| and with the post-season test ban coming to an end, Kimi Raikkonen speaks out about this behind-the-scenes part of his job.
"I love the work of testing, but I am not so keen on getting up early in the morning and we always have an earlier start than we do at the grand prix," says the Finn. "But once I get to the track, I feel okay."
A test day invariably starts with an engineering meeting.
"We sit down and go through the program and decide what we are going to do for the day," explains Kimi. "Testing is very different to racing. In testing, you are pushing hard all the time and every time you leave the pits you are trying to do the quickest lap times. In the race, you have to consider the total distance and adjust your speed accordingly. Testing is more relaxed, but you really have to be specific about the feedback you provide the engineers from what you feel in the car, because this is the key area for improving the car."
The nomadic existence of traveling from circuit to circuit means that the team transporter is the nearest thing to home for Raikkonen and the other West McLaren Mercedes drivers.
"The truck is a good place when you need to relax or to concentrate on what you are doing,"agrees Kimi. "It is here that I talk to the engineers and relax. I tend to eat in the truck sometimes, because during a test, you grab something to eat when you can and I might have my meal while studying telemetry data of the laps we have done. Although usually, that is something we do at the end of each day, when you have more time. The truck is also the place where we can have a laugh and a joke. Sometimes, if you have had a bad day, it is good to feel you are with friends and can relax."
With tyres playing such a crucial role in the overall car package, tyre testing takes up a lot of the program.
"The engineers want to know what I feel about different types of Michelin tyres, how they performed in high speed and low speed corners for example," reveals Raikkonen. "You just say what you feel. When you are working with the same people at every race test and race, it becomes easier, because you get used to them. You know what they are doing and they know what you want, so that makes life more straightforward."
A driver's schedule over a race weekend is incredibly hectic, so the more relaxed timetable at a test means this is the time for the team to program some marketing and press activities with the drivers.
"After a long day of testing, I might have to do some promotional work and it is hard because you are tired, especially as most of it is in English which is not my first language," says Kimi. "You get used to it and I usually get it right in the end! Different people ask questions and usually the subject is the same - how your day went and how the car is performing. It is easy to deal with, as most of the journalists ask the same questions. That can make it a bit dull, but occasionally, you do an interview where they cover different topics apart from the job and that makes it more interesting."
Inevitably, a test is also the time for drivers to catch up on what seems like a never-ending job of signing autographs. Kimi does it willingly enough, aware that it is part of the life of a celebrity:
"You can never make all your fans happy as there is simply not enough time to sign autographs for all of them, but it is important to do as much as you can for them. At least they will stay your fans for a long time if you do. At the end of the day's work, it's nice to get away from the track and head back to the hotel. I just have time to take a shower and go to sleep, because I usually get back about ten at night and have to be ready to get up before seven the next morning. There is no time for anything else."
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