Raikkonen wants 'clean and tidy' weekend from Ferrari in Austin

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As he winds down his season with Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen wants a clean-cut weekend from the Scuderia in Austin, free from the errors and mishaps that have marked the team's last few races.

Sebastian Vettel's bid for the 2018 title has fallen apart since Ferrari's home race at Monza, the German finding himself 67 points adrift from championship leader Lewis Hamilton on the eve of the US Grand Prix weekend.

Raikkonen has also lost ground in the drivers' standings, outscored by his Mercedes counter-part Valtteri Bottas in every one of the last three races.

It's a similar story in the Constructors' standings where the House of Maranello trails Mercedes by 78 points.

Mercedes still expecting Ferrari to 'fight fiercely' for every point

For Raikkonen, the Scuderia has failed to capitalize on the relative superiority of its SF71-H against the Silver Arrows' squad's W09.

"Obviously we need to go through things, it was a difficult weekend overall [in Japan],” Raikkonen said.

"We got things improved during the weekend, it was getting better and better but if you look purely at the result it was far from what we wanted. That’s how it goes sometimes."

Despite he's team's comfortable lead, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says Ferrari will remain a force to be reckoned with next this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas.

But to deliver a good result, Raikkonen insists the Scuderia will need flawless execution in Texas.

"At the next race hopefully we’ll put the things where we are happier with and we’ll be up there," he added.

"We need to tidy up things and hopefully get a cleaner weekend next time around."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.