Raikkonen: Expectations on Canadian GP meant it was boring

Kimi Raikkonen feels the expectations placed on the Canadian Grand Prix to produce an action-packed race following the limitations of the Monaco race caused it to be “pretty boring”.

The Ferrari driver endured a low-key race in Canada after being overtaken by Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull at the start before struggling to fight against Lewis Hamilton to finish a disappointing sixth place while teammate Sebastian Vettel charged to victory.

Raikkonen says the usual issues with overtaking, needing a huge performance differential to overcome the turbulent air from another car when following, made passing extremely difficult even with the aid of a third DRS zone in Montreal.

The Finnish driver also feels F1’s added expectancy on the race after the complaints about the Monaco Grand Prix compounded the issue.

“Not a lot happened and it was difficult to get even close enough to try to have any chance [of overtaking],” Raikkonen said. “I think everybody expected different but it was pretty similar story than last race. It was pretty boring.

“There’s been quite a lot of rule changes over the years but I don’t think there’s any more overtaking than, say, 15 years ago, apart from trying artificially with the DRS to make it. But it looks like today nothing really helps.”

In Monaco both Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton were highly critical of the race and difficulties in overtaking on the iconic street circuit, while similar opinions were held after the Canadian Grand Prix.

Only Ricciardo from the top six drivers was able to make passes thanks to his first lap effort on Raikkonen before pulling off the overcut during his pit stop on Hamilton.