RAIKKONEN: 'MY THOUGHTS ARE WITH JULES' FAMILY' 

As a veteran of the sport, Kimi Raikkonen wisely kept away from any conjecture or speculation regarding Jules Bianchi’s Suzuka accident, when he held a subdued press conference in the Scuderia’s hospitality unit in the Sochi Paddock this afternoon. “It’s not for me to comment, except to say that all my thoughts and those of the team are with Jules’ family now. It’s pointless to speculate, it was very unfortunate and you never want to see those things happen, but in sport, things can go wrong. As a team, we will try and have a good race.”

Moving onto the Sochi track, the Finn was complimentary about the newest venue on the calendar. “I’ve been around the circuit and it all looks very nice, including the surrounding area. I am pleasantly surprised at how good it all looks, one of the nicest places we have been to. We will have to wait until tomorrow to see what the circuit is like. It will probably be a bit slippery at first.”

One local journalist pointed out that Sochi might well be the closest race to Kimi’s native Finland. “It certainly feels quite close, I came from there on this trip. It’s nice to have a race here in Russia and hopefully there will be plenty of fans and we can put on a good show for them. In the past I did some promotional events in Russia and I think they are passionate about racing and cars here. Let’s wait and see how many people come over the weekend.”

Asked about his expectations for these final four races, the Finn made it clear he was still hoping for good results. “You have to take it one race at a time. This year has been very difficult and disappointing, but I fully believe we can turn things around and be where we should be, fighting at the front in the future. This year, there are only two guys who can fight for the championship and it will be interesting to see what happens there.

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