Kimi Raikkonen a better driver today?

Kimi has really impressed me this season so far, especially at Malaysia in tricky conditons. I really feel his time spent in rally car has made him a better driver. I see a more focused and driven Kimi Raikkonen than before. Maybe he can possibly win this year.

 

Bummer. I really liked him the way he was before:

The tatooed freak falling off the yacht in Monaco's harbor because he had too much Smirnoff.

I hope the worker bees of F1 haven't ruined his laissez-faire attitude.

 

IMO he has always been very good, but somehow at times his come day go day attitude doesn't seem to sit right when he under performs.

I would say he does seem a lot more focused at present, compared to his last year at Ferrari.

 

He's still auditioning. Once he gets Webber's Red Bull seat in 2013 the old Kimi will return.

 

Hahaha yeh right..

 

Yeah Kimi has really impressed me also. I've ALWAYS been a Kimi fan and I personally believe he and Alonso are the best drivers on the grid.
Didn't Kimi go 18th position to 7th in Australia? Very impressive.

 

Kimi always had the talent, it was his motivation that was lacking. He seems to have that now, at least up until it's happy hour again!

 

He has been consistent and competitive even in the face of some issues early on. I'm impressed.

 

Well...didn't he wake up in the last 2-3 laps of the race and set the fastest lap time?

 

The Renault has impressed me more than either driver but it is nice watching Kimi back out there and on form this quickly.

 

So Kimi is more or less competitive with Grosjean. Is that a sign of good driving? I have no idea.

 

He would have a better chance returning to his old team at the moment

 

I'm very happy to see Kimi back. Amazing driver and a cool dude.

 

Kimi will soon loose motivation and then the old Kimi will be back. It's such a shame because he is fast ...

Pete

 

I only see him losing focus if he continues with the unfortunate circumstances that have prevented his chances for success.

It's great seeing him out there and I hope we see him on the podium having a nice long swig of the bubbly very soon.

>8^)
ER

 

Words out of my mouth .

Yes he did. Fantastic performance. Some luck of course on the last lap but he did very well.

For someone that just came back into F1 after 2 seasons of rally driving, no single seaters whatsoever, yes. Grosjean in GP2 walked away with the championship, and they used the same pirelli tires as F1, so he had some time to get used to them already.

 

Tru dat..

Lets hope he keeps it up.

 

Agreed, but I have a feeling he will keep it up. I think part of the reason he is so focused is that in his contract he has to have a vodka bar in his trailer at all the races.

 

I think the young lad is just growing up a bit....

 

Do they really use the exact same tires?

I'm pulling for Kimi. I would have much rather Ferrari kept him than Massa.

 

I don't think so. In fact, I'd go as far as saying I'm (almost!) certain they don't.

Cheers,
Ian

 

I wouldn't figure. But I get the point that they are the same manufacturer and of similar construction.

 

And luck is when preparation meets opportunity!

 

I think he got the drive back (no pun intended) to want to race, plus Lotus suits him more than Ferrari. I think we could quite easily see him on the podium by Monaco.

 

i don't think kimi ever lost his motivation. all the bs at Ferrari and constant talks about getting fired and Ferrari backing Massa (what were they thinking) is what caused him to underperform.

I hope he can grab pole position one time this year and a race win to go with it.