Räikkönen: “If I hadn’t braked, we’d have had a major accident&”;
The two Ferraris' race was compromised from the very first corner when they collided due to Max Verstappen's presence on the inside. The Dutchman then defended himself in a questionable manner, which angered both Scuderia drivers.
Yesterday, following the qualifications, Kimi Räikkönen believed he could aim for pole position. Therefore, hopes were high at the start. But right from the first turn, any hope of a podium finish vanished along with the carbon parts that came off after the collision between the two Ferrari drivers.
Sebastian Vettel explained that he could hardly see his teammate and even less Max Verstappen, who was trying to compensate for a poor start: « I had a very good start, I was clearly ahead of the other drivers. Kimi was in the blind spot, not to mention Max. It was very bold to try to recover those two places in a single corner by diving on the inside. The problem is that you can’t fit three cars into that corner. The car on the inside has consequences on those on the outside. »
Nevertheless, the German believes that the drivers need to talk man to man because “some maneuvers, especially in the braking zone, that I had to do with him were not correct. It’s something he needs to understand. It wasn’t the smartest move because I lost time, he lost time, and he was about to stop.”
But Kimi Räikkönen was much angrier than his teammate, especially since this is not the first time he has criticized the defense of the young Red Bull driver: « I have no problem with aggressive defenses, but there, I had to brake in the middle of the straight before turn 5. When you have to brake to avoid crashing into someone, it’s not right. That’s my point of view, but it seems that the stewards consider everything fine. »
He thus recalls the consequences that could have occurred while the two drivers were traveling at over 300 km/h: « If I hadn’t braked, we would have had a major accident. I am certain that it will happen, sooner or later, and someone could get hurt. When it happens, it will be interesting to see who will be blamed. »
In this context, the few points earned at the end of a complicated race were just a meager consolation.
From our special correspondent in Spa-Francorchamps
