Kimi's Column: MORE THAN ENOUGH OF CHALLENGES

Kimi Jordan Rally preview in Finnish

Okay, so I went to drive a NASCAR-test. It was completely super awesome. That serie is a completely different world and everything is new for us who are used to drive elsewhere. It's interesting and challenging to go there.

But now we are driving rally again. It is after all 'our thing' at the moment.

Jordan is one of the most trickiest gravel rallies. We were here last year so we have some kind of understanding over what we can expect this weekend. So far being in the same rally for the second time has helped us and it's 100% sure that we have an advantage of it in Jordan too.

I have a pleasant image from Portugal's gravel. Once we recovered from *** No swearing *** up the setups - the whole front of the car was too high - the car felt good in the final games.

It's going to be exciting to see how it goes now. This rally is as challenging as challenging can be. The roads are hard gravel and loose sand. The weather is quite warm too. You don't seem to find any focusing points from the terrain. Fortunately I have learned to make and understand notes better and better all the time. They are really important in this rally.

They have warfare going on nearby but it's peaceful in Jordan. We all wish that the rally could be pulled through without any incidents.

Our goal is once again to get through the route without making any bad blunders. Last time we came in 8th in Jordan. They were our first points.

We are now going there to see if we can improve our position. It's going to be a tough twist since the group is so even at this point.

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM

Courtesy: Nicole

Kimi's Column: TOUGHEST RALLY, NO BLUNDERS

Kimi Rally de Portugal review in Finnish

Just like we remembered to begin with, Portugal is a difficult rally. When the stages are difficult the challenges are spectacular. Yet we could drive for three days without blunders. It left us with good feelings and we got yet again more points.

Now we have two rallies from this season under our belt and we have kept the car on the road. In Portugal the consistency, somekind of evenness, was found. In that sense it's good to look ahead. When you can drive a rally like this cleanly, then you can little by little start to lift the pace too.

To begin with our setups were completely *** No swearing ***-up. The team made a small mistake and the car was pretty much in wrong setups. We discovered it on Friday and on Saturday we got immediately more trust in the driving when the car started working the way it should have worked after the tests.

From there on I got a good feeling to drive whereas on Friday we were completley in the blue thinking what was wrong with it. Oh well, it was the car.

On Friday the air disappeared hastily from the tyre. So we drove that stage with an empty ragged wheel to the finish line and lost time there. The rally as a whole was okay and the result was okay. I should have drove completely super in order to battle for a better position.

At least we learned more about the car again. The routine comes from feeling the car. Sometimes I'm completely satisfied with my driving, sometimes not. I have noticed one thing though, the more I drive rally, the less situations.

That's how it should be too, so that we can try and drive faster.

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM
Courtesy: Nicole

Kimi's Column: Closer to the front runners

Kimi's Swedish Rally review 2011

It was great fun to get back racing, again and it was nice to get grips with the new car.

The weekend was quite OK. We didn¹t have any major problems, actually it was pretty much an easy-going rally for us in very tricky circumstances.

We seem to get closer to the front runners. Still they go very quick, but comparing the stage times we are not that much behind anymore. Obviously, it¹s still a learning curve for me and we have still a lot of things to do.

We finished the rally and the result is ok. We got some good points for me and Kaj and we got some good points to our ICE1 RACING team, too. The team did good job. We are still learning from the car, but it¹s nice to drive. That's the main thing for now.

Before the first rally we had only one day for testing. While the car felt good, still the race is the race and when the you got very challenging and changeable weather, you have use some time to train in the first place.

I can tell you, it was quite difficult. We spun and then we had a puncture, which cost us some time. But after that everything went well. I felt relaxed, the driving itself felt easy and we got some good stage times without pushing too much.

It's nice feeling while you don't have to wipe off the sweat from your forehead and sigh huh-huh, we managed to get the special stage through. I'm quite satisfied how we went the whole rally. It felt very normal driving all the time.

