Ferrari will bounce back from Melbourne mayhem, says Kimi

KIMI RAIKKONEN yesterday left Lewis Hamilton and the rest of Formula One in no doubt as to his determined mood by defiantly stating: “Ferrari will be back!”

Ferrari endured their worst start to a Formula One season for 16 years after claiming just a point from Sunday’s chaotic Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne’s Albert Park.

Both cars suffered engine problems, with Felipe Massa limping out on lap 29, while reigning world champion Raikkonen retired four laps from home.

The Finn did at least collect a point, primarily due to Honda’s Rubens Barrichello being disqualified from sixth place after the Brazilian exited the pit lane under a red light.

On reflection, it was a wretched weekend overall for Raikkonen as he only started 15th following a fuel pump problem in qualifying, and then twice spun during the race before eventually retiring.

“The best thing is it’s all behind us,” insisted Raikkonen on his first race as world champion.

“We had difficulties from the beginning, and we could not operate according to our plans at all.

“Obviously it was a disappointing start to the season for all of us in the team. But it is no use crying afterwards. It does not change anything any more. The result is what it is.

“But despite all the problems, we still managed to get one point, and every single point is always a bonus in this business.”

Raikkonen, who won the world title by a point from Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, added: “We saw last year, after the final race, how important even one point can be.

“So for me right now, getting one point from Australia is better than nothing. Let’s wait and see what it brings this time.”

There has been natural concern within Ferrari, though, as to why so many issues were encountered over the course of one weekend.

Raikkonen is confident the team will leave no stone unturned in their bid to resolve the problems, hopefully ahead of Sunday’s race at the searing Sepang Circuit in Malaysia.

“Lacking reliability is not a good thing, but the team back in Maranello works really hard to solve our problems and to get rid of them,” he said.

“We just need to improve to get a clean weekend, and to get everything working properly in the car.

“I am not worried about the performance and competitiveness of the car because I know we have a good car, and we certainly have the speed.

“Hopefully we’ll get everything working well in Malaysia, which has been quite a good race for me in the past as I won my first grand prix there five years ago.

“But it is going to be a long season. Now all we have to do is win many more points. We will at least try our very best.

“However good or bad it has been, this team will never lose its focus and commitment.

“Ferrari will be back.”