“The last season didn't go as I wanted. It started very well, but then there were too many negative moments. We made some mistakes, as did our competitors. But we paid a higher price for them, we couldn't make up and I was out of the title race too early. But this is already part of the past. Next year we'll be back to win again. There will be new rules and many things will change. So it's difficult to say how it will look like in 2009. But I think that we'll be competitive again.”
“Whenever there were changes Ferrari usually managed to adapt to them faster as all the others. We have to wait and see what our capacities will be and we can reach in the next Championships,” said the former F1 champ.
Nevertheless, Raikkonen insisted last year was not a step backward for Ferrari, as the Scuderia still managed to win a title and was only corners away from getting away with another 1-2 at the end of the season.
“The season is over and this is the verdict: Ferrari won again! The last race was a mirror for the Championship. We were really strong and we gained an excellent result, but not the perfect one. It's a very important result for all who work for or are part of the world of Ferrari: the people from the Scuderia, our partners, and more above all Stefano Domenicali, during his first year as team principal,” insisted Kimi.
However, the Scuderia doesn’t seem in a very good place right now, as the development of their KERS unit and car for 2009 is way behind rivals McLaren and BMW. Technical director Aldo Costa admitted earlier last month that Ferrari have a lot of catching up to do during the winter in terms of developing the new technologies for the upcoming season. That’s one of the main reasons Force India are likely to give up their partnership with the Scuderia for 2009, while seeking a new engine deal with rivals Mercedes.
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