Obviously, there is much to learn. Still I have to focus more on the pace notes. There were not that many places we had it wrong, but there were some, we had to change before going there for the second time. If you get it wrong, it's always a very tricky task to keep the car on the road. It's challenging to work with pace notes. That¹s for sure.

Every time, after the rally, you feel you could have gone faster. But most importantly, I have learned more and improved from last year. Let's wait and see, how we go in the next few rallies.

Sweden was a good start for the season. The next rally for us is Portugal. Before that we have a test. Now it's time to start working to go well on gravel, too.

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM

Kimi Swedish Rally review in Finnish

It felt cool to get to drive again after a long time and it was great to get a feeling to the new car. It was an okay weekend. We didn't face any bigger griefs at any moment.

It looks like we are closer to the top. It's good since it means we have gone forward again. We do however know that we still have a lot to do.

We got to test the new car only for a day. Okay, the car felt good but when you have a race with difficult conditions right from the beginning, the start was only training for us. It was quite tricky when we spun and got a puncture just like that when driving in the track.

After that it started to go well. The driving was easy and the times came easily especially during the second round in the afternoon when I found a good laidbackness.

Of course we are still in the stage of learning. I have to pay even more attention to the notes. There weren't many corners that went wrong but there was a place that needed to be changed. If a situation like that comes up then it has always been tough to keep the car on the road. I just have to look more carefully at the notes in the future.

In Sweden our spinnings limited to that one spot on Friday. After that I didn't have to wipe sweat after the stage thinking "whew that we managed to finish it". I'm fairly satisfied when we got to drive a completely normal drive to the finish.

After the race you are always left with a feeling that it could have gone better. But it's cool when you have already learned something and improved from the earlier times.

Let's just now see how the continuance goes.

The result is okay. I got points home and good points for our team. The gang did a good job and the car felt nice to drive all the time. It's quick and a bit smaller than last year's car. It kind of suits me better.

It's good to start the new season from here. Next rally will then be in Portugal and before that we will go testing to see how the car behaves with gravel setups.

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM
Courtesy: Nicole

Kimi's Column: The Suomi-boy's element

Swedish Rally preview in Finnish

The winter is gone, the new cars came. We have trained and tested as much as possible. Spent time on the countryside, cottage and own privacy. The new season starts and we have been waiting for it for some time already - I guess as much as the thousands fans also have.

It has been even more cool to start the new season because everybody starts with new cars. The car feels good. Kaitsu will continue as co-driver and that's a cool thing because we have all the time been in such a good sync with each other.

So far we have agreed upon a 10 rally program.

It's good to start from Sweden. It's cool to drive on snow. Before last year snow was the surface I had most experience of but after last season I now have experience of all the roads.

However snow is a Suomi-boy's element. Now it's a completely different thing and experience to start this rally when we are in the traffic for the second time and we have old notes to rely on. Now we have some kind of impression and understanding over what happens there when we have last year's routes.

Let's just hope that the road bears and doesn't create any nasty surprises.

In the winter I got to carry out a longtime idea of helping Finnish motocross back to the level it belongs to in the world. In the team we drive and support two dudes in the in the WC-serie and six youngsters in Finland. We do this project together with Kari Tiainen.

I've been in Spain training a bit myself too. It's a really good and efficient form of training. I recommend it to everybody.

The sad thing for the whole motorsport-gang is Robert Kubica's rally accident. It's the worst nightmare for all racing drivers that something happens. Although the safety arrangements in the cars are better these days, the risks are still the same when you fasten your belt and put on your helmet. No matter in which genre. Something can always happen.

It's really sad that it now happened to Robert. Let's wish he recovers soon and gets back driving the same way like before.

Source: KimiRaikkonen.com
Courtesy: Nicole

Kimi’s Column: Tricky season, but great fun

Review 2010

Well, the rally season 2010 is over. It was a tough year. Trying to learn the WRC car and eleven completely new rallies during the season was a huge challenge for a rookie like me. But it was a great fun, too.

