Flying Finn Kimi Raikkonen sets fastest lap in F1 pre-season testing in Spain

A BLISTERING 1m 18.634s lap from Kimi ‘The Ice Man” Raikkonen secured Ferrari’s place at the top of the times in Spain on Friday, as pre-season testing drew to a close at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Raikkonen was the only man to dip under 1m 19s and it put him almost a second clear of the second-placed Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

The Ferrari driver said: “There’s a good feeling with this car and that’s the most important thing. We have been reliable for almost all of these days of testing and that is another good sign of the great work the team has done over the winter. We are starting from a stronger base than last year: but it’s really too early to say how fast the car is compared to the others. “

And speaking after learning of the news of the death of John Surtees, who won the 1964 Formula 1 world championship at the wheel of a Ferrari, Kimi said: “I met him a few times, he was very easy-going and it was very easy to get on with him. And you could tell that he had passion for racing in his blood. So this is sad news and my thoughts are with his family.”