KIMI

F1 is a business. Kimi brings in more money than some no-name young talent that will bail to another team. Alfa/Sauber isn't in F1 to win races let alone championships and it isn't sustainable to simply be a development team only. It's better they have 1 seat that brings in revenue (Kimi) and another for developing drivers that cost the team more than they bring in (Giovinazzi).

 

Kimi’s too funny ah ah

 

- He is still as fast as the other drivers.
- Giovanazzi is not beating him.
- No rookie has a tenth of Kimi's development experience.

 

Id Alfa/Sauber had to change one driver, Giovinazzi would be the one to go, IMO.

 

I can't believe Alfa is keeping either of their drivers. They might as well just park the cars not bother going racing. Its a toss up between which is the worse team, Alfa or Haas. Maybe Haas should buy Alfa, take the best parts from each, fire all the drivers, and hire Perez and Russell.

 

...Please tell me exactly what Kimi did wrong?

In a dog turd of a car he managed one of the very best opening lap F1 has seen, and only because of the horrible performance in that car did he fall to just outside the points, again keeping the factory Ferrari very honest...with a 4x WDC behind the wheel.

 

Or, if you want to dabble in something called reality, when Ferrari is allowed to upgrade the engine, do that.

 

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He drives like a postal carrier delivering the mail...and picking up his pay check at the end of the week. Russell is in a crappy car as well, but he drives it like he was on fire.

 

Clearly you've not been watching then.

 

Wrong, I have been watching.

 

And kimi vs sainz yesterday...some of the best racing we've seen in years. His racecraft is probably the highest of everyone despite his age. Why should he be sacked?!

 

+1 Kimi races hard but clean, he always gives competitors just enough room. The two dopes at Tracing Point could learn from his example.

 

Loved this tweet from Carlos Sainz earlier. Big respect from him.

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If you think he is such a great driver, I'm sure Mercedes or Red Bull or Racing Point or Renault or McLaren are secretly in a bidding war for his services right now. I left out Ferrari because they already sacked him. Alfa Romeo got their five minutes of fame by taking him in and giving him a pay check. Maybe it is time for Kimi to put his "racecraft" to work from the team management side...but I think he rather be eating ice cream. Kimi is just another of the one time WDC winners who either end up as announcers or managers or parents of younger drivers. Jos, Keke, Hill, Button, etc., etc.

 

Kimi rarely displayed that racecraft the last couple yrs he was at Ferrari, hence why many including me thought he needed to go. I do like Kimi a lot. He adds a lot to the F1 experience whether on the track or off. In hindsight it might have been better to let Vettel go 2 yrs ago and kept Kimi. He would have been a much better wingman to Charles than Seb has been.

Portimão proved to be an excellent track for racing. Wish there were more tracks like it.

 

+1 agree with all.

 

Kimi an announcer? LOL! Maybe after some vodka ice cream . . . . The would definitely be fun.

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Because he's 41. That's why there's no bidding war. Earlier in the decade Red Bull was indeed after him, Mclaren offered him a contract, too. Ferrari didn't sack him. His contract came to an end, he was getting quite old for an F1 driver and it was time to put their new star in. Kimi was getting the same treatment at Ferrari all those years that Vettel is getting now.

Look back over the last few years (or all of them for all I care). His racecraft really is superb. There are very few drivers that you can enter a corner with and expect a hard but fair fight.

Yes right now it looks like they sacked the wrong man. Like I said above, Kimi was on the same treatment Vettel is getting now, for years. He was there to occupy the 2nd seat. You can pick just about any race from 2014 onwards at pure random and listen to Kimi's radio. Asking about strategy, asking about when he's getting tyres, being fitted the wrong tyres...the list goes on and on. It was insanity. Ferrari only focusses on the lead driver.

 

But Kimi always got the same performance out of the car. Vettel isn’t doing that.

 

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Kimi signs for 2021

 

Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi will remain together at the Alfa Romeo Racing Formula 1 team for a third consecutive season in 2021.

The pair were both expected to stay with the Swiss team, as previously reported by Autosport, despite other names being mentioned in connection with the seats.

Sergio Perez was in the frame at one stage after being dropped by Racing Point, and the Mexican had obvious appeal given the commercial package that comes with him. Perez's options now appear to be Williams and Red Bull Racing.

Mick Schumacher, whose Friday test outing for the Swiss team at the Nurburgring was rained off, also appeared to be in with a shot at landing the Ferrari-owned seat currently occupied by Giovinazzi.

However sources suggest that the FP1 session was never meant as a precursor to an Alfa race seat, and the German is now set to join Haas, Ferrari's other customer team.

Raikkonen, who turned 41 this month, will celebrate the 20th anniversary of his rookie F1 season next year.

 

Kimi retiring:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTSUHnoDG4L/

 

No surprise.

 

I don't think anyone is surprised. It was time for this change, and it will be interesting to see what is next for Kimi. Hopefully more powerboat racing in a gorilla suit, maybe some rallying. And, if we're lucky, more of this: