Kimi Raikkonen has less points than team-mate Sebastian Vettel because he makes more mistakes, not because he is slower, according to Ferrari technical director James Allison.
The Finn’s future at the Italian outfit has come under scrutiny thanks to his points deficit of 59 to Vettel, whilst the German has secured six podiums to Raikkonen’s one.
However it isn’t his pace that’s the problem, but the number of mistakes he is making, particularly during qualifying, says Allison.
“Sometimes Kimi is quicker, other times it’s Seb,” he told Autosprint.
“The difference is Sebastian never, or almost never, makes mistakes.
“This year only in Bahrain have we seen after all, that he can make mistakes.
“But besides that weekend, he has practically never made any errors. Kimi instead, especially in qualifying, has had a few more slip-ups.
“I’d say the same thing if Kimi was here, and I think he would accept it.
“Sometimes you just need a small mistake to ruin a weekend, but the speed is there. Kimi knows that too.”
It’s rumoured that Ferrari are ready to drop Raikkonen in favour of Valtteri Bottas for 2016, though the team have yet to confirm their driver line-up.
