1. Kimi has not presently signed with any racing team, Mercedes F1 and Citroen WRC included. 2. Kimi is starting his off-season like any other year by taking a vacation. 3. After his vacation, he will resume his training like any other off-season in his racing career. 4. After his vacation, he will also decide on his racing future. 5. At this point in time, although no negotiations are under way, Kimi and the Robertsons do not think that it is LIKELY that Mercedes will be able to offer a package that is acceptable to them. 6. Anything else you hear about the state of Kimi's contract negotiations is not based on facts. My source? If I told you, I'd have to kill you. So whether you believe the above or not is really of no interest to me. Hölökynkölökyn!
I believe you. For a few reasons: 1) Kimi is given 15 million US by Ferrari for NOT driving in 2010. 2) Mercedes' management came under pressure this week from its union for ordering people to do "Kurzarbeit" (part time work) to save money while they're blowing it on F1. 3) As a response Merc managers said they would only do F1 "on a budget", which is exactly what Brawn GP is. That pretty much excludes throwing millions at Kimi to hire him. I'm pretty sure Kimi's F1 career is over. Merc is probably keeping its 2nd seat open as long as possible in case Renault withdraws (they're just waiting for the FIA verdict on Toyota): That would get them super talent Kubica for little money.
Yup the "Ice Man" is a cool guy He stands out in F1 because he keeps a sense of proportion. His attitude is "if it isn't fun, why do it".
Reminds me of James Hunt. Another one who enjoyed life and wouldn't turn down a drink or a girl. And a WDC and one of my fav drivers of all times.
And at the time Hunt reminded me of the drivers of the Fifties and early sixties. In a sport that has had a lot of the joy sucked out of it Kimi should be missed.
I know I'll miss him. And then there are people who say he has no charisma. Heck, he's got more spunk and character than half a field of Schumachers.
All this Kimi is a cool guy stuff but the hard reality is he can't seem to turn it on consistently anymore. Regardless of excuses, he's done. He figured he would take one last kick at the cat and see if anyone would "pay up sucker" and no one would bite. Have fun rallyeing.
The guy's just a Legend and I so hope that he gets a job in WRC for 2010 so I can still watch him at his best, and the in F1 2011 although I do think his F1 career is over which would be a real shame. It would be cool if he won the WRC championship in 2010 as well, he's gotta be the first F1 driver to win both F1 and WRC WDC respectively. Either way can't to see him in something .
Not quite a fact yet but it is about as good as a done deal. Kimi will drive a *full* WRC schedule next year. The car will be a Citroen and Red Bull will foot the bill. Kimi will make an estimated 10-12 million for the season. And since he will not compete in F1, his early termination pay from Ferrari will not be affected. Kimi's co-driver will be one of the top names in the sport. Kimi is reportedly training as hard as ever and developing his pace note skills. Hyvä Suomi! Hakkaa päälle! ;-)
Agreed. I talked to some folks who know WRC intimately and everyone seems to think that consistent top ten finishes would be an extremely good result for Kimi. Frankly, I don't think he'll ever reach the level of Loeb, Hirvonen or Grönholm because 30 is just a little too late to get serious about it. But driving a Citroen with one of the best in the business as his co-driver will help him tremendously. Not to mention having Tommi Mäkinen (this is an educated guess) available in his corner to coach him. All that doesn't preclude him from becoming an ambassador for the sport as long as he's willing to compromise his well known principles regarding PR stuff. I suspect that it is just a matter of time when Kubica, Vettel and Rossi will show their stuff in rallying as well. This is a much needed boost for the sport that has been reduced to a (rather one-sided) duel between Citroen and Ford in the last few years.
Frankly I lost interest in WRC when they banned Group B. That castrated the sport to no end. Roehrl and Mouton were my heroes.
Ahh...Michèle. She didn't have it easy with Hannu Mikkola (*) as her teammate but she performed admirably. The people who hype Danica Patrick as some sort of trailblazer don't realize how ignorant they are. * Add Röhrl and Blomqvist to that.
I like it to an extent (a large extent) but at times it is wearing. "What are you doing in the off season Kimi?" "it is no different than the race season. I do what I want." It is always funny to hear his voice in your head though.
not surprising at all, it's ridiculous, like many of his statements. it's just convenient that during the season, he "wants" to drive an F1 car and he "wants" to do back-to-back races instead of taking that 3 week vacation and he "wants" to train (i assume he does some training). and during the off-season, he "wants" to do something else besides driving the car. even if he means just in his leisure time, there are limitations to what he can do during the season due to limited leisure time. i also do what i "want" pretty much at all times, which comes from the luxury of never having held a "job". EDIT: part of my frustration with his answers like this are that i assume his english is good enough that he knows the question meant, what interesting thing can you tell us about that you will be doing during the off season. no one is questioning his ability to do what he wants.
