Where is Kimi racing next year?

[noname]

They'll design a new unproven car, and then have a new driver turn up in the new year to drive it.

it looks like another sign Ferrari is lacking "big plan" and real boss since Todt and Brown left the team and Luca took the command (although from the back sit).

"this car failed so lets thrown it into the trash and do something completely different". opposite to McLaren who dig deep and transform MP4-24 into the winning car. I bet there is a lot of good ideas into F60 which just need to be developed.

for me there is too many emotions and banging from wall to wall in what Ferrari is doing for the last 3 years and not enough understanding of the problems, sound engineering and common sense.

if it is not just the products of my imagination I may understand why Kimi agreed it is time to say good bye to red car.

[jason.parker.86]

Word on the street or in the paddock as it were is that a contract has already been signed and the announcement will not be made until the season final in Abu! Dont forget the Arabs have a stake in McMerc

Kimi was apparently tossing between McMerc + Brawn - however Brawn could not afford them and was looking for funding outside of the team (Merc).

Anyway announcement soon!

[Richard]

"this car failed so lets thrown it into the trash and do something completely different". opposite to McLaren who dig deep and transform MP4-24 into the winning car.

Err.. not quite. Look at the points scored. Massa had 22 points before the accident to Lewis's 9. Lewis is currently 2 points behind Kimi.

[ss.vamsikrishna]

McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh inteview on Kimi
Q: You were reported as saying that McLaren wouldn’t have any problems with Kimi Raikkonen coming back. What exactly does that mean?
MW: Kimi is a fantastic driver, and I like him and know him well. He was with the team for five years. He is quick, he is committed and I think he probably would be very committed to beating Ferrari in the future - knowing him. All these are attractive things with Kimi. He is not political. He is absolutely straightforward - what you see is what you get with Kimi. And on top of that everyone knows that he is a winning driver. I think he has been underestimated technically. He is a very good racing driver and I think he would fit well in this team, if we choose to go down that route. =D>
....
It will be a good battle and I hope that we’ve got a little bit of an edge. You have to beat Kimi first and he can pull it out if he needs to pull it out. =D> =D> =D>


That is why people just love Kimi i guess hope to see him back at F1 for atleast 5 years [-o<

[ds.raikkonen]

MW: Kimi is a fantastic driver, and I like him and know him well. He was with the team for five years. He is quick, he is committed and I think he probably would be very committed to beating Ferrari in the future - knowing him. All these are attractive things with Kimi. He is not political. He is absolutely straightforward - what you see is what you get with Kimi. And on top of that everyone knows that he is a winning driver. I think he has been underestimated technically. He is a very good racing driver and I think he would fit well in this team, if we choose to go down that route. =D>
....
It will be a good battle and I hope that we’ve got a little bit of an edge. You have to beat Kimi first and he can pull it out if he needs to pull it out. =D> =D> =D>

He has earned respect from both SF and McMerc, a thing which has rarely happened in F1.Awesome...

[noname]

Err.. not quite. Look at the points scored. Massa had 22 points before the accident to Lewis's 9. Lewis is currently 2 points behind Kimi.

if we look at the points scored than you are right, my point was Ferrari was expecting more from F60. it's not a championship contender and thus they assumed it as a failure.

[Rob W]

Kimi and his manager pulled a 'fast one' over Ron when Kimi signed for Ferrari. They told Ron they hadn't signed a deal yet and were open to further discussions...

...Kimi had already signed for Ferrari at this team, and this information together with...

I think you're misremembering the public comments of this deal. At the time journalists asked Jean Todt if they had signed a contract of intent with Kimi, to which he replied they hadn't - they'd actually signed a full contract (o Todt wasn't lying). The journalists were asking the wrong question pretty much because it was only mid-season and no-one fathomed a full deal was already signed and sealed while questions over Schumacher's future were still there.

I kind of doubt Ron Dennis was getting his driver news from the media nor talking about it till he knew what was up so we don't know exactly what went on except for (the usual shoddy) media speculation and quotes from made-up, non-existent sources.

[Richard]

McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh inteview on Kimi

I do like Martin , his candour has brought a breath of fresh air to that team. We're seeing similar fresh perspective at SF, RB and Renault too.

[lebesset]

well , whether or not kimi is the best driver on the grid is open to question ..personally I don't think there is one at the moment , but in a year or two there are going to be two , vettel and hamilton

but one thing is for sure , kimi is the best at playing hard ball over his pay , paid not to drive by ferrari after 3 years with a mouth watering contract , and paid to drive by another team

nobody else in that league ...perhaps that's why they call him the iceman ; knows when to hold them and when to fold them ....next career rallying ? more likely poker

[raceman]

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 1622.shtml

"We are negotiating even with teams that everybody thinks have no vacancies,” admitted Raikkonen’s manager Steve Robertson.

[ISLAMATRON]

Wow, they have everybody switching seats this silly season... If that many drivers switch teams I think it gives a huge advantage to the teams & drivers that stay put... HAmilton, MAssa, RBR/Vettel(we'll see about Webbo)

[segedunum]

for me there is too many emotions and banging from wall to wall in what Ferrari is doing for the last 3 years and not enough understanding of the problems, sound engineering and common sense.

The point at which I realised that Ferrari might be heading for some problems is when di Montezemolo enthused about their driver pairing for next year because they are 'Latin' - his exact word. That kind of thinking conjures up painful images of what Ferrari were like before Todt was team boss and brought in Brawn et al. where Ferrari would employ people based on how politically acceptable and how close to being Italian they were.

Not fighting to stay at Ferrari might well have been a very astute move for Raikkonen and he might well have come to the conclusion that he'd have a better chance of winning races elsewhere anyway. I notice that one of Ecclestonse's throw away remarks is that he would be better off at an 'English' team. Ouch.

[lebesset]

todt bringing the benetton staff to ferrari ???

wonder if a certain MS was actually the man who insisted on that !

[segedunum]

wonder if a certain MS was actually the man who insisted on that !

I deliberately didn't mention Schumacher because he didn't do the job that the guys behind the scenes did of organising that team.

[raceman]

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 5324.shtml

the speculation about RBR ends I suppose now