Kimi Raikkonen says Alfa Romeo’s correlation between wind tunnel data and on-track results has been a key positive takeaway from the opening half of 2019.
Raikkonen linked up with the rebranded Alfa Romeo squad for 2019 – 18 years after he spent his rookie campaign with Sauber – and the team has been a regular in the midfield group.
Raikkonen scored points at the opening four races and, after a dip in performance, returned to the top 10 at the most recent three grands prix, as Alfa Romeo introduced new parts for its C38.
Alfa Romeo, which classified eighth as Sauber in 2018, currently holds sixth position in the Constructors’ Championship.
“Obviously every team is different but if you have something new all teams will bring them,” Raikkonen said of development.
“But the lead production times and how do you find new things take a bit longer in the smaller teams, but the positive thing is that, so far, everything new that we bring has worked.
“In the last few years I was in a position where new things didn’t always work, and if that happened here it would be more difficult.
“If the numbers don’t match what we got in the wind tunnel, then it’s very difficult to figure out what is what and where is the issue. So far it has been good and let’s hope it stays like that.”
When asked where Alfa Romeo needed to place its greatest focus, Raikkonen said: “I don’t think there’s one thing.
“We need to make the car a bit lighter, first of all, and also to add downforce, like everybody – that’s the normal way.
“Having more downforce is the easiest way to go fast, but I don’t think we have one area in which we’re lacking more than in others. We just need to make it go faster overall. That’s about it.”
