Ron Dennis on Kimi's troubles

Ron Dennis insists he finds no pleasure in seeing former McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen 'in pain' after the Finn switched this year to Ferrari.

Raikkonen had been expected to take off where predecessor, Michael Schumacher, left off last year but he has struggled to match the pace of his team-mate Felipe Massa since winning the Australian Grand Prix in March. Raikkonen is now fourth in the standings.

"In the end Kimi is a friend, and I've seen him struggle with his problems," McLaren Chairman and Team Principal Dennis told The Times.

McLaren's 2006 line-up of Raikkonen alongside - initially - Juan Pablo Montoya was succeeded by World Champion Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton for this year, and the latter duo now jointly head the points standings.


Despite his historically prickly relationship with Ferrari, Dennis said of Raikkonen: "I see him as a friend and not a competitor, and I don't spend any time thinking about 'what ifs'.

"The reality is I don't spend any time thinking about it, other than seeing a friend in pain gives me no pleasure at all."

E.A.
Source GMM

http://www.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/070607173026.shtml

 

Ron is such a sensitive and compassionate fellow...

 

except when it comes to journalists...he has a real HATE on for most of them. He is definitely not big on 'free speech' either.
CH

 

I think "dear old Ron" is afraid of what Kimi can do in a Ferrari and is playing head games with him. I am sure Ron wants nothing more than for Kimi to get over the "struggle with his problems"

 

I hope these "consoling" comments really inspire Kimi to win this weekend. Plus his buddy on the Ducks just won the Stanley Cup. It's now or never Kimi!!!!

 

And Mika interview about Kimi.

Raikkonen should have stayed at Mclaren - Hakkinen

Former Formula 1 World Champion and fellow countryman Mika Hakkinen, believes that Kimi Raikkonen made a mistake by leaving McLaren for Ferrari. Unlike many in the Formula 1 world Hakkinen attributes Kimi's recent run of poor performances more to being at Ferrari, a move which he believes Raikkonen did not think through fully. This is what Mika had to say:

"I warned him that changing teams might not go well for him. Unfortunately for Kimi, my forecasts are being fulfilled. Winning the world championship is like a spider-web, which needs many threads, and time. Of course it is true that McLaren's recent past had some problems, but it is a team that has always had the capacity to recover.

It is possible that Kimi has not measured the risks too well because it looks like being a difficult year for him. Also the McLaren car has evolved a lot in the past races, and winning titles can depend a lot on minor factors. In this game there are many excellent drivers, so Kimi cannot rely exclusively on his talent."

Hakkinen's point may seem true at the moment and it may continue to be so. However, the reason Raikkonen joined Ferrari was primarily for their consistency and the fact that the team is very stable. If anything, Ferrari is the safest team to be with in Formula 1. Only time will tell if Kimi Raikkonen's choice to leave McLaren for Ferrari was the correct one.

 

Odd how Ron and Mika avoid the real issue: Kimi not winning races is solely down to one factor: Kimi not flipping the switch.

 

It's very easy to see a man as a friend when you have no reason to see him as a threat. I think Ron and a lot of other people are writing off Ferrari, especially Kimi, too soon.

Mark

 

Blah Blah Mika. Hindsight is always 20/20. The McLaren last year was a piece of crap, and I am not sure that anybody including Ron knew that the 07 car would be this much better than last years car.

Jay

(Kimi and Miki and Keke and Nico fan)
(also Fernando and Alan Jones)
(Nigel Mansell and Massa not so much)

 

History has shown McLaren's ability to bounce back from off-seasons. I am sure it is hardly surprising to most in F1 that McLaren built a competitive car this year.

 

+1

Also, Mika probably knew that Massa would be in a better situation for the championship. Meaning Massa is much more aquainted with the team and the tires etc. He probably wanted to keep Kimi from being beaten by his teammate.
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I completely agree.

 

+10000

 

This is a load of horse crap. If winning a WDC required time and familiarity at a team, then Alonso and Hamilton wouldn't be doing as well as they are now. A professional driver should be able to step into a good car and go quick very quickly.

McLaren and Ferrari are probably the only two teams on the grid that you can assume will pretty much always be in the top half of the field, and whenever they are not in the top 2-3 spots in terms of speed, will work tirelessly to get to that top spot. Given this, going from McLaren to Ferrari was probably a very lateral move, but McLaren hadn't been able to give Kimi a really GOOD WDC-winning car for years. He saw Ferrari sliding by while his slower car was being maxed out, and he just couldn't match their speed. Not to mention that, of course, everyone wants to drive for Ferrari, and every other driver wanted to be MS's replacement - going to Ferrari was definitely the right decision back then, and probably the right decision now.

