In marked contrast to the wet and cold in Fuji, it is a warm and sunny Shanghai International Circuit that greeted the circus at this, the penultimate round of the 2007 World Championship. Kimi Raikkonen's first appointment of the day was the FIA Press Conference, although the Finn did not get the chance to say much as, with Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Robert Kubica and Fernando Alonso sharing the platform, most questions revolved around the fairness of various penalties handed out during and after the Japanese GP and specifically, the driving style of Lewis Hamilton while leading the field behind the Safety Car.
Asked for his views on the circuit, Kimi said it was "quite okay" and that he "enjoyed driving it." In the past, the Finn has come second and third here. "But I don't think past results mean anything," continued the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver. "We will see how it goes this weekend, although the position in the championship does not look strong. I will be trying to win the last two races, but really now, the championship is not up to us, because even if I win the last two grands prix, that might not be enough to take the title. It's looking pretty impossible."
With the chance of rain forecast for a second consecutive Sunday, Kimi was ambivalent about how this would affect his race. "In the end it's the same for everyone," said Raikkonen. But you have to say that in Fuji, it certainly made it more lively! One journalists accused the driver and the Scuderia of making a lot of errors in Fuji, but Kimi refuted this. "With the tyre choice, we made that decision based on discussions between ourselves and also Bridgestone and, thinking the rain would ease, we opted to use the intermediates, no knowing this was not allowed. Then, we tried to do something different in terms of strategy as we were at the back of the pack and behind the Safety Car. These were not mistakes."
Finally, a very straightforward question: "It looks like a McLaren driver could win the world championship. Any regrets about leaving them?" And the very straightforward answer: "No!"
Free Practice 2
Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps1. Kimi R�ikk�nen Ferrari 1:36.607 31 2. Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.613 0.006 28 3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:36.630 0.023 29 4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.876 0.269 33 5. Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:37.151 0.544 36 6. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:37.450 0.843 34 7. Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:37.524 0.917 32 8. David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:37.617 1.010 27 9. Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:37.646 1.039 36 10 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:37.970 1.363 32 11 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:38.062 1.455 21 12 Jenson Button Honda 1:38.205 1.598 41 13 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:38.304 1.697 40 14 Robert Kubica BMW 1:38.379 1.772 39 15 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:38.388 1.781 16 16 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:38.531 1.924 32 17 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:38.975 2.368 38 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:39.065 2.458 36 19 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:39.224 2.617 37 20 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:39.360 2.753 37 21 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 1:39.404 2.797 34 22 Sakon Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari 1:40.051 3.444 38
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