I liked the new experience very much, indeed. It was as difficult as we could expect, but I have all but negative feelings going though it.

It was a season full of ups and downs. There were some good times, there were some bad times. But that’s how it usually goes in the world of motor sports. Obviously, there were some people expecting us to make miracles after a couple of first rallies. But, in the end of the day, there was no reason to wait for more from this rookie season of mine.

We finished the last rally in Wales. It feels good every time you finish a race. The Rally of Britain was a truly challenging one. We’ve got storm, rain, ice-slippery roads, no sight ahead from time to time. It was an adventure and to finish it with some points was a nice finish for this WRC season.

It was also the end of an era for these WRC cars. They are really great cars and it was a privilege to have a season with them, too.

Obviously, the season offered many different kind of rally roads. The tarmac doesn’t mean tarmac like it is in Formula One. It’s only semi-tarmac every time, while there is so much gravel and dirt on the road. Coming in as from circuit racing the only real asphalts were those short show stages in the cities.

The RedBull Citroen WRC team keeps winning the championships. They are true professionals in and out. You have to give the highest note for them every time for their effort.

Now it’s time for a break. I chill out with friends and my family like I usually do in this time of the year. I’ll keep training and keep having fun in motor racing. The Christmas time is coming and I plan to spend that peaceful period at home, like always.

For the next year we continue talking to people. When we have something signed and sealed, we tell you.

Thank you all fans for the support and wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. The race goes on 2011.

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM
Courtesy:_TaniaS_

Kimi's Column: The trickiest challenge

It has been a great experience to get through the whole WRC season. We are almost here. One to go and then it’s time for a proper holiday.

Obviously, it has not been easy. But I never expected that. The rally is such a new event for me. Driving in a rally differs completely from driving in Formula One. I’m still a rookie in this sport and I have always been fond of trying to learn new things.

You have to remember that the top guys go very fast in a rally car. You just have to be patient and try to get closer to them, gaining experience step by step.

Well, the autumn has given us some tough times. We have lost some important miles in a couple of the last rallies. It would have been nice to get them, but it’s useless to worry too much afterwards.

The RedBull Citroën team has been doing a real great job all the time. They are top-level professionals and it has been a pleasure to work with them so closely. Citroën clinched, well deservedly, both drivers’ and constructors’ championships. The French really know how to do it in rallying.

Congratulations to RedBull F1 team, too. They won the constructors’s championship in F1 for the first time. I’ve been around to win that title a couple of times and I know how great achievement that is for everybody in the team.

Luckily our season is not over yet. We know very well how big a challenge we have ahead on the roads in Wales. I guess before hand that this is the trickiest rally in this WRC calendar while the weather will be bad. It can rain, it can be foggy, it can be icy, what so ever.

This is the last rally with the generation of these WRC cars. Obviously it’s important for all of us to have a memorable final rally. We have to be very punctual all the time. The target is to find the good rhythm quickly and finish the season with the positive feeling.

My co-driver Kaj Lindström has been here many times before. He has seen all the weather variations and, for sure, his valuable experience gives a big help during this weekend too.

Source: KimiRaikkonen.com
Courtesy: _TaniaS_

Kimi's Column: One more year of age and speed

Kimi Rally Catalunya Preview

I had my birthday on Sunday. That means one more year of age – and hopefully some more spped, too. Well, let’s have a try. This weekend it’s time for the Rally Catalunya. Obviously, I don’t know how it goes, but it should suit us better than a couple of last rallies.

Me and my co-driver Kaj Lindstrom are heading there with a good feeling. My learning year will go on as usual, but, generally taken, this should be one of better rallies for me.

I hope it won’t be raining. It would be fantastic finally to get to the good and clean roads with the RedBull Citroen C4 WRC.

