Formula One: Ferrari taking nothing for granted in this week's S'pore GP, says Raikkonen

F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen speaks to The Straits Times during a one-on-one interview on Sept 15, 2016. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

SINGAPORE - Ferrari's drivers shone under the Marina Bay Street Circuit's floodlights last year, as both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen finished on the podium, the former winning his fourth race here and Raikkonen coming in third.

But, with no wins in the current season, the Italian team are not about to take another good showing at the Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix for granted.

Speaking after an event with Shell on Thursday (Sept 15), 2007 world champion Raikkonen said: "Last year was quite strong for the team but it doesn't mean this year will be easy. We can only do our best and then we will see tomorrow (during practice) and the rest of the week where are are.

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"Conditions are different compared to previous races completely so it'd be interesting to see where are are."

His caution is understandable. Vettel and Raikkonen are fourth and fifth in the driver standings with 143 and 136 points respectively, way behind Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton (250) and Nico Rosberg (248).

That said, both Mercedes drivers floundered here at last year, with Rosberg limping to fourth and Hamilton retiring after 32 laps.

With an important practice session coming up tomorrow, Raikkonen took time out to meet students at the Suntec City Convention Centre. They had joined the Shell Eco-marathon , an annual competition where participants have to build a vehicle from scratch.

Singapore are represented by two teams from Nanyang Technological University and one from the Institute of Technical Education

Raikkonen said: "It's quite interesting to see what the teams have built... It's quite smart some of the things they have built."

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