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Ferrari star Kimi Raikkonen says racing at a higher altitude for the Mexican Grand Prix does not make a lot of difference.
Returning to the Formula One calendar in 2015, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is located some 2,200 meters above sea level, thus presenting teams and drivers with a specific set of challenges. However, Raikkonen admits he has not changed his training ahead of this weekend’s race.
“Honestly no, if last year nobody would have told me about it, I wouldn’t have felt it,” the 2007 world champion said. “I was expecting to feel a lot different but for whatever reason I didn’t feel an awful lot different.
“Obviously the cars are working a bit differently, there’s less downforce so you run more wing and the engines are also working differently, but I would have expected that even walking around you’d feel different but I didn’t really notice a lot of difference.”
Raikkonen has been delivering a much stronger campaign this year, matching team-mate Sebastian Vettel after being comprehensively outshone by the German in 2015. The Finn points to a combination of factors to explain his improved form.
“There were some changes with the people that are work with and I think they’ve been very good. The guys are very good at what they do, we work very well together, but I don’t think there’s the one reason why we’re doing better. I think the reasons are in the very small details, making sure that they are correct, they’re not almost there or roughly there, they’re exactly as they should be.
“To have this mentality pays off because we have a lot of details that can make a difference if they’re spot on but if they’re not then you’d adding a lot of lap time. We work very well together, we understand each other well, we have the same kind of idea of how we want to do stuff.
“I can drive the car well, that helps, but it hasn’t been such a good season as I want to be at the front and win races, so it’s difficult for me to say this has been a good season.”
Chris Medland's 2016 Mexican Grand Prix preview
Scene at the United States Grand Prix
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