This is the same story again, but, for sure, the leaders get their usual advantage having done most of these stages so many times in previous years. But also Kaj has been there before and that should help us a little bit. In the end of the day you cannot use the old pace notes too much, but knowing the roads is a certain bonus where to build on.

We start the rally with the car we left in France, while we had no tests before going to Spain. Sebastien Loeb clinched his title in the last rally, but it doesn’t change that much the situation. Everybody tries to go as hard as they can and it will be tight in the front and will be tight in the group behind them.

The opening day has been changed, while it will be on gravel almost all the first special stages. How big change that is, I can’t tell, but one thing I know: it will give busy time for the engineers and mechanics while we have to change the set-up of the car so totally from gravel to asphalt.

But it won’t be any different driving for me. My target is the same like always: first to get a nice, good rhythm, then to keep the car in one piece all three days and then finish the rally without any major mistakes.

Last couple of rallies have not been that good for us. But it’’s useless to worry too much afterwards. The mistakes have been done and all I can do is to learn from them for the future. I know, sometimes such a minor error can cause on huge waste of time. But it’s up to experience to improve and that’s what I try to do all the time when I race.

Now we focus on this rally in Spain. I have always enjoyed it very much while I was with Formula INe in Barcelona. Let’s hope it will be a nice weekend there with WRC, too.

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM
Courtesy: _TaniaS_

Kimi's Column: SAYONARA!

Kimi Rally Japan review in Finnish

I would never claim that the rally in Japan is easy but in the end it wasn't the world's toughest either. The route was challenging and the roads were really narrow at times. It was cool to run it.

We just went off the road. My blunder, can't help it. It happened during the last note, I got it a bit wrong and it was immediately sayonara. We came a bit too fast to the corner and I couldn't get it back on the road and so we fell quietly into the bushes.

Because there wasn't a soul in the landscape we couldn't get out of there, just me and Kaitsu.

It was the second retirement this season and I didn't get all the kilometers under my belt. Of course it bugs me and it bugs because I could have taken that corner more easily. It just hurts everytime in rally when you make a small mistake. On F1-tracks you are always forgiven more.

The starting position was tricky because we went straight on gravel after Rally Germany. We had no testing so it had some affect when we first took care of the super special stage in the stadium and went after that to run on the dirt roads in the forest.

Technical problems in the beginning are annoying. The machines just refused to gallop so we couldn't really get anywhere when the car didn't work like it should have worked. After we found the right setups it started to show in the stagetimes too.

We just didn't make it to the finish line. What was important was that we drove until the last day and collected again some experience from a different rally. When you are in this game you just have to get used to the fact that everything can happen. It's after all the number 1 -thing in this learning year.

The next rally is in France then. Others haven't drove there either and because it's a tarmac rally it's of course a more familiar surface to me than these Sapporo's forest paths are. It's good to get some testing at this point so that we get a better feeling of the rally.

It will be my 4th rally on tarmac with a WRC-car. I have the same goals.

The most important thing is to finish the rally and avoid the bigger blunders.

Source: KimiRaikkonen.com
Courtesy: Nicole

Kimi's Column: HARD DAYS, HARD NIGHTS

Kimi Rally Japan preview in Finnish

Everybody says that Japan's rally is difficult. I'm sure it's true, I don't know because I haven't drove this rally before but I do know that it's just as difficult for all the drivers and teams.

Nobody knows these roads that well beforehand. Of course for a first-timer like me it's one rally again for sure where we are a bit more 'out' in the beginning than we would be somewhere else.

This route has been made the same way as in Finland. We go fast and we have to be really exact with the notes - just like in Jyväskylä. I've been racing so many times in Japan that I know that the weather can be almost anything. There's no shortage of challenges when there's rain, mud and whatever else on the road.

This is a long rally. We do a long day when driving from six in the morning to late in the evening. We know that if it's difficult for me then it's just as difficult for the others too. Everybody makes mistakes in a race like this.

Those who make least mistakes also do the best.

At first everything is of course the same as always. When we put the helmet on we have to go fast. We have our share of doing and learning.

