Räikkönen on strip-joint incident: "It doesn't make me any slower"

McLaren testing new car at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya

print this

McLaren-Mercedes Formula 1 driver Kimi Räikkönen stressed on Monday that his focus on the development of the new McLaren MP4-20 model - intended to finally pose a serious threat to Ferrari dominance in the sport - is unshaken, despite British tabloid stories of Räikkönen’s new dance interests.
      Last Sunday’s red-top The People splashed with a lurid and sizeable story about the driver, claiming that Räikkönen was thrown out of a London Mayfair nightclub and lap-dancing joint after having dropped his trousers in front of one of the resident dancers. It was suggested that the F1 ace was somewhat tired and emotional and that he had spent a considerable sum of money getting that way.
     
Awkward questions were fired at Räikkönen and the McLaren management in the course of the new car's test début on Monday, when they would have preferred to concentrate on the car and its prospects.
      "I know where you are going with this, but it doesn’t make me any slower", answered the 25-year-old "Iceman" to questions of his attitude and concentration.
      "It is my private life. What I do in the car is completely different, because I am giving everything I can to the team", Räikkönen went on.
      "It's part of life. You cannot always believe all the things you read in the newspaper. It's not the first time for me and after a while you just get used to it."
     
The McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh also commented on Räikkönen’s situation, confirming that the team are to investigate the matter.
      "This kind of coverage and publicity is certainly not welcome for Kimi or the team. Even if the news may not have been wholly accurate, the perception is an extremely negative one and we have to take this seriously", said Whitmarsh.
      "We shall be taking whatever steps are necessary for Kimi to understand the seriousness of the situation."
     
Räikkönen got behind the wheel of the new McLaren-Mercedes for the first time on Monday at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. The team plan to test the car intensively over the coming week.
      "The development work on the new model has taken a lot of time and energy. The engineers have worked harder on this than ever before", said Räikkönen. "My first reactions to the car after a few laps are positive. But my work and that of the other drivers is just beginning", said the Finn, who last season managed to win only one Grand Prix, at Spa in Belgium, as McLaren struggled to find pace and reliability.
      Räikkönen will be test-driving the MP4-20 prototype until Thursday, when his team-mate, Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, will take over.
      The 2005 Formula One season gets under way in Australia on March 6th.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Räikkönen and Montoya meet as teammates in Jerez (14.1.2005)

Helsingin Sanomat