F1 champion Raikkonen in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: Reigning Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen took a day off in the UAE capital on Tuesday en route to Singapore for Formula One's first ever street race to be held at night scheduled for next Sunday.

The Ferrari driver, who was a special guest of Etihad Airways, said he was looking forward to a strong finish to the season after a series of failures during the mid season.

Addressing the media at the Emirates Palace Hotel on Tuesday, Raikkonen said, "My performance so far this season was not what I was hoping for. It started well but then I had a few bad races. Since then it has not happened at all."

"However, we have sorted out the big issues and hopefully we will finish strongly and get the good results required for the team," said Raikkonen.

Earlier, Raikkonen took questions from a group of over 100 children and also enjoyed a helicopter flight over the Yas Marina circuit, the venue of the inaugural Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next year.