After Germany's rally we haven't had any tests. We just go straight on the lane and start looking for the right speed again. I think that we should probably slowly hurry again so that we are on the safe side. My goals are the same as usual: get to the finish line, collect the kilometers and if everything goes well we will get some WC-points again for sure.

The fans in Japan must be the most enthusiastic fans. I already have three big icehockey-bags filled with toys, hats and other fan-stuff that they have made.

There they have followed me from F1 to rally and it's great when they support like that.

Source: KimiRaikkonen.com
Courtesy: Nicole

Kimi's Column: A Concrete challenge

Kimi German Rally Preview

It's time we are heading for Germany. They say it's a tarmac surface, but most of all, for me, it brings a new challenge to go fast on the concrete roads, too.

Obviously, I know well the Red Bull Citroën Junior Team us to get through the weekend without mistakes and errors. This is the second tarmac rally of the season. We should heve the pace for the good result - as long as we avoid the biggerish mistakes.

In Rally Finland I got the luxury of having done it once before. But the rest of the season I have just all new places to go rallying.

Well, Germany Rally is a brand new race for me, but still it feels nicer to get back to the tarmac rally. Most of the time in Bulgaria was very encouraging for us. But as well we know, it's not helping a single bit this time.

German Rally is so different compared to the stages in Bulgaria. Instead of a whole tarmac rally we have plenty of miles on the roads surfaced with concrete. What I've heard, they are very slippery and we have to handle il with care down there.

Obviously, there is a lot talking of the pace notes in every rally, but this time it's even more important to get them perfecly right. We have to very precise and very careful with making the pace notes for this rally.

The most extreme points is the 48 kilometre special stage. It's the longest stage we'll have with these WRC cars. While you do that twice, it's almost one third of the total of the special stage kilometres in this rally.

I presume, it's going to be pretty hot in the cabin in that stage and, for sure, it will show the importance of the experience much more than in any other place. Obviously, it's the stage you'll win or lose in a big way, too.

After Rally Finland we had a couple of tests in Germany. Everything went well. The car felt good and we found some new settings for this rally.

Germany has never been good place for me, while I raced in Formula One. There was not a single weekend, we got everything nicely together. Always something went wrong.

But I'm not going to take any pressure of the old times. This is a different kind of a challenge and my number one hope is to finish the rally without any major hiccups. If we managed to do it, fine. We need all the miles available to clinch more the rallying experience we need so much in this point of my racing career.

After Jyväskylä I chilled out a little while with trial and golf. Of course, I trained every day to be ready for this new interesting rally event. Let's wait and see what we manage to achieve this time.

Source: Kimiraikkonen.com

Kimi's Column: ONE DITCH TOO MUCH

Kimi Rally Finland review in Finnish

We finished the rally. We got the kilometers we had set for our target but didn't take the points. It bugs because there were a few small misses and we couldn't stay in the bunch of ten until up to Saturday morning.

I have to say that Jyskälä is a great rally. I can't but congratulate the Finnish rally fans.

This is a rally country and the whole gang was fully with us alongside the roads starting from six in the morning. It gives you a great feeling to drive with a support like that.

I have never got so much support anywhere else and I'm sure all the other Finnish drivers think exactly the same way.

The new format worked well. We drove for two days from morning to evening. I thought it was a successful trial. It felt completely different than it has felt in other races.

I have to say that it's cool to run a fast rally like this with a decent machine. These are great cars. We enjoyed every stage "100" when there's twisting and power to push, the chassis works and the brakes are top class.

It was difficult in the beginning. We didn't really get into the rhythm. We tried different settings before we got the setup to fall in place and set some good SS-times after that. There was a good twist too when we got to race against Kankkunen's Juha for the 7th position. The age isn't weighing him down, that's for sure. He went that fast.

Of course you are never completely satisfied with any stage but there was a few after which we could smile for a reason.

