Kimi Raikkonen says that his allegiance is first and foremost to Ferrari, and that himself and team mate Sebastina Vettel enter the season on equal footing.
The Scuderia's impressive pre-season testing form in Barcelona has led pundits to believe that the red squad will be fighting with Mercedes from the get-go this weekend.
But many also believe that Ferrari's 2016 contender will prove to be a much better tool for Kimi Raikkonen to raise his game and challenge Vettel within Ferrari. But the Finn isn't taking the bait, and refuses to submit to any predictions.
"We try to win the championship and it is about the team and the drivers," says the Finn.
"We both have the same car and it is up to us to get the best from it. We work for the team and hopefully we get the results that we want.
"The plan is always to do better and obviously if the car works well and we get all the things that we want, it will make things easier.
"We will have to see where we are against the others but there are no special tricks to suddenly make it good or worse. I think if there were, people would have found it already but it is one of those things."
Asked whether Formula 1 could expect the return this year of the old spirited Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 World Champion dismissed any notion of change.
"I am always the same, it is only in your head that I have changed, but not in my life."
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