The best weekend of my career - Raikkonen

After a perfect weekend at the Circuit de Catalunya where Ferrari collected a 1-2 finish, World Champion Kimi Raikkonen reflects on his race. Of course, the Finn is very happy that his compatriot is ok after his heavy crash during the Spanish Grand Prix.

Kimi Raikkonen: "It was a perfect weekend for us in Barcelona. We were going really fast all the time and we didn't have the slightest problem during the sunny days here! Every time you go to a race, you think about what might happen: It is so often that something goes wrong. Many times I have won and afterwards still had the feeling that it could have gone better. It's so often that something goes wrong. Many times, even after I have won, I had the feeling that it could have gone better.

"This time I did not have that feeling: this was probably the best weekend I've ever had in my career. In this business you're not able to reach perfection, but this time we came pretty close. We started strongly on Friday's practice and we finished even stronger on Sunday. All the things we've brought onto the track worked out just fine and we also improved the speed of the car.

"I said before that the Qualifying will be a very important factor for the result of the race and obviously that was again the case at Barcelona. We made some changes to the set up already in the test session last week and we were really satisfied with the outcome. Now the car is also working on the fast lap as I want it to work.

"My first run in the Qualifying was not successful, because of the traffic and I couldn't get the tyres ready in time. But the second one was very good. I was very happy to gain the Pole Position, knowing the fuel level for the race.

"The Pole Position gives you the best chance to control the race. Obviously you have to be in Pole to win in Barcelona. My start was not that good, but still it was enough to keep my position. In the end of the day we couldn't fully maximise our strategy, while the safety car came out twice. Without that the gap to the others would have been bigger. When you lead the race, there's no reason to start to push hard to build up a bigger gap. It's better just to control the race and make sure that the gap stays as it is. Obviously it felt good to get the fastest lap, too. For me it was the first one this year.

"Of course I always hope that no one of my colleagues gets hurt. This time it was even worse to see Heikki's car in that wall. It was a big crash, but luckily he's alright.

"Winning the race was good for me and it was good for the team. We hoped to get the one-two win and we got it. Now we're leading in both of the Championships, but we have to work even harder now to keep our position. I've got such a lead that it gives me a little safety for the Championships. But it takes only one bad result and it's gone. At least we could afford a bad result, but the others can't. That might help a bit. There's a long road to go and I know very well that we are not going to have weekends like the one we had at Barcelona every time. Obviously there will be difficulties, but we have a strong car and the speed to try to win in every race.

"Next stop is Istanbul. It should be a good circuit for us, but we'll have to wait and see what happens."