Now this is a real driver

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=33236

"DENNIS: 'WE HAD TO RESTRAIN KIMI' "

If its true that they physically had to restrain him, then he is one hell of a dedicated driver. This year I am starting to like him more and more for not being a pretty boy like Alonso. He is the badass of F1 along with DC at the moment.

 

If it was myself I would have ignored my team boss and line up on the grid. Kimi is a racer and a racer know how to make the most out of the equipment no matter what the situation was.

I have raced Motocross races with flat tires, Dislocated ankle, no front brake, Broken frame, Broke clutch cable, partially seized engine, Transmission stuck in 3rd gear. Did i win?? NO but i did manage to score points and it was those points that won me a few championships or top 3 in the points.

If Kimi had gone out and run at the back of the pack saving his tires he would have scored 2 points bringing him ever closer to Alonso and bringing McLaren up in the constructors chase. True dragging aroung at the back of the pack sucks but those 2 points might be the difference between a #1 on the car next year or not being #1.

JMHO

 

It would have been interesting if Kimi had simply stayed out a lap or two (assuming he had enough fuel on board for 2 or 3 laps). It would have toppled the Michelin apple cart, if you ask me.

If Kimi was under team orders not to race after the formation lap, once he came in, HE NEVER would have gotten back out, apparently. But, other than RD being upset with him, what would have happened if he had stayed out a lap or two? Would McLaren really have tried to void his contract or otherwise penalize him? I doubt it.

Mark

 

Couldn't ignoring your team boss cost you your job?

 

Of course it arguably could have cost Kimi his job, BUT, this wouldn't have been the first time a driver disregarded "team orders," and he sure wouldn't have been able to stay out for long..........

Further, RD knows that if he DID fire Kimi, another team would love to hire Kimi.

So, IMHO, not much risk for Kimi to have stayed out for a lap or two.

Mark

 

I really feel for Kimi ... how many years are McLaren going to deny this guy a WC. If it is not Merc engines exploding, it is wings falling off and now cr@p tyres ... what next?

I'm a McLaren fan but they really need to get their **** together for this top rank racer.
Pete

 

Either Alonso or Kimi could have taken the start lap and recieved 1 or 2 points. They did not have to stay out. One lap would have been enough.
If the drivers or manufacturers championship is won by Ferrari by one or two points, last weekend will have much greater impact than any of them realised.

 

My money is still on teams loosing points...

 

Don't you have to complete a certain % of a race to be declared a finisher?

Pete

 

What a pity ... we have such an interesting WC this year .

Pete

 

It ain't over yet Pete.

And it's still interesting!!!

 

Yes, that's right. I think it's something like more than 70% of the racedistance. so 1 or 2 laps wouldn't do the trick.

 

My point was that if Kimi had stayed out for a few laps, it might have triggered a change in the "take my toys home" strategy of the other teams.

What a shame he didn't take a chance.

Mark

 

Heck, Kimi could have run the entire race at 25MPH and still collected two points.

Or maybe more -- even running through the pits for 73 laps, the McLaren might have beaten the Minardis.

And what if the Ferraris had taken each other out? Kimi taking the checkered flag -- in pit lane!

But we have the Michelin argument: Having slow cars on the track is dangerous.

So why is Minardi still running in F1? And hasn't Michelin ever heard of LeMans or ALS, or any of the other racing venues where different speed classes run at the same time?

But then if Alonso had also stayed out, you'd have Kimi and Alonso trying to race each other without going fast.

Riiight.

 

Raikkonen found it humiliating because he is a racer. Too bad he competes in a pathetic so-called racing series.

He should have been in Indy a few weeks earlier... them there supposedly technically inferior cars were doin 220 MPH... into every turn! Tires held up reel gud too... though it was kinda scary and dangerous for the drivers... especially the 100 pound rookie GIRL!

The Pinnacle of racing... what a joke.

 

I really doubt Ron Dennis would have fired him for that, hell i would have taken him for a beer and told him atta boy, all in private of course.

 

Exactly, KR came away from USGP on the short end of the stick as MS is now only a few points behind him. Not sure if Ferrari will ever be truely competitive this season, but MS is closer to the top now. Fact is that if KR had stay out and raced, he would have gained on FA, even if it was just for a few points. And something tells me that if KR had raced, FA would not be sitting in his pit either thus this whole circus act would have been avoided entirely. Michellin screwed up, team bosses made a bad judgement call, drivers and the fans are the ones to suffer. As much as I dislike this one tyre/race weekend rule, I do have to give credit to FIA for standing their ground and not give in to the threats made by the Michellin teams. At the same time, I also give Michellin and their teams for putting safety first, but as I stated before, I disagree with the method they went about it.

Bottom line is, all we are talking about are "if's and but's" and the more you go down that road, the more "if's" will pop up as in if KR did race and came into the pits for service, will the McLaren crew perform the pit stop or just let him sit thus forces him to "retire" from the race. Wouldn't that be interesting?

 

This is why the FIA offered to monitor speeds and give out penalties. Kimi and Alonso would control themselves because a drive through penalty is not the way to get ahead.

 

Extremely well put!

If you're pinnacle then act like it ! SUCK IT UP !!

 

I think KR and FA could have both beaten the 2 lap down Minardi's by using pit lane. The season final results will be talked about for a long time to come.

Rick

 

Hell a Quite a few teams could have beaten the Minardis and Jordans for that matter. And they would not have had to drive thru the pits to do it instead of taking 13 flat out they could have lifted off the throttle going into 13 coasted thru the corner and got back on it and still changed the left rear tire a couple of times.

Simply put Indy is hard on left side tires Turn 12 + 13 are flat out 1-5 they are accelerating thru same with 7 and 11. if you look at Indy's lay out 6,8,10 are the only left hand corners on the track. If Michelin could not figure out that the Left side tires take a beating at Indy then they should not be making racing tires at all.