Raikkonen out to beat Vettel in Monza

Raikkonen out to beat Vettel in Monza

Joas van Wingerden

Thursday 30 August 2018 15:47

Kimi Raikkonen remains determined to beat Sebastian Vettel at the Italian Grand Prix, despite his team-mate hoping to convert Ferrari's pace advantage into a win of his own to bolster momentum held over Lewis Hamilton in the world title race.

Mercedes have suggested that a decision over implementing team orders on Valtteri Bottas to favour Hamilton's title bid could be close, with the Brit and Vettel now pulling clear in their respective bids for a fifth world title.

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Vettel took a dominant win in Belgium last weekend to cut Hamilton's standings lead to 17 points, while Ferrari's greater pace is likely to play into their hands around Monza.

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The German is favourite for victory on Sunday, which would be Ferrari's first at their home race since 2010 and trim the gap even further.

Yet to win in 2018 and 85 points adrift of Hamilton with eight races to go, Raikkonen's chances of a second world title are slim, but he is not ready to play the team game just yet.

"Our aim is to be with both cars in the front row and see how it pans out," he said.

"We know what we can do. We can race and always try to beat each other but to be fair at the same time. I don't see it any different as that."

Raikkonen has never won in 15 outings at the Italian Grand Prix and has not stood on the podium at Monza since 2009.