F1: Raikkonen Keen To Play Down Expectations

Formula 1

F1: Raikkonen Keen To Play Down Expectations

Kimi Raikkonen is the World Championship leader, but it's early...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted March 21, 2013 Sepang (MAS)

Kimi Raikkonen stands by on Thursday in Malaysia. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Kimi Raikkonen is keen to play down expectations of further success in Malaysia on the back of his victory in Australia last weekend.

Raikkonen scored his first GP victory at Sepang with McLaren in 2003.

“We don’t know yet,” he said of his chances. “Last year we were pretty good when it was hot and actually it was better for us, but obviously we haven’t run in this kind of conditions and the winter has been very cold, so I have no idea. But if it’s anything like it was last year, we should be pretty OK, but we have to wait and see how it goes.

“I wouldn’t say that the [Melbourne] qualifying was a very normal situation with all the weather – it got delayed and all that stuff. But if it was normal dry conditions, I’m pretty sure we are more close. We will wait and see when we get a normal qualifying. Then, I’m sure we are not a second behind, or 1.4 seconds or whatever it was.

“There’s no target. We don’t do anything different this weekend than we did in the previous race or last year. If people think that we are leaders, it makes no difference to our work, what we did or what we’re going to do this weekend or any other weekend. Like I said, we try to do best and hopefully we can score some good points.”

Raikkonen said that the track doesn’t have any special significance for him, despite the anniversary of his maiden win.

“It’s not really any special place,” he said. “I mean, of course it was nice to win the first race but we really should have won the year before, so it’s nice to come back here – I don’t enjoy the heat and the humidity of the place, but the circuit is nice, so we know how it’s going to be more or less here. It usually gives a good race and that’s the main thing. Hopefully, we can have another good weekend and score good points.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 28th season as a racing journalist in 2012. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.