Raikkonen: Not the first or last time Ferrari will have issues

Kimi Raikkonen says Ferrari’s recent run of unreliability would be the same for any Formula 1 team but fears it is unlikely to be the last time it has problems.

The Finnish driver was forced into a DNS at the Malaysia Grand Prix while he saw team-mate Sebastian Vettel suffer an early retirement from the Japanese Grand Prix due to mechanical issues.

While wide-scale changes to Ferrari’s technical set-up were threatened by President Sergio Marchionne, Raikkonen says no radical shifts have been made since the Suzuka race and feels the goal remains unaltered despite its recent dip in form.

“We’ve obviously had some difficulties and it hasn’t changed but our objective is the same, we try to do our best all the time,” Raikkonen said. “Obviously we have to understand and fix the issues but that’s part of Formula One.

“It’s not the first time, unfortunately, and it won’t be the last time either.

“It’s the same for any team, it’s part of Formula One, these things happen, but we’re all together and try always try to do better. That’s the normal thing.”

Ferrari could potentially lose the F1 world constructors’ fight if Mercedes outscores the Italian manufacturer by 16 points at the United States Grand Prix while Raikkonen has long been out of the drivers’ title race.