015.
The racing team also improved its race car driver roster. Sebastian Vettel, four-time world champion from Germany, has also come to replace Spaniard Fernando Alonso. Vettel lapped fastest in the first two days of testing. Mileage covered by the new F1 car is more important at this stage than times on the track.
After completing 92 laps and covering 407 kilometers, Raikkonen was the second fastest behind Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr who was in command of the Ferrari-powered Sauber.
Mercedes made the most laps for the day with Nico Rosberg doing 151 but it was Ferrari’s improved performance that caught the attention of its rivals.
All eyes are on the Ferrari which was a revelation in the tracks. Australian Daniel Riccciardo a team mate of Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull last year shares the same observation.
He told the media that Sebastian was very quick during his first day. Without factoring fuel and tires and other things, it was a good time because Ferrari is looking good even before race car season officially begins in March, Ricciardo said.