Kimi heads to Monza fourth in the Drivers' Championship

Kimi Rikknen   Its good to be back in fourth in the Drivers Championship

After a storming drive to his sixth podium finish of the year in Spa Francorchamps - despite a car not handling to his liking - Kimi Rikknen arrives in Monza back in fourth place in the Drivers Championship, and wanting more.

From Spa its straight to Monza; how do you feel about these back-to-back races?

There are rather a lot of back-to-backs in the second half of the yearMost of all a racing driver wants to race. That is what we do. Its our passion. That means I feel good going to these back-to-back races, especially when they are to circuits like Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. What is not to like?

In Spa you have achieved your most wins, but in Monza you have none. Time to rectify that?Its true that I have never won in Italy. For one reason or another things just did not work out for me. It doesnt mean I cant drive the track. Just because I have not won at a circuit in the past it doesnt mean that I wont win or get a good result there in the future. Hopefully we will have a real chance to fight for that victory this time.

How do you feel about Monza as a place?Monza is the real home of the Tifosi and there will be a lot of the Finnish fans, too. Its the place where we go really, really fast. Its great to go there with everything working well in the car and seeing how quickly you can go. Last time I raced in Monza In was a Ferrari driver. I have always enjoyed the atmosphere at Monza but it was very special as a Ferrari driver. I hope they will still like to see me racing there even if I could be in front of a Ferrari. I am really looking forward to see all the fans and I think it will be a pretty special feeling if Im on the podium as a Lotus driver too.

What about the challenges of the circuit?Monza always gives a great challenge. Its so unique compared with the more modern circuits as the layout means the car needs to be setup differently. To go fast at Monza you need a good aerodynamic car that is stable over the kerbs with a strong engine, as we are using full throttle for most of the lap. I think we should be pretty good in those areas but we wont know exactly how good until we get out on track.

Spa was quite a difficult race for you?My car wasnt very nice to drive and we did struggle all weekend. We lost Fridays running due to the weather, but that was the same for everyone. In qualifying we were fighting for the second row and I wasnt expecting an easy ride in the race, and it turned out to be pretty difficult. Because the car was sliding around more than we wanted we had to put more downforce on it, which meant it was slow in a straight line. It made for some interesting racing with Michael [Schumacher] as he was able to get back past me because he had better top speed. His speed also meant I couldnt get past him on the straights as I was on the limiter.

You eventually made it stick through Eau Rougethat was quite some moveI had to just take a chance to overtake him with the KERS into Eau Rouge. Its always good to get past another car and Michael never makes it easy. The move paid off - but even then he almost got me still back which shows us that we didnt really have the speed in the car. I was happy to leave Spa with a third place and its good to be back in fourth in the Drivers Championship, lets see what we can do in Monza.

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