COMPLETELY HIS FAULT
K
imi Raikkonen ‘retired’ twice from the
Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as a first lap
collision with his fellow countryman
Valtteri Bottas compromised the Ferrari driver’s
race.
When side-by-side with Raikkonen, Bottas
misjudged a move early on during the first lap
which saw his Mercedes launch off a kerb and
clip the rear of the Ferrari.
Raikkonen said after an incident packed
race,”I did nothing wrong. He braked very early,
again. I went to the outside and it was fine and
then suddenly I was hit completely on the side.”
“I think he knew he had braked too early and
then let the brakes go. It was completely his fault
but I paid the price,” added Raikkonen who had
qualified third for the race at Baku City Circuit.
After the incident Raikkonen said, “We were
able to keep going but then I was unlucky. The
two Force Indias collided, some debris flew off
and destroyed my rear tire. As a consequence,
my whole floor and the rear wing were damaged
and we decided to retire.”
With the car needing repairs it seemed that
the race was over for the veteran Finn, but a red
flag stoppage allowed the Ferrari crew to work
on the car which enabled him to resume the
race, “When the red flag stopped the race we
thought that we might try and go back on track.”
But on lap 46 it was over for Raikkonen, “It’s
not a good day when your car retires twice in a
race. I don’t know if it is anything to do with luck
when someone drives into you. It is a mistake
from the other side. If it is on your side, you
can look in the mirror and think: you paid the
price because you messed it up, but this time it
wasn’t,” mused Raikkonen.