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Raikkonen backs Ferrari to bounce back
Kimi Raikkonen says Ferrari can still challenge Mercedes for the F1 title despite the team's double setback in Sunday's Singapore GP.
Raikkonen, his Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen were all were forced to retire following a crash at the first corner of Sunday's race, where Vettel seemed to cut across Verstappen's racing line after his slow start from the grid at Marina Bay.
The retirements of Verstappen and the two Ferraris meant Lewis Hamilton was able to claim his seventh win of the season, and third in a row following his victories in Belgium and Italy, a slow Marina Bay circuit where the Italian team were expected to shine.
The Briton now leads Vettel in the drivers championship by 28 points with six races ago, but Raikkonen says Ferrari, who trail Mercedes by 102 points in the constructors' championship, will still be competitive on the faster Sepang circuit next weekend.
"You [the media] assume that it's difficult. We don't," he said.
"We go there, it's another race, another weekend, and we go there full of fight and we'll do our best.
"It's a pity we couldn't show our pace [in Singapore], but we have other races ahead of us and I am sure there will be more opportunities for us."
Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene backed Raikkonen's analysis, insisting that the F1 title race is still wide open.
"That was very disappointing and it was definitely not the result we were expecting," said Arrivabene.
"But it doesn't mean that the battle is all over, just that it has become more difficult.
"We proved that we have an excellent car and two great drivers.
"We guarantee that we will be fighting right to the final corner of the very last grand prix of the year."
The Malaysia Grand Prix at the Sepang international circuit will be shown live over the weekend of 29 September-1 October on eir Sport in Ireland. The race is live on eir Sport 1 on Sunday, 1 October [race time 8am]
Photo Getty Images/Mark Thompson
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