Assuming that they had identical cars.....................

Understeer.

Raikkonen: First stint understeer behind disappointing Australian GP - F1 - Autosport

 

Kimi had a problem with the car.

 

Kimi is not as meticulous as Vettel in set up (noone is imo) and comes first race, with fewer reference points, he paid for it

 

Each driver has their own race engineers, mechanics, etc. While the chassis, power units, etc are identical (within a team), each driver's team sets up their car differently, use different pit/tire/race strategy, etc. They don't necessarily share their car setup with each other - both wanna win, right!

A tweak here or there makes all the difference in the world at this level.

 

He is getting old, I think he is the oldest on the grid. He is 38 years old.

 

So is V. Rossi and he's still one of the best riders in an as much if not more physical job

 

Honestly I'm sick of this BS from Kimi!

No race car is perfect, he needs to adapt his driving to drive around these issues like the rest do, but most importantly he needs to be hungry and not do a Coulthard and wait for the race to maybe come to him; he needs to grab it with both hands instead. Great drivers do this.

The 2007 WDC went to the wrong driver, should have been Massa as Kimi is not WDC material. Kimi is fncken fast when all the stars align, but otherwise shouldn't be in F1.

I did a **** a few hours ago that put up more of a fight than Kimi usually does
Pete

 

Leave him alone ........ he knows what he's doing

Go back and watch the 2007 season, I did the other day , and Kimi did a wonderful job when all hope was lost !!

Sure Hamilton was a goose and blew it along with the great strategy McLaren used but Kimi kept the car at the pointy end just waiting for that chance.

And what racing driver doesn't have an excuse, my excuse book is HUGE, it has never been my fault when I lose but it is all MY talent and nothing to do with the car when I do well

This has been my experience with Kimi, dislike/like/dislike/like ... strangely enough, both times I like him he has been at Ferrari ..... coincidence ??

 

His best years were when he was at McLaren. Possibly dealing with Ron blunted any drive he had?

Currently wasting a seat ...
Pete

 

Did you see him in Q2 ?

He's good, but the ice cream has to be waiting

 

I hope I am not leading anyone astray here, but I thought I heard on RAI's coverage that after Kimi's failure, part of the power unit was replaced by one from last year's car. Reason, it was a proven product.

 

He certainly did have an ECU and part of the ERS (I think) replace, maybe that needs finite calibration. His lap times were constitently a few tenths off vettel, but matching bottles, and he did get fastest lap of the race I seem to remember. I'm not so sure he would match vettel but he isn't as far away as it could seem. The understeer issue could affect anyone, maybe the tyres had cured differently overnight as it was the first stint where he struggled, using the Q2 tyres.

 

When he races for a whole race I'll think about changing my opinion

Pete

 

Im stuck in the middle with KIMI; sometimes he as a bad race, sometimes a good race over the years....currently he is a #2 driver but it 'LOOKS" , premature still, like this year we have a good car and can understand his first race with regards to the ERS. Kimi needs to shadow Vettel and I don't mean 20 secs behind but be 3 to 4 secs behind Vettel....we need to be P1 and at least P2/P3....we need to take advantage NOW and gain as many points as we can cuz we have the machine (bout freakin time!!!) to do it in.

 

And ...?

 

He's been struggling finding a proper balance with the car all weekend. In qualifying he still was fighting the car more.

Last year he was right with Vettel all year round with the exception of a race or 2 (notably Canada when Vettel was just on another level). Apart from that, he matched him. What's the issue? Vettel gets paid 4x as much, he IS Ferrari's next WDC and the one that will carry the team forward. Kimi and Vettel have a good relationship, there's no in-team fighting. I'm not sure which driver you want to throw in that'll do a better job than Kimi that won't cause tantrums and mess with team harmony. You also risk getting a driver that won't be as good as Kimi and lose places to the Red Bull boys...

Vettel had a clear road in front of him which also helps a lot.

 

I heard through some "reliable" sources that Dan may not be with RB next year ..... just sayin'

 

That's quite interesting. If true I presume he'll go to Ferrari, though of course Mercedes still is possible too.

But if we assume Kimi's performance is a one off and will be able to match Vettel again, or at least finish 2nd/3rd...is there much reason to replace him? Ricciardo still has things to prove and I just don't think 2 guys both wanting to be #1 is ever going to work when they're fighting for the title.

Kimi is 38 of course, 2nd kid on the way as well. If this year isn't his last I presume next year will be.

 

Can definitely see that happening. I'd probably prefer him to another year of Kimi even if I like both.

 

I remember an Alonso interview where he said he would prefer an unstable car if it meant a few tenths of a second a lap quicker.
IMO he was indirectly admonishing Kimi.
Kimi in the Mclaren days was my favorite driver.
Those days are over.
He has lost the burning need.

 

PS to all you Hamilton "fans" out there notice the gaps to Bottas who is no slouch.

 

And he should retire. Kimi is my favorite, but lets face it he is old for F1.

 

Yet the old man was with Vettel everywhere last year...

 

Yeah, but as others have mentioned, a tweak or two can make a big difference - when we're talking about mere seconds of differential along an entire race, then even some minor adjustment that can be more suited to a given driver can make a huge difference in how the particular car/driver combination performs.