Then Kolonkulma on Saturday morning just went wrong. The car slided on the morning stage to a ditch in a corner turning to the right. We didn't go terribly fast but it was a deep ditch and the car got stuck. We tried to get it up by using the gas but only managed to break the front. Luckily there was enough gang so that we got help to get back on the road.

After that we had to do some tyre work because we only had one spare tyre. One tyre was completely wasted but the other one could be put back on the rim.

We jumped on it for a while and got to continue our journey.

Congratulations to the fan who is somewhere dragging the Citroen bumper as a souvenir.

It went well since we could continue. After the service we got all the pieces back. The rest went well. We got important kilometers of the rally pace both for the car and the dude.

It was great that we got a Finnish winner in Finland's WRC-rally. It means a lot to the rally people.

Now we will change from gravel back to tarmac. We will test in Germany next weekend and after that we are ready for the next challenge. Let's see how it hits in Germany.

Source: Kimiraikkonen.com
Courtesy: Nicole

Kimi's column: TO THE HOME RACE IN FIRST CLASS

Kimi Finnish Rally preview in Finnish

I've been waiting for this for so long when being in motorsport and now I finally get to drive for the first time in the very first class a World Championship-race in Finland. We drove in Jyväskylä with Kaitsu last year already but you can't compare it to this. This WRC-car is a completely different machine than the 2000 was a year ago. The speeds a insanely much harder.

In F1 somewhere in Hungary the benches were filled with Finland's flags but it's completely different to drive a real home race. We are in high feelings when there are lots of people coming to the jubilee-rally and all of us Finnish drivers will get a lot of support alongside the route.

This is my highlight of the season. A home race still means the most for every driver.

It was a little helpful that we have already drove through the route. The basics are done.

Pace noting has started to go better all the time.

Oh well, we didn't finish the rally last time because of that tiny screw-up on Saturday night during the last stage in Väärinmaja. This time the same spot won't be lurking. Now I have that sort of a machine that goes a lot faster.

I just have to be really sharp so that the car stays on the road.

We got a really good testing under the belt again. Everything worked insanely well and we got the car better. I dig these roads. This is now the 7th WRC-rally this year and after so many starts it becomes all the time more easier to understand how to work on the car.

It's way more cooler to jump in the cabin and start pushing the home race when I have chances to drive faster than last year. It won't yet change the fact that even though we go faster, the dudes in the front go insanely fast when compared to others.

We are again going to follow the same scheme. For us the most important thing is that we finish the rally. That's the only way to score points and we want them. It's completely realistic to be in positions 5-10 with an even performance provided we don't screw up. It's a good goal.

Kankkunen's Juha is making a comeback and it's really interesting to see what his pace is. He has drove Jyskälä 20 times so nothing there will suprise him in any way. Welcome back!

Source: kimiraikkonen.com
Courtesy: Nicole

Kimi Swedish Rally Review [English]

Ruts, spins - and banks



The Swedish Rally was my first world championship rally with WRC car. Well, we finished the rally in one piece. It was the target and it was the most positive thing to achieve from the weekend.

Obviously, I made a couple of silly mistakes that I could have lived without. We paid heavily for those and it hurt badly our result.

The Swedish Rally is a very demanding race. The roads are covered with snowy ice. If you come out of the ruts, there is soft snow and you spin easily. Then you get snow all over the car, cannot see anything - and so you are hit the snow bank.

That's what happened to us. We went there with walking speed, but stuck on the soft snow bank. Then I had to take the spade and start digging the car out of the snow.

Well, that's one thing you have to experience in a rally. It's normal and I know that those who now are the leaders, have had their share of shovelling, too. I guess, not even Sibelius started by composing the Finlandia first.

All in all the Swedish Rally offered us a very interesting weekend. Okay, perhaps we didn't have any expectations but, for sure, the pressure was there, while we started the rally. It was difficult, but it feels good it's done now.

