Give Raikkonen time, urges Citroen boss

Citroen racing boss Olivier Quesnel has praised the efforts of his latest driver signing, Kimi Raikkonen, on Rally Sweden, but has warned the WRC community not to expect too much too soon.

Raikkonen, the 2007 Formula One world champion, completed his first ever World Rally Championship event at the weekend, reaching the finish in 30th place, 37 minutes behind the leaders, in his Citroen C4 WRC.

He set stage times within the top 10 overall on what was only his sixth-ever rally, including a sixth-fastest time on Saturday. Had he not driven his car into a snow bank on the opening day, he would have finished comfortably within the top 10 and scored points on his debut.

Quesnel believes it was a performance which was in line with expectations. "We cannot ask too much of Kimi at this stage," he said. "Sweden I think is the most difficult rally to start with, and everybody is looking at him and waiting for - I don't know what - but he couldn't give more than he has. Kimi did not do a bad job here. He told me he made too many mistakes but it’s obvious he has to make mistakes - he's learning!

"All of us have to be patient - and that includes the media. Kimi will be okay by the end of the year. It will be a long way to success but I'm sure he's determined and I know for sure that he wants to succeed. We need to give him the time."

Raikkonen felt he had made good progress on his first WRC rally with the Citroen Juniors. "It was a really encouraging event, which allowed me to learn so much," said the Finn. "From the start to the finish I felt I was improving all the time, which is what I expected from having more time in the car. Sure, we still have a lot to learn because the whole feeling is so different to what I had in Formula 1. But I'm getting a good idea of how to use the pace notes now and I understand the car a bit better as well.

"We wanted to have some more experience of the car and especially get to the finish, so we have achieved everything we wanted this weekend. Now I'm looking forward to driving gravel on the next rally in Mexico; it should be a bit easier for me I think," he added.

For co-driver Kaj Lindstrom, Rally Sweden was a revelation. "When you sit alongside a driver like Kimi, you don't expect him to be anything other than an amazing talent, but I have to say that he surprised even me this weekend. He was driving at a pace that was quick but extremely controlled; we weren't going crazy or taking any real risks. Today we built on the progress we had made over the previous days, so I'm feeling really confident for the future now."

Fonte: WRC