Messy, but not scary! – Raikkonen unperturbed by Abu Dhabi fire

The rear of the Finn’s Alfa Romeo was consumed by flames during FP2 on Friday, causing a red flag in a session which was topped by Valtteri Bottas.

Raikkonen was urged to get out of the car immediately by his race engineer over the team radio, just two weeks on from Romain Grosjean’s miraculous escape in Bahrain after his Haas car had erupted into flames when he smashed into a barrier.

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After initially struggling to get out of the car, having been hindered by his radio wire, Raikkonen then assisted marshals in tackling the blaze.

He showed them where to aim before taking a fire extinguisher himself in an attempt to limit the damage.

“No, there was nothing scary about it,” veteran Raikkonen said when asked if he had been frightened.

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“It was just a shame it catches on fire and then obviously it gets all messy afterwards with trying to put the fire out.

“It is one of those things, I don’t want to speculate [on the level of damage] – we will see. For sure there is some damage, hopefully it is mainly bodywork, but we will see.

“Obviously it is a different engine and gearbox that we run on Saturday. It is just a bit more work for the guys.”

It has been a difficult 2020 for Raikkonen, who has finished every race since retiring in the opening grand prix of the season in Austria but placed in the points just twice.

His Alfa Romeo team are sitting eighth in the constructors’ championship heading into the last race this weekend.

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