20th F1 season for Raikkonen? 'His motivation is good'

Kimi Raikkonen doesn't seem to be able to keep up with his teammate Antonio Giovinazzi this season. Especially in qualifying, Giovinazzi has the upper hand. In six of the eight qualifying sessions, the Italian was ahead of the Finn.

Staying ahead of Williams

In Austria, Raikkonen failed to pass Q1 for the fourth time this season. That has to improve, agrees his team Alfa Romeo. "With Kimi next week we are going to try a few things and see if we can get him into Q2," Alfa Romeo's head of track engineering Xevi Pujolar explained on F1i.com. "If we have both cars in Q2, I think that will help each other and we can make progress. For us, the number one priority is to stay ahead of Williams in qualifying."

This coming weekend, the teams will be driving on softer tyres than last weekend. "There might also be changeable conditions, but we will try to be at least close to the top ten, then we can race in a different way." According to Pujolar, the difference between the two drivers is mainly down to tyre strategy. "It's also about the outlaps and the preparation of the tyres. We're going to try out a few different ideas."

Final year for Raikkonen?

Raikkonen is the oldest driver on the grid and currently in his 19th season. Whether there will also be a 20th season for the 41-year-old driver, Pujolar does not dare to say. "I don't know what his plans are, so I can't say anything about that. But I can say that his motivation and the work with the team is good. And if you see the race he drove today, I would say he is pushing."