Raikkonen dislikes modern Monaco layout

Kimi Raikkonen says Monaco has lost its magic of the past - for the drivers.

This weekend, the Finn - who won the prestigious street race in 2005 - is celebrating his 300th grand prix.

But he doesn't want to celebrate.

"I don't want cakes, drinks, nothing. It's just a number that means nothing to me," Raikkonen, who drives for Alfa Romeo, told Auto Motor und Sport.

He concedes that a celebration of some sort is inevitable, but what he isn't celebrating is his love for Monaco.

"It might be a nice place to watch, but honestly I don't like Monaco at all," said Raikkonen.

He says one reason for that is that the paddock and garages are cramped. But what the 39-year-old dislikes even more are the modifications made since he debuted in 2001.

"It is no longer the track that I drove when I was here for the first time," he said.

"The swimming pool corner was tighter, the first corner had a barrier, and the rest was changed as well," Raikkonen explained.

"Before, the driver was able to make a difference here, but not anymore," he added. "Now, the fast car is always at the top."

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Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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