Raikkonen: "Small things will decide Ferrari-Mercedes battle"

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen has said that it will only take small things to swing the championship in either Mercedes' or Ferrari's favour. it has been the tightest battle between constructors since 2010 up to this point in the championship, with only 39 points separating the two, with their also being a clear three way fight for the drivers title, with Vettel on 202 points with Hamilton and Bottas within striking range on 188 and 169 points respectively.

Whilst Raikkonen himself has not been able to win a race this season, with him possibly being a victim of team orders that cost him wins in Hungary and Monaco, it is clear that Ferrari have stepped up their game compared to the last few seasons and are able to take advantage on tracks where the Mercedes' have had troubles getting a consistently fast car.

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Raikkonen has now said it will be small things to decide the championship battle, and it will be determined by the circumstances of each race and the advantages that either team will have at each track. For example it is expected that the Mercedes will have an advantage in the next race at Spa, with it being a track that plays to their cars strengths of high downforce and engine power, but if it rains that weekend as it often does in Belgium things could change dramatically.

Raikkonen said on the coming Championship battle: "It depends on which tyres we have, what weather conditions we're going to face, lots of things, small things that make a difference, we'll see what happens in Spa, but if you look at it now, it's not going to be as easy for us there as it was in Hungary. We obviously try to improve and hope to be quick there too."

He went on to say despite Ferrari's advantages at certain tracks the team have to be wary to win the championships, saying they will still have to up its game in the second part of the season, saying: "For sure there are some circuits that suit us better, there are areas where we have to improve, especially in qualifying, where Mercedes has better horsepower, but it depends on many things. You cannot purely look at the layout of the circuit and say 'this is going to be good for us' or 'this is going to be good for them.'"

Sam Gale