Kimi Raikkonen eyes next year after average season

SP261115-NB- (Down - L-R) Kimi Raikkonen, Scuderia Ferrari - Lewis Hamilton, (Mercedes) - Fernando Alonso, (McLaren) - (Up L-R) Romain Grosjean (Lotus) - Danill Kvyat (Red Bull) - Roberto Merhi (Manor) During Official Press Conference- Abu Dhabi Grand Prix -Abu Dhabi- K.

Abu Dhabi - The Finn, who became World Champion with Ferrari in 2007, hasn't quite had things going his way in his second stint with the team.

Published: Thu 26 Nov 2015, 11:00 PM

Last updated: Fri 27 Nov 2015, 10:42 AM

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen said it was a pretty average year for him but vowed to come back stronger next season.
The Finn, who became World Champion with Ferrari in 2007, hasn't quite had things going his way in his second stint with the team.
This season has not particularly been great for Raikkonen, with the 36-year-old languishing in fifth in the Drivers' standings. He also has been bested by his teammate and good friend Sebastian Vettel, who won three races and is third in the championship.
Raikkonen was in danger of losing his seat with the Italian outfit but Ferrari have retained their faith in the Finn by extending his contract until the end of next season.
"Pretty average, I must say. Better than last year but still far away from what it should be. But there's life and next year we'll try again," Raikkonen said of the season.
And Raikkonen was keen to put it behind him and look ahead to a new season. Also, Ferrari have been the only team who have threatened Mercedes this season and Raikkonen felt they could pose more of a challenge next year.
"Obviously, this year has been a lot stronger year from the team than previous year and you can easily see it from whichever way you look at it and it all comes to next year. Obviously that's the aim: the aim is always to try to be in the front and Mercedes has always been very strong in the last few years and everybody else tries to beat them," he said.
"Is it going to happen? Are we going to be in a position next year? We hope so at least. We have to wait until we put the cars on the circuit in a test and the first few races - then we really see where we are. Obviously there's a lot of work being done at the factory, number and stuff but it's never the same until we're really on the circuit. Then we can see it pretty well, or feel it quite quickly, after a few laps, if it's going to a good one or not so good one. I'm sure we're going to have a strong package - but is it strong enough? Time will only tell," he added.
james@khaleejtimes.com