Kimi Raikkonen is unlikely to 'plug the hole' left at Ferrari in 2007 and beyond by departing race driver Michael Schumacher. That is the concern of triple world champion Niki Lauda, who also referred to the likely sabbatical next year of technical director Ross Brawn. "If these enormous holes are not effectively plugged," Lauda told the Austrian news magazine Profil, "(Ferrari could) go downhill." Lauda observed that Raikkonen, often criticised for being lazy, is the 'glaring opposite' of seven time world champion Schumacher, who is retiring after sixteen seasons. He said of 27-year-old Kimi: "He wants to step into a fully prepared team and worry about nothing. But to succeed Ferrari needs the kind of leadership that Schumacher could deliver." Lauda predicts that, in the Raikkonen era, development of the 2007 Ferrari could begin to decline after the first half of the coming season. He said: "After six months it will become clear if Ferrari has a future or not." ok ok ... i have huge respect for this guy. i mean, he's a legend. but why can he keep his mouth shut? like as if his comments are going to make any difference..this guy just sucks big time when making comments...
Well put, I feel the same way. He has been making anti-Ferrari remarks for some time now. The shop that services my 360 is going to take his picture off the Ferrari wall.
LoL...good one. have a look : british GP : he says MS's title hopes are over should he fail to win the race, which he didn't. French Gp : says that MS will take the title, after MS wins in Indy and France. MOnza : said that MS will win the next race in china and will take the title. Japanese Gp : blames Ferrari for that smoky engine. says MS's title hopes are over... and with MS annoucning his retirement, he started hitting on Kimi now...
It is up to KR to prove Lauda wrong as I do not feel that KR had proven anything yet. IMO, replacing MH at McLaren is hardly the same thing as replacing MS at Ferrari. Don't get me wrong as I am happy to see him coming to Ferrari next year, but to just say that he will be the 2007 WDC is a little premature. This off-season is the real test for both FA and KR, we will now see who is more of a complete package as the likes of Fangio, Clark, Lauda, Piquet, Prost, Senna and Schumacher.
What exactly did he say that's wrong? Sometimes people should read deeper before passing judgement. Lauda is in the position to know how both Michael and Kimi work better than most of us. He's correct, if Kimi isn't ready to put in the work and with Ross Brawn leaving, Ferrari could be facing a period of rebuilding. MS is certainly way better than Kimi is at setting up a car and developing it, that part if not taken up by Kimi will be a huge factor in how Ferrari does next year unless Massa is really good on the technical side.
Well, Lauda I think has the perspective to make any comments he wants. when you have wone 3 World Championships ( 2 with Ferrari) I think he has EARNED the right to say what he thinks. I for one think he is spot on.... Ferrari will come apart slowly, but you can see it happening.... if any of you can remember when Ferrari back in the mid 80-to early 90's it was positively embarrasing!.... I think its gonna happen again... its just a cycle, there is so much success to keep going its impossible for it to continue for ever.... If Kimi is lucky he will be WC in 2007... otherwise it will be a long haul for him to get there on his own.
When Lauda was I driver I use to really like him. After his recent ravings I think he should just pipe down. Too many negative comments come out of his mouth. He should be more of a mentor and less of a moron.
I think he should just offer his opinion...we read it and agree or disagree as we see fit. Sometimes your opinion is correct, sometimes it isnt. Its a free world (mostly) and nobody is perfect. But Lauda is in an infinitely better position to offer opinions on these matters than we are. Personally I think its a matter if intelligence. Michael Schumahcer is probably very slightly faster than Raikonen but he is certainly more switched on and manipulative on a social basis. Schumacher has been one of the cogs turning to convert the Ferrari F1 team into what it has become. Raikonen will continue that as far as the driving goes but any team social/management development will have nothing to do with him because I doubt if he is interested in that side. As such, if the 2007 car is quick Raikonen will shine but he will only be able to deliver if he is GIVEN the equipment, he wont be able to help develop that equipment with the team - thats the difference in my opinion (of course I may be wrong too). Some drivers get out of the car and say "thats rubbish", others say "thats rubbish because of this, so lets try that instead", I think Raikonen/Alonso/Mansell fit into the former and Schumacher/Senna/Prost the latter.
I lost a LOT of respect for Lauda after the bullsh1t he pulled on Rahal at Jaguar. He may have the right to speak his mind but that in no way imposes upon me the obligation to listen to him.
Think about it though. KR(and F, for that matter) have some very big shoes to fill. Lauda, now looking at the glass half full, is probably making some easy statements that will probably have some degree of truth. That way he can say I told you so. I say tune the negativity out and wait for '07 to see how things turn out.
Lauda was one of the first ex-Ferrari drivers to publish a book that said negative things about Enzo Ferrari while Enzo was still alive. Many gave him credit for having the courage to do so while others could not understand why he was critisizing the team that made him a Champion. Montezemola later hired Lauda as a team consultant during the long dry spell experienced by Ferrari without a World Championship. I just finished Ferrari's book "Una vita per la Automobile". In it he critics all of his former drivers. He did not include Lauda! Obviously there are bad feelings. I agree with Niki's comments and believe that Lauda could care less what anyone else thinks. This is the same guy that gave away all of his trophies to a local (Austrian) gas station owner. FORZA NIKI!!!
