Where is Kimi racing next year?

[roost89]

I keep hearing, on Five Live, that people are saying he's going back to McLaren. Maurice Hamilton said that someone from a reputable Italian (i think) paper said it was 95% certain.

I, on the other hand, am clueluess

[mx_tifoso]

I, on the other hand, am clueluess

We all are.

[tk421]

Kimi Vs button or Kimi Vs Hamilton?
I think Button doesn't want Kimi but Hamilton does.

I don't think Hamilton wants Raikkonen as his teammate, I think he wants Kovalainen.

I think of "and" not "versus"

Any driver will tell you the first person they have to beat is their teammate...

[Giblet]

Kimi says Mclaren is his _only_ option now.

[segedunum]

Kimi says Mclaren is his _only_ option now.

We've always known that if he wants to be in a race winning car, although Brawn might become a realistic option. There's no shock there. Toyota was never an option even if they'd offered him a ton of money. There seems to be some towing and frowing over what Jenson will do and things get complicated further if Mercedes really takes the bull by the horns at Brawn. Any driver going there will want guarantees. Going back can always be difficult, and Brawn might provide Kimi with a great platform and I could see him having a pretty good relationship there.

I still maintain that if you give Kimi a reasonable car that isn't necessarily the fastest where he can have the input he wants behind the wheel then he will beat anyone and deliver championships. For whatever reason, that didn't quite happen at Ferrari. Nothing phases him and he doesn't get nervous when the pressure is on in a championship unlike other drivers. He drives as he always does.

[PlatinumZealot]

I still maintain that if you give Kimi a reasonable car that isn't necessarily the fastest where he can have the input he wants behind the wheel then he will beat anyone and deliver championships. For whatever reason, that didn't quite happen at Ferrari. Nothing phases him and he doesn't get nervous when the pressure is on in a championship unlike other drivers. He drives as he always does.

Massa was faster that is why. He better hope the Ferrari is not better than the Mclaren next year.

[segedunum]

Massa was faster that is why.

Opinions are probably abound on this subject, but........ The fastest laps don't say that (you don't get 10 and get classified as slow or 'not trying') and neither does the World Championships they've won - or not won in Massa's case. Raikkonen had a car he could work with reasonably in 2007, steamed in against Hamilton and Alonso and won the championship. Massa had a prime chance in 2008 when the car responded better to him than it did to Raikkonen and threw it away with a succession of mistakes.

As Alain Prost always said, you can only judge a driver over a career of several seasons and not a handful of races. I don't know why people bang on about 2008 as if it proves something. The simple fact is that Massa hasn't won anything when he's been in prime championship winning cars.

He better hope the Ferrari is not better than the Mclaren next year.

I doubt it will be. Regulations are very similar between this season and next, teams can carry what's good about this year's car into next and it's tough to come up with a completely new car in January or February with extremely limited testing and hope it will win you races. Ferrari are effectively designing their new 2009 car now.

But.......... We'll see.

[lebesset]

it seems clear to me that kimi had got his redundancy package signed up a while before the announcement ; like just before his results dramatically improved in a pretty ordinary car

what a coincidence !

[WhiteBlue]

Kimi is expensive and has an attitude problem on top. If he would drive for 10 m $ at the level he does at the moment and do all the sponsor work McLaren would have signed him already. But Kimi will not drive at that rate, will not cheerily suck up to sponsors and cannot be relied on to stay motivated if Hamilton is faster.

Kimi was payed like Michael Schumacher used to at Ferrari. He did not deliver as Schumacher did. Michael would occasionally drop a race to a team mate or had to be helped but he did never drop a whole season below a team mate even when the car was a dog like 1996 or 2005. Kimi needs to adjust to the reality that his market value probably has halved and that the absolute driver wages have come down 30%.

[ringo]

I think getting his ass kicked by hamilton is the best thing for him. It should change how he views himself. I don't think he will lose motivation if hamilton is beating him consistently; Hamilton is the type of guy who brings out the best in his team mates. This is a quality kimi doesn't have because he doesn't care much for team mates, but i think the hamilton humble pie should melt some of his ice.
He should realize the only reason he gets payed that much is for his speed; and if he is slower than Lewis then it does not count for much, he is pretty much a money pit.

[WhiteBlue]

Hamilton is the type of guy who brings out the best in his team mates.

Like Alonso 2007? =D>

[ringo]

Hamilton is the type of guy who brings out the best in his team mates.

Like Alonso 2007? =D>

Yes that was Alonso's best at at being Alonso. If anything kimi should be faster and complain a little more, adds a little to his character.

[mike]

Hamilton is the type of guy who brings out the best in his team mates.

Like Alonso 2007? =D>

Yes that was Alonso's best at at being Alonso. If anything kimi should be faster and complain a little more, adds a little to his character.

lol but tru, Alonso scored the most points in a season in 2007, so does Lewis? and Kimi...

[Ted68]

...or not racing at all?

http://formula-1.updatesport.com/news/a ... /view.html

[gator]

Would you rather work for a year and lose 2 mil, or not do anything (maybe appear in a rally or two) and make the extra 2 mil? If I were him, I would spend the year at home. This way his party schedule gets opened up quite a bit. Who knows, he might improve his fitness and hone his skills a little, then come back to Ferrari in 2011 after Alonso has another hissy-fit and goes back to Renault at the end of 2010.
I just hope he makes the anouncement soon... The suspense is killing me!