Kimi Raikkonen says the 2016 Ferrari Formula 1 car is already an improvement on its predecessor from last year.
Raikkonen had his first run in the new SF16-H on Wednesday, completing 78 laps despite spending most of the morning session stuck in the garage owing to a fuel system issue.
Despite the setback, Raikkonen finished the day third on the timesheets, and says his first impression of the new car was positive.
“Obviously not the ideal start, we lost half a day,” Raikkonen told reporters at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.
“Sometimes you have issues that you have to fix and it took a bit long but we managed to do quite a few laps.
“We haven’t changed the car a single bit yet so were trying to do small runs at first and get used to the car a bit and then longer runs in the afternoon.
“The first feeling is quite nice. Not the best day overall but I’m sure it will be good.
“We just need more time in the car and obviously we are working on different things and trying better things.
“I’m sure it’s going to be a better car — it’s already a better car than the end of last year so we are doing the right things.”
Raikkonen has struggled with front-end grip since his return to Ferrari in 2014, but says the new car already feels like a step forward in that department, even if some more fine-tuning is required.
“Who knows if it’s going to be better? Obviously that’s the aim but I’m already sure the car is better than last year,” he said.
“We have improved in many areas and it’s very early days, especially for me, with the car.
“Yes, there is more front end but it’s not always just the front end, I think we still have to work on the balance but we haven’t changed a single thing on the car yet.
“Now I’m happy so far but there’s still a lot of things to put in the correct places and not just jumping in the car and not doing anything to it.
“It feels pretty OK so we’ll fine tune things.”
