Räikkönen hoping for 2009 race win

Kimi Räikkönen is aiming for victory and has stressed the importance of achieving a good grid position ahead of the European Grand Prix on the tight and twisty boundaries of the Valencia street circuit. The former World Champion looks forward to his return to racing after the month-long summer break.

With the mid-year holiday period, which often lasts for three weeks but this year stretched to four, ending this week, Räikkönen has enjoyed the added time off. "Finally we're getting back to the track!" he wrote on the Ferrari website. "This year the summer break was longer than usual and I had the possibility to recharge my batteries for the last part of the season.

"For the first week of the break I dedicated to the Finland Rally which was an experience I really enjoyed a lot, despite the outcome; it was really fun driving at the max in the rally in my home country, seeing so many Ferrari fans there. Then I spent some time with my family and my best friends, doing some sport to keep me fit."

With Felipe Massa out with injuries and Kimi coming off the back of a strong second place in Hungary, the Espoo driver looks towards this weekend with confidence, for a number of reasons. "I'll have a new team-mate in Valencia," he continued. "Instead of Felipe - and I want to wish him all the best for a speedy recovery again - there will be Luca Badoer; he has been the official Scuderia test driver for many years and I'm glad that he finally got the chance to race a Ferrari. I really wish him good luck and I'm sure that we'll work well together.

Source: GP Update