Quote:
Illien denies Ferrari 'tank' comments
By Jonathan Noble Friday, January 19th 2007, 15:01 GMT
Mario Illien believes that Kimi Raikkonen will make a success of his switch to Ferrari, after denying reports that he said the Finn's new team would need to build him a 'tank'.
German newspaper Sports Bild on Thursday quoted Illien as saying that Raikkonen was so hard on his cars that Ferrari would have to produce a bulletproof machine if they were going to get the best out of him.
But Illien has denied making those remarks and, in fact, has told autosport.com he can see no negative aspect to Raikkonen's approach to racing.
"I haven't spoken to anybody in the last few months about Formula One and gave no interviews," said Illien, who worked with Raikkonen when his Ilmor engine company produced engines for Mercedes-Benz.
"Kimi is a great guy. I enjoyed working with him and have great respect for him.
"He always gave the maximum in the car and he was a guy who you know would take things to the limit. I see that as a good thing."
Illien believes that Raikkonen can deliver all that is expected of him at Ferrari following his switch from McLaren.
"He is going to push hard, of course," explained Illien. "A lot will depend on how the relationship between Kimi and the team gels, but I expect everything will work out okay. He is a very committed guy."