Writing this from Portugal is a bit of a new experience for me, particularly as I have never even been to Portugal before! It’s a nice country, but I have to say that the stages are really tricky.I expected this rally to be quite difficult from the start, but maybe not this difficult. I’ve been back in the car for the first time in over a month, and although I had a day of testing in France, that’s hardly the same as being in competition in Portugal.
The most difficult thing? Actually there are lots of tricky things. First of all, everyone has a lot more experience than me. All the other guys have seen these stages for the last three years but this is still only my seventh-ever WRC rally.
Then there are the stages themselves. The rally is on gravel and I’m finding the grip really inconsistent. There are also a few other things catching me out.
For example, you often have corners that are right on the top of some crests and this makes it really difficult to get the braking and the line right. I can tell you this now: rallying is a lot harder than Formula One, but as always it just depends on what you’re used to.
The engineers sometimes talk to the drivers over the radio in Formula One, but this is something that I never really liked: I preferred just to get on and drive the car. So imagine what it’s like now, when I have a co-driver telling me what to do all the time! Getting the pace notes right is an important part of rallying and I think we have some way to go before we have completely got on top of that.
So, it’s really not easy. But I’m definitely enjoying myself. For a start, the atmosphere is much more relaxed and a lot less political than it was in Formula One. I’ve been made to feel very welcome; there are nice people here. There’s no pressure either: I’m just learning something different at my own pace.
I like Portugal too. When you are in a rally car you get to see some of the country you are in: it’s not like Formula One where all you see is the airport, the hotel and the circuit.
We’re staying in a hotel in Vilamoura: quite a nice tourist place that has a little port and some restaurants and bars. Although the days on a rally are very long, over the course of the year you get more time to yourself and I am really enjoying that.
Portuguese people seem to love motor sport: in fact any sport! The service park for the rally is in the Estadio Algarve: a stadium just outside of Faro. I’ve forgotten the name of the team that plays there, but somebody told me that they weren’t very good. Just goes to show, life is tough when you’re a top sportsman…
Kimi Räikkönen
Source: Red Bull - RallyBuzz