Lauda's probably right. Ferrari supporters should be ready for a new era. Soon, most of the last few years Ferrari team will be gone and replaced (Todt, Brawn, Byrne, Schumacher), and we don't know what's in the future. Success in F1 is cyclical, and Ferrari had a few good periods since the World Championship was created: 2 titles with Ascari, 1 each for Fangio and Hawthorn, 1 each for Hill and Surtess, 1 with Schekter, 2 with Lauda, now 5 with MS. In between, it was quite painfull sometimes. Ask Jackie Ickx or Chris Amon what they think of their time at the Scuderia. It ruined their career! So, in predicting a decline, Lauda is not taking risk. When a successful team is disbanded, there is no certainty that their successors can take it from there and carry on winning. I suspect that Kimi Raikkonen won't be so 'involved' with the team, concentrating in setting the car as offered and racing. He doesn't strike me as a team 'politician' like Lauda or MS. And I suspect that like Miki Hakkinen before, Kimi will not hang on for ever in F1, being satisfied with 1 or 2 titles. The guy doesn't strike me as someone 'obsessed' with F1 like Senna or Schumacher.
He has been hired for a fee to make his observations, so he is making them. He is not just talking for fun. If you do not like what he says, and I do not agree with all/most of his comments, then it is easy not to pay attention to him. Like a TV channel, turn it off.
Take it for what it's worth but remember his stupid comments about F1 cars being so technologically advanced that monkeys could drive them? Three weeks later he proceeded to spin off the track three times without even completing a full lap in DeLarosa's Jaguar. Some pathetic excuse about DeLarosa giving the wrong braking points to Lauda. After that debacle I thought he'd shut up for good.
Here's my 2 Lira. Ferrari will not be the Ferrari we knew. Michael was the instrument that brought it all together. It will not fall apart, but the edge zand heart,(Michael), will be gone. Kimi has to make his own organization within Ferrari, his success will be determined by this. Maybe Michael will be there to help with the transition, maybe not. The same for Renault, basically. Who will be the next championship organization and team? I will guess and say Toyota. Why? The old saying in racing; How fast do you want to go, How much money do you have to spend. The faster you want to go the more money it's going to cost. Toyota has the most money and is slowly acquiring the expertese to accomplish this. There's a whole new group of driver's emerging and Toyota will find the right combination, eventually. My dilemma is whether I will still be interested in an Asian dominated F1 or Nascar? Ciao...Paolo
He is probably right, when you have been on top for so long in a sport, it is easy to predict that a team will go down hill, when the top people are leaving. Hope is is wrong! Yup, turn it off, rip up the poster, take down the photograph, etc....
HI Remy, True!!! But they have the BUCKS, right now and they are Very Serious about their Racing. They did win The Indianapolis 500, with Roger Penske, or was it Honda? Their entry into Nascar, that seems to be a long term deal. As the strong teams get weaker and the weak teams become stronger, Toyota is the strongest of the less successful teams. It won't be next year, maybe another 5-10 years. MONEY will get you results. They are commited to the F1 Championship. Maybe Bernie will help somehow. Ciao...Paolo
yes i know. u have strong points. but it's the management. now much of the money. look what happened to Ferrari. they were the best, but they went w/out titles for so long. why? because they didn;t have the proper management. it was after they got JT and, things started to change slowly. ok ok, enough about Ferrari. lets look at Toyota. they have the best management in road cars, not in F1. look at what disagreements they had with Mike Gascoyne. then, look what problems they had with the drivers at the Jap GP. Ralf was faster, yet Trulli ignored radio calls to let Ralf thru and challenge Kimi , etc etc. now, u get the idea when i say that the whole team is screwed up from top to bottom?
Ditto. It's called an opinion, and a very informed one at that. Niki still has his fingers firmly on the pulse of F1's inner goings-on. And he's not the type who just walks around spouting off with the hope that there's a tape recorder nearby. He understands the situation at Ferrari, and his comments about Kimi seem pretty probable to me. A lot of the Tifosi have become overly-sensitive lately. There's been a lot of whining about Michael's fading Championship hopes, and now the hair is being raised over honest comments about the future status of Ferrari. You folks have 2 choices: 1) either accept that nothing lasts forever, and some day it's possible that Ferrari may stumble a bit or, 2) continue to stand there stomping your feet, fingers in your ears, blabbering to drown out the noise.
don't really care what he says, or anyone else. it's easy and convenient for a person like him to change his mind every other month. but when he (or anyone) is in the position to spread gospel to a large audience, all you can ask for is some validity. admittedly, he does have a few good pts,(losing key personel,etc). but that's just stating the obvious. and no, opinions aren't about being right or wrong, it's about making statements supported by reasonably logical points...thus making an opinion valid or not. it's opinions based out of personal 'feelings' that bug me most. i for one, love hearing others opinions, so long as they provide things to back it up.
