Kimi Raikkonen is to to quit Formula one to launch a full time rallying campaign next season the Finnish sports magazine Veikkaaja claims. The 2007 world champion has recently contested three minor events in Finland and Italy, and will make his WRC debut in Finland at the end of this month. It is suggested that while top teams can contractually forbid their drivers from participating in dangerous pursuits, Ferrari is keen to let Raikkonen develop his rallying hobby in order to make room for Fernando Alonso at the team next year. A friend of Raikkonen is quoted by Veikkaaja as saying: "Kimi doesn't talk about Formula One anymore. He just talks about rally. " Raikkonen of course remains under contract to Ferrari until the end of next year and has stated on numerous occasions that his rally exploits are a hobby and that his focus remains Formula One. Just because I am doing this rally, it doesnt mean I dont want to continue in F1 next year, he said ahead of the German Grand Prix weekend. I would have done some rallies a long time ago but I could not. Its just because Ferrari is kind enough to let me do the rallies that I am doing them now.
^In a way, I don't blame Kimi. There's just soo many restrictions on F1 this year. No testing, etc..it's almost impossible to develop the car. I dunno why is everyone happy that Fred is 'possibly' comin to Ferrari. Sure, i'd be happy too if he comes, but does it really matter? With the in season testing ban, what advantage would Ferrari get having Fred?
Without testing? I think one of the things that got fans excited by the possible break-away series was the chance to dump a lot of the really stupid rules. Multi-race engines, long term gearboxes, "one of each" tires, testing bans, KERS, silly looking wings, anti-Schumi points, etc, etc, etc. A new series would be a clean sheet of paper, without all the blots F1 has been smearing on the page, recently.
I know Bas, i have no objection. But as DGS mentioned...how can that be done w/out testing? In Schumi's era, he used to test, test, and test. Part of the recipe of sucess. Like i said, the current in season testing ban is as stupid as the 1 tyre rule...
http://www.mtv3.fi/urheilu/ralli/uutiset.shtml/arkistot/ralli/2009/07/918167 As Kimi is preparing for the Finnish WRC event, the Finnish media is flooded with adoring and reverential reports on the overall excellence of Kimi and people seem to be competing to find new superlatives about his "top-gun-ness". "Super talented" or "top talent" proclaims this particular piece. Kimi's co-driver Kaj Lindström (ex Tommi Mäkinen) cannot seem to decide whether he is more impressed by Kimi's phenomenal car control or his uncanny ability to provide feedback on the car. "Kimi's feedback on the car is always spot on, identical to Tommi's." And that same excellence is being reported on Kimi's adaptation to notes. "Maybe not quite perfect but then again who has perfect notes," says Lindström. All this amazing stuff and Kimi will have just 300 test kilometers on gravel at the start. So by all accounts Kimi seems to be the near perfect racing driver. That's all cool and I'm still a huge fan of Kimi. And while I wish him all the success in the Rally (I may just have to go and see it), I also wish he'd take 10 per cent of that reported excellence (and I have no reason to doubt the folks who are praising him) into his Ferrari and at least drive Massa's mirrors off. Thats all he'd need. It is just Massa. I know there's a lot of BS in the Finnish media. I know that this is part of a sizable WRC marketing campaign too. But such revelry in someone's excellence, pre-race (!!!), is quite unprecedented. And it leaves an uncomfortable taste in my mouth. Something is going on here. Something I will not like when it all plays out. Kimi, Häkä did it twice. And he ran against Schumi. Think about it.
I think F1 and LdM are hoping he's found his new gravy train. Seems like they're doing some Kimi pumping here.
that advantage would be... he is extremely fast and very consistant... any given race, with a good car--doesn't have to be great, he always has a good chance of winning...
So does the current Scuderia lineup. I'm not saying Fred is not good enough for the Scuderia, but if testing was allowed again, i'm all out for him to sign with us.
The reason why we should have Alonso is that he is probably the best current F1 driver. I wish we had signed him instead of Kimi.
So: 2007 Kimi world champion, Ferrari World champion --- good 2008 Massa second, Ferrari world champion the job has been done. The team won the constructor titles that's the most important. what could have Alonso done better? won the 2 drivers championship, so what? (and you don't know if he would have) People who want to see Alonso at ferrari are just..alonso fans who want to see his personal palmares growing. Tell me what Fred would be doing this year? wining races with his "super hero struggling mighty warrior mind-know how to set cars power" ? Guess what, he wouldn't.
Again, this relates to the fact that testing is banned this season. If testing were allowed, i won't be surprised if the Renault was stronger than Ferrari at this point. Look at the past 2-3 races. Fred finished in a quite respectable position given the fact how crappy the Renault handles. How bout Nelson?
Nah that guy was too famous. Poor Piquet Sr...for his name to be associated with that level of racing must be maddening.
I tend to agree with you. While Alonso is certainly one of the top drivers, he is no miracle worker and Ferrari's current problems are way too deep to be solved simply by getting the right driver/(s). The team is a total mess with a failed 2009 strategy that doomed their season before it started and constant tactical blunders that added insult to the injury. The responsibility lies primarily with Mr. Domenicali and that's also where the rejuvenation should begin. That said, I cannot give my man Kimi high marks either no matter how much I like the guy. He has simply failed to demonstrate that he is faster than Massa and -what is even more disconcerting- is the fact that there has not been a single instance of driving brilliance lately. Be it a memorable pass, an insanely fast lap or a real dogfight for a position. Nada. Even in the POS 2009 Ferrari a guy with Kimi's talent and balls should be able to produce one or two of those. But nada. I think ultimately Kimi let the corporate types f*ck up his recipe for success. He should have continued drinking and partying and behaving the way he used to and brushed off the criticism with results on the track. That was exciting, I loved his style and he made me proud to be a Finn. What we possibly have now is a much more politically correct corporate Kimi who is equally boring on and off the track. Yes, he's played it safe and made a fortune so I cannot really blame him. It was probably the responsible thing to do in his case. And that brings me to Schumi - there's a man who never changed his style during his active years in F1. He was selfish, ruthless, unfair, despicable and at times dishonest - in short, a total dick of a man. And the most successful F1 driver in history. Unlike Kimi, Schumi TOOK the gamble and made it pay off even more handsomely. And although I rooted for Häkä during their battle years, in retrospect I cannot help but admire the single-minded determination of Schumi. And no, Alonso isn't even good enough to carry Schumi's jockstrap.
