"Kimi Raikkonen drives without instructions" says Alfa Romeo team manager
F1 News
Kimi Raikkonen is by far the most experienced Formula 1 driver on the current grid. As he approaches 40, the Finnish driver has experienced almost everything on track. Alfa Romeo team manager Beat Zehnder was at Sauber when Raikkonen joined in 2001 and he's still at the team today.
Zehnder can identify just how far the 2007 world champion has improved since Raikkonen was 21-years-old. He reveals Raikkonen doesn't take any instructions with him ahead of races.
"Kimi drives without instructions. Kimi does it all by himself, he understands everything. The engineers discuss with each other whether we need to change an engine setting, but at that very moment, Kimi changes it on his own. He knows what he has to do and when," Zehnder told Auto Motor und Sport.
Raikkonen wasn't achieving the best results during the first few races of the season, but over the last five races, results have improved. In his Alfa Romeo, Raikkonen is now a regular points finisher. Only in the wet German Grand Prix did Raikkonen finish without points for the first time since the Canadian Grand Prix. Zehnder reflects this in his comments.
"We let him down a bit at the beginning of the season. But now he is improving more and more," Zehnder added.