F1: Ferrari needs time with latest upgrades, Raikkonen says

Kimi Raikkonen says the Ferrari Formula 1 team needs more experience with the aerodynamic updates it introduced at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Ferrari brought a package that included complex turning vanes, an under-nose bat wing and vertical vanes mounted atop the T-tray splitter. But it did not run all the parts during the event, with Raikkonen admitting more analysis needed to be done at this weekend's race in Japan.

Raikkonen finished fourth at Sepang, having lacked the performance to resist Nico Rosberg's Mercedes for third, while Sebastian Vettel was eliminated after a first-lap collision.

"We keep trying things and try to learn," he said. "Sometimes we used them and sometimes we didn't. We try them again next week.

"We didn't have the most straightforward weekend so we need data and experience with it. It's a never-ending process to make things improve here and there and yes, we improved but we know we have to improve more to be where we want to be.

"It's normal: we bring new parts and you may use them, you may not."

RAW SPEED REQUIRED

Throughout the season, Ferrari has struggled for qualifying pace but been more competitive on race day. It has dropped to 46 points behind Red Bull in the battle for second in the constructors' championship with five races to go.

Raikkonen said the SF16-H simply needs more speed but conceded it is not easy to find as all its rivals are improving.

"The car behavior is not too bad but we lack overall lap time," he said. "We try to improve on all areas all the time.

"We're not as quick in qualifying but in race conditions, we're usually stronger. Handling-wise it feels pretty good, we just need to go faster.

"In qualifying there's not a place that has a big issue, we just need to go faster around the lap. The aim is to improve in all areas and it's not easy to find those or everybody would go faster. It's an ongoing process.

"We're improving but everybody is doing the same, so we keep fighting every race and obviously once the season is over we think about next year."

Originally on Autosport.com