Raikkonen: Driver no longer makes a difference at Monaco

Kimi Raikkonen believes Monaco is not the challenging street circuit it used to be, the Alfa Romeo driver insisting he gets little pleasure these days from racing around the Principality.

Raikkonen's track record in Monte-Carlo includes a win in 2005 and three podium finishes.

While the track itself has retained much of its original character and remains one that takes no prisoners when a driver steps out of line, the Finn insists it's not as challenging as it was when he entered F1 in 2001.

"It might be a nice place to watch, but honestly I don’t like Monaco at all," he said.

"It is no longer the track that I drove when I was here for the first time in 2001.

• Raikkonen 'interested in performance' at Monaco not 300-race milestone

"The Swimming Pool corner was tighter, the first corner had a barrier and the rest was changed as well.

"Before, the driver was able to make a difference here, but not anymore. Now, the fastest car is always at the top."

As Formula 1's senior citizen, Raikkonen is running in his 300th Grand Prix weekend in Monaco, but the less he hears about that milestone, the better said 39-year-old.

"I am not here to say I have the most grands prix. It gives me zero pleasure," stated Kimi for whom Alfa have prepared a few celebrations.

"I have already told the team it's purely a number. I tried to force them to cancel everything but with not very much success."

Interestingly, Raikkonen believes his 17-season stint at the pinnacle of motorsport, during which he won 21 races and the world title in 2007, wouldn't have been possible had he not taken a two-year break from F1 at the start of the decade.

"It doesn't feel that long honestly, after two years out," he admitted.

"To be sure without that I wouldn't be here today.

"Somehow, maybe that made it not feel as long having a bit more of a normal time.

"I think afterwards, whenever I stop and look back, then maybe it makes a bit more sense and feels different. But for now it doesn't really feel that it's been that long. It's just racing."

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