• Jerez test

New cars don't feel that different - Raikkonen

ESPN Staff
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Kimi Raikkonen says driving in the new V6 turbo era of Formula One is not that different to before after his first day behind the wheel of the Ferrari F14 T on Tuesday.

Raikkonen completed 31 laps on his first day back as a Ferrari driver and set the fastest time of the opening day in Jerez. He warned not to read anything into the early times, but said his first impressions of the car were that it is not that different to last year's V8s.

"I don't think that it is an awful lot different," he said. "Now when everything is new and in very cold conditions and not so much grip on the circuit, it is a bit trickier and we don't push much. But it's still very similar driving as before."

Raikkonen said Ferrari had made a solid start to the test considering the changes to the regulations over the winter.

"Now at the beginning there has not been enough time to do everything that we want, but it's the same for all the teams and I still think we are pretty okay from where we start now. We know which direction we want to go and what we want to do. There's quite a bit of work to do, but it's normal in this kind of position and at this time of the year.

"The biggest challenge is getting all the new stuff working as we want and working together with the electric motor, engine and all the small details, but it is much more tricky than what we are used to do. It's just the first day with all the new stuff so it takes time get things up to the speed we want. There's a long way to go and a lot of work to do."

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