Every single mile I'll get under my belt with this car is very important for me now. The more I'll find the good feeling with the car, the better it goes. Even now from time to time I started to feel better and I got along with the car better and better.

While we do the stages for a second time, obviously, it helps and makes it a little bit easier.

After our "hiccups" in the beginning, we decided not to seek some better set-ups. We went to Sebastien Loeb's set-up and started to learn to drive the car with it. I just focused on baseline driving and to keeping the car on the road.

After getting used to how the car handled, it was easier - although the circumstances were changing all the time. At least, next time I know the car better and then we can ask more from the car, too.

It felt good to have some good times. For sure, I experienced once more how important it is to get the pace notes exactly right. When the note is ok, it's so much easier to go fast. There were some places, my notes were wrong - and there we suffered the most.

I said already before going to Sweden, this rally on snow will be a very difficult race to start the season. Obviously, I have not done a single meter with this car on gravel or on asphalt, but I bet it's not going to be more difficult, at the very least.

Now we focus on the next rally. It's Mexico and it's the first rally on gravel. We'll have one day of testing with the car in France. Then it's Viva la Mexico and it will be thrilling to see my co-driver Kaj Lindstrom with a sombrero on.

Source: KimiRaikkonen.com
Thanks: Anelise

25.01: Kimi season preview - the Arctic start

"Well, this is what I’ve been looking for since signing the contract for WRC rally season 2010 with the Red Bull Citroen team. My feeling is about the same like it always has been before the first race of the season in Formula One. Like us all I feel the butterflies in my stomach in a nice way. All in all my feeling is the very best to start racing again.

The most motivating thing for a racing drivers is to approach a new kind of challenge. Obviously, going to rally is all new challenge for me. That makes it so exciting to start this season.

The new car Citroen C4 WRC has fitted me well since the first test. Now we have had 3 days with it. It feels nice, while you see how effectively it reacts to the changes in the set-up. Everything we have tried has worked as it should. We feel we are working into the right direction and that’s what the engineers confirmed to us in the briefings, too.

I start this brand new campaign this week form the Arctic Lapland Rally in Rovaniemi. In our programme this rally is only a preparation – like a final test – for Sweden, where the WRC season starts in February. It’s great to get going so soon. After testing the car first time in France, I’ve been looking forward to race it, too.

The winter break went fast. I spent it exactly in the same way I always did while I was in Formula One. First I took some holiday, had fun with my family and friends and then I went back to training. I have trained in the same way like always with Mark Arnall. I know the rally will be physically very, very tough. It will be hard shaking and ratting and sometimes in the cockpit it will be hot like a Finnish sauna with your overall and helmet on. You have to be top-fit to be able to focus all the time on your driving.

I’ve always said that it’s useless to give too much predictions before the first race of the new season. Obviously, now I mean it even more than ever before. I don’t know how the oldtime Finnish pioneer settlers felt before going to America, but, most likely, I feel a little bit the same for this new adventure of mine.

How it goes, I don’t know. Let’s wait and see, but, for sure, I can promise doing my very best in every rally. I’m not going to give up a single bit.

Of course, the start of the season will be some kind of confidence building period, too. All the rallies outside of Finland are new places for me. I have to learn all the rallies and I have to learn to rely on the notes. It’s very important for me to have Kaj Lindstrom as my co-driver. We get along fine and he is the best possible guy to work with. Without Kaj I probably would not have started this huge project at all.

We tested two days in Central Finland everything went well. The car is reliable like a Swiss watch. Obviously, it’s easy to see that the car has been strong and reliable, like it should while the team has won so many races and so many championships.

It’s for sure all the other Formula One drivers would love drive a rally car – at least, to try how it goes. Well, I know already how it feels.

Now we go to Rovaniemi and start making notes on Tuesday. We are looking for the feeling on snow and we test that everything is working well in such a cold conditions. On Thursday we’ll have a shakedown and then the race on Friday and on Saturday. "

Source: KimiRaikkonen.com