Kimi is still one of the best, if not the best, driver on the grid. Grudges are rarely held when it comes to money and winning races, so if Kimi ever wanted to go back to McLaren and there was a space, I doubt he'd have a problem with that.

I think Mika's comments are a case of saying he was right after making a 50/50 guess where he could have been right or wrong. It was 50/50 if the Mac would be faster than the Ferrari, he just guessed right, was nothing to do with an incomplete web of threads that Kimi neglected to complete.

 

Good point. Fernando came from a car with Michelins, yet he has no problems. Does Kimi just not give a ****? It seems so, because he said himself that the teams operate very similar. Perhaps Kimi can't adapt to things as well as Fernando? His first year with Mclaren, DC scored more points than him. The next year? Well we all know what happened next. Hopefully he gets things together, because I want to see the guy that was able to beat Juan, and match Michael and Fernando at times.

 

We could all sit here and try to analyze Kimi's troubles but only he and maybe the team know what they are. Kimi does seem disinterested this year. Who knows what the deal is but he really needs to have a rocket shoved up his bum. I don't think Ron Dennis is lying in the least here. He, and everyone knows Kimi is better than this. It is a bit sad.

 

+1.

Ron Dennis is playing mind games, this was said to ensure Kimi is not a threat this year. Basically now Kimi will be doing even more sole searching, was before thinking heck I'm doing alright, the cars good, but I have a few issues but still got a chance this year. Now he is thinking, **** the whole grid can see I am fncking it up ... holy ****!!!! ... load on the pressure.

The fact that Ron does not talk about Massa says volumes ... ie. no threat.
Pete

 

Your paragraphs are contridictory. To follow your concept in your first paragraph, the reason Ron Dennis does not say anthing about Massa is he knows Massa is the only driver that will keep one of his from becoming WDC, meaning he is a threat.

Reality, Massa is a threat for the WDC.

 

Logically, you are correct. But practically speaking, this is an Italian team, not at all like any other team. Kimi's attitude has alienated some on the team. Actually many. Not only that, McLaren started out with two new drivers, the team behind them had no choice but to support their new drivers.

Ferrari on the other hand had Felipe Massa, their hero Michael Schumacher's personally trained and coached driver. Massa, of Italian heritage, stays late, works hard, speaks Italian, emulates Schumacher's behavior. No, not saying he is another Schumacher, but when at the last two races, Michael spent most of his time with Felipe, not Kimi.

Its a bit frustrating that so many do want to believe the obvious. Read any interview with anyone that is in the paddock, and they will all say pretty much what I just said. For me, credibility is with those people, not the guesses I read on FChat.

I think the concept that Kimi is not winning because he "has not flipped the switch" is silly. He is a competitive race driver, he wants to win. He just has to realize the team he now drives for is not British, is not Scandinavian, is not German, it is Italian. And that concept comes to me from an Italian.
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+1

 

As is Adrian Sutil. 12 races to go means 120 points, plenty to grab the title.

Then why waste your valuable time with us idiots here? I'm sure Windsor will be delighted to discuss Massappeal with you.

 

Your comparison to Sutil really does not make any sense. I would have used Heifeld as a comparison. He and the BMW actually have shown potential.

And which FChat idiots? I do not know of any here.

Well, maybe one (not meaning you). :}

The point being that all of us here are just guessing, and when I do read an article by one of the better known journalists or someone that is actually in the paddock at every race, I will place more credibility on their point of view than someone sitting at home like us. Especially if that journalists opinion supports a rumour that I have heard.

These are the same journalists that if they agree with you (generic) are OK, but the moment they disagree, they do not know anything. Your example about Massa is good. For some unknown reason, those that do not understand Massa did not like the article, yet if the same journalist were to write an article that deified Raikkonen, suddenly that reporter is excellent.

I think guys like Windsor, Roebuck can not afford to print articles that affect their credibility as that will affect their future income. And in the case of the Massa article, so far no one that is actually in the race paddock every event has printed or gone in quote with anything that suggests Windsor was wrong. Actually, quite the opposite.

Just look here on FChat for the couple of folks that are actually close to the action and get their opinion. I would bet it supports Massa, and his position on the team compared to Kimi's.

 

That was the point.

 

Still missed your point.

My comment is that Massa really is a threat for the WDC, and that is fact. I realize I am alone with that thought, and that no one else in ther right mind would agree with me.

But then for 2007, Massa has the most wins, most fastest race laps, and I believe the most poles. He is 5 points back and reducing that margin at every race. Looks, feels, sounds like a threat for the WDC to me.

So how does that compare with Sutil?

 

Actually he increased that margin in the last race.