Kimi and King Lewis just make sense. It just works on some level, that spells doom for everyone else in F1.

So why would Kimi accept a buy-out? Ferrari obviously liked Phil a bit more than Kimi, and set the car up accordingly. If he takes the buy-out, and lands at McLaren. He at least has a chance to be on equal footing with Lewis in terms of the car and competition, because some people at McLaren STILL LIKE HIM!

So Kimi staying at home next year. Makes very little sense. He just needs to get a deal done, lower that money a bit, and everything should be copacetic with the pewter people.

I don't know if they were surprised by the move to Ferrari in 2006 but McLaren had an Alonso-Raikkonen line up in mind for 2007 not an Alonso-Hamilton, as you recall.

If anyone got "pushed out", it was Montoya (I'll quit before you fire me).

The "opportunity" to move young Hamilton into a driver's role rather than a tester's role opened up and it worked out tremendously so for them. Perhaps that was a bit of a surprise for McLaren that Hamilton held his own so well early on against Alonso ?

Hamilton and Pedro de La Rosa should thank Kimi and Ferrari for furthering their careers because in some alternate universe and timeline, Kimi staying at McLaren 2007 would have one merely testing rather than winning a WDC the next yr and one retired looking for a job.

"Raikkonen eyes lucrative sabbatical in 2010"

Does he? What I see come out of Kimi Räikkönen suggests he is NOT eyeing a lucrative sabbatical in 2010.

Perhaps the title is more indicative of what someone else than Kimi thinks about it.

Brawnista - 08 November 2009 09:37 PM

stevesnj - 08 November 2009 05:47 PM

It would be niice to know Kimi's feeling but I dont know if he has any?!?!?

And once again, the myth (jokingly) is perpetuated without the balanced facts of reality:

Yeah

Perhaps watching some Finnish F1 broadcasts from, let's say, 2004-2006, could give much more clue as to how correct that image is.

Kimi storming through the paddock and the parking lot to get to his car to get away from the track as soon as possible, getting chased by a Finnish TV crew, watch those! Then tell me Kimi doesn't have, or show, any emotion. The guy was at least as much on fire as his engines were

Those were brilliant moments for the TV audience even though the disappointment of seeing him retire from a race was huge.


Curiously, we didn't get to see that after he joined Ferrari. Did he lose his fire? Or the engines didn't blow up like they used to?

anzie - 09 November 2009 08:58 AM

"Raikkonen eyes lucrative sabbatical in 2010"

Does he? What I see come out of Kimi Räikkönen suggests he is NOT eyeing a lucrative sabbatical in 2010.

Perhaps the title is more indicative of what someone else than Kimi thinks about it.

"Eyes" is a strange verb for these SpeedTV headlines across the board. They used it a day or two ago in a headline that made it sound as if Lotus had made Kamui Kobayashi an offer to drive for 2010. In truth, Kobayashi had said merely that Lotus would be an optimal team for him now that Toyota has taken a dive.

In short, like most headlines, I think