Where is Kimi racing next year?

[vasia]

I really DO NOT want to see Kimi in a McLaren again, but I think unfortunately for me it may turn out to be the case.

[ESPImperium]

Ive already said it, and will again, Kimi will have Timo Glock as his team mate next year in a £1million per race deal for one year only. I cannot see him at McLaren, i think Sutil is away there. Gonna be a good end of season and off season now.

[bidong]

I'm actually scared about this Raikonnen to McLaren move (if it actually happens) Fiat obviouslly is looking at their chances with the World Rally Championship with the Punto/Arbathe + Raikonnen. Kimi also has insisted that he has a contract with the Scuderia. I'm a huge Kimi fan, and seeing him leave Formula One will be a huge B*TCH! I hope he kicks ass in WRC if he was to come there. But please, MCLAREN ANNOUNCE IT ALREADY SO THAT HEIKKI CAN START LOOKING FOR A NEW MANAGER AND A NEW DRIVE.

My Provisional F1 Grid

BrawnGP Mercedes
1. Jenson Button
2. Nico Rosberg

Red Bull Renault/Cosworth/Mercedes
3. Sebastian Vettel
4. Mark Webber

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
5. Lewis Hamilton
6. Kimi Raikonnen

Scuderia Marlboro Ferrari
7. Felipe Massa
8. Fernando Alonso

Panasonic Toyota Racing
9. ??
10. Kazuki Nakajima

AT&T Williams Cosworth
11. ??
12. ??

Renault F1 Team
14. Heikki Kovalainen
15. Romain Grosjean

Force India F1 Team
16. Adrian Sutil
17. Vitantonio Liuzzi

Scuderia Toro Rosso
18. Sebastien Buemi
19. Jaime Alguesuari

USGPE F1 Team
20. Marc Gene
21. Scott Speed

Manor Grand Prix
22.??
23.??

Campos Meta Team
24. Pedro dela Rosa
25.??

Lotus F1 Team
26.??
27.??

Scuderia Qadbak Sauber F1
28.??
29.??

[ds.raikkonen]

.. it's just that I thought Raikkonen was awesome, pure and simple.

+1....Scuderia Ferrari have gone nuts to hire cry baby Alonso when they ve already got someone with prodigious racing skills....the iceman.
My support for SF ends with 2009, as it started when he joined the team.

[andartop]

Kimi was awesome...when he got the WDC in 2007, and then again after Massa's accident!
Obviously a decision like this and a deal like this take some time to be made.
In 2008 Kimi was often underperforming right until the last 5-6 laps or so, when he would suddenly wake up and do the fastest lap or start chasing the guy in front when it was a bit too late. True, he had some unreliability issues, but quite a few crashes as well.
In the second half of 2008, Kimi got the following results: 6th, 3rd, DNF, DNF, 9th, DNF, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, while Massa respectively achieved: 3rd, DNF, 1st, 1st, 6th, DNF, 7th, 2nd and 1st. More importantly (which these figures can never demonstrate), Felipe was more often than not driving his socks off while Kimi did not seem to be really focused on the job at hand.
My guess is that the decision was made around that time, and in view of the two drivers' performance it would appear to be quite an easy decision which of the two would be ditched.
Whether it will prove to be a wise move or not remains to be seen, but I believe it doesn't seem to be such a bad decision all things considered.

[siskue2005]

Kimi was awesome...when he got the WDC in 2007, and then again after Massa's accident!
Obviously a decision like this and a deal like this take some time to be made.
In 2008 Kimi was often underperforming right until the last 5-6 laps or so, when he would suddenly wake up and do the fastest lap or start chasing the guy in front when it was a bit too late. True, he had some unreliability issues, but quite a few crashes as well.
In the second half of 2008, Kimi got the following results: 6th, 3rd, DNF, DNF, 9th, DNF, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, while Massa respectively achieved: 3rd, DNF, 1st, 1st, 6th, DNF, 7th, 2nd and 1st. More importantly (which these figures can never demonstrate), Felipe was more often than not driving his socks off while Kimi did not seem to be really focused on the job at hand.
My guess is that the decision was made around that time, and in view of the two drivers' performance it would appear to be quite an easy decision which of the two would be ditched.
Whether it will prove to be a wise move or not remains to be seen, but I believe it doesn't seem to be such a bad decision all things considered.

Remember a quote from Michael schumchaer that Ferrari took the development of their car in the likes of Massa, and thats the reason why Kimi was struggling

He was super fast in spain 2008, and also in China they switched him to Spain suspension and setup and he was instantly faster than Massa

Its Ferrari's fault to not develop in Kimi's direction
Or atleast give a fair compromise for both of them

[Richard]

Its Ferrari's fault to not develop in Kimi's direction
Or at least give a fair compromise for both of them

In F1, compromise = slow. For example, Brawn's evolution suited Button at the start of the season, then Rubens later in the season. It's not ever been in a state that has suited both drivers at the same time.

[siskue2005]

Its Ferrari's fault to not develop in Kimi's direction
Or at least give a fair compromise for both of them

In F1, compromise = slow. For example, Brawn's evolution suited Button at the start of the season, then Rubens later in the season. It's not ever been in a state that has suited both drivers at the same time.

you are right

but Kimi was leading the WDC by 13 points at that point in 2008
I think Ferrari should have concentrated on him and should have increased that lead much more and in the process could have bagged both the WDC last year

Its ferrari's fault they concentrated on Massa

[lebesset]

to those who say that kimi has lost interest I would say ...you seriously underestimate him ; he is just like a good poker player ....knows when to hold them , and when to fold them
kimi went to ferrari because they are both a top team , and they offered him a fortune ; however ...despite lucking into a world championship [ only fair compensation because he lucked OUT of at least one at McL ] he has never really fitted there , and for sure he has never had the best car they could could have produced for him ; I sometimes wonder if he knew ross brawn was leaving when he signed
so , with a less than great car ,he has sailed along going through the motions this year ;but now that the deal is done he springs to life ! funny that ...now he is free,great severance package no doubt , nothing to lose ; starts squeezing the maximum out of that red car
so back to big Mc , unlike alonso ,he will be confident enough in his ability to accept equal treatment and is the only one capable of giving lewis a run for his money ; look out lewis , the iceman cometh !

kimi made the mistake of not insisting on taking people he knew and trusted when he went to ferrari , wonder if alonso has learned from that ; schuey certainly got that right !

only blot on his horizon could be if mercedes absolutely insist on a german driver at McL ...personally I think that they will realise kimi is too good to miss , and there is that slot at brawn , although having said that I would prefer heidfeld to rosberg there , closer to button's style ; but you have to look to the future I suppose

[mike]

Its Ferrari's fault to not develop in Kimi's direction
Or at least give a fair compromise for both of them

In F1, compromise = slow. For example, Brawn's evolution suited Button at the start of the season, then Rubens later in the season. It's not ever been in a state that has suited both drivers at the same time.

you are right

but Kimi was leading the WDC by 13 points at that point in 2008
I think Ferrari should have concentrated on him and should have increased that lead much more and in the process could have bagged both the WDC last year



Its ferrari's fault they concentrated on Massa

very true, because Ferrari was searching for more rear grip since TC was taken away and massa crashed out the 1st 2 races. Notice how kimi had to use a smaller rear wing in spain to make the car towards his style. I think its ok if Ferrari wants to assist the weaker driver, but they can not just throw kimi under the bus and expect him to win. The key in Ferrari is aldo di costa, he went all out on aero performance and long lasting tyres that the drivers are not in full control of the performace of the car since aero is not controlled by the driver but mechanical grip is.

If Kimi goes to Mclaren, Lewis and Kimi shares the similar style and they will be a great combination to beat.

[LotusF1]

I wonder whether Kimi started to race again once he knew his contract was under review...in 2008 he was good, but in 09 not so good. I would have loved to see KR and FA together...would have been awesome...

[lkocev]

I have been praying that one day Kimi could return to McLaren. I think there is an opportunity here for McLaren to snap up one of the best drivers the world has seen. There could not possibly be a better driver to join McLaren. Now that McLaren has their brit-boy model to do all of their promotional and corperate work, its a perfect time for Kimi to join.

There is nothing I would like to see more than Kimi join McLaren again, I still think that red doesn't suit him. Its obvious I'm a big fan of him and I was really shocked that Ferrari 'let him go' to make space for Alonso. Now that my constant ranting of 'Kimi has a contract' is proven wrong, I guess we have to measure things a little.

1. Who could possibly have a seat available?
2. What direction are those teams trying to take?
3. Of those teams, who would be willing to pay big?

I honestly think McLaren is the team. Heikki is ending and ultimately fruitless and quite dissapointing contract. McLaren have generally wanted to have 2 drivers, both clearly capable to win the drivers championship, through out their history. And they almost certainly would be able to beat any other offer Kimi got.

On the other side though;

4. Does Kimi want to stay in F1?
5. Does Kimi care who his team-mate is?

I would have to belive that Kimi would like to stay in F1, and that he still is very competitive. I don't think he has 'lost his mojo' or any of that, I think that he can win more WDC's before he retires. And I don't think Kimi cares either way who his team mate is, We have never seen him have a rant when, on the rare occasion, his team mate beats him fair and square.

I only see Kimi interested in doing the best what he can, and I find it hard to think of a driver who would fit in at McLaren better than him. I hope for the best for Kimi be it in F1 or not.

[Richard]

I wonder whether Kimi started to race again once he knew his contract was under review...in 2008 he was good, but in 09 not so good. I would have loved to see KR and FA together...would have been awesome...

No worries, if Kimi goes to McL then we're going to see at least two leading teams with "no 1" drivers capable of the WDC in both seats. That means more head to head competition, and that will be awesome!

[tarzoon]

IMHO Kimi has been put in 2nd place in Ferrari. The team is clearly developing towards Massa, and the political game is also part of it. Shummi has been backing up Massa and served as his personal couselor since retiring. With his influence, Shummi put Massa in a higher pole than his skills actually mean. He had a ferrari developed to suit his driving style for 3 years now and still managed to f*ck up and finish second.

He looks like a great guy, but personally I rate his driving skills lower than Kimi, Alonso, and for what matters, Button.

Besides, Kimi's character is not colourful enough for the prancing horse firm.

I sure hope to see Kimi around next season, and in a competitive car. Somehow he reminds me of James Hunt.

[Richard]

Massa still managed to f*ck up and finish second.

Besides, Kimi's character is not colourful enough for the prancing horse firm.

Are you serious? Apart from the schumi years, a WDC is an elusive thing, with a huge amount of luck involved. Coming within 1 point of the WDC is not a --- up!

As for Kimi, he's probably the most eccentric chap in the paddock at the moment, As you say, just like James Hunt, but that's not enough colour? I guess you mean he's not emotive enough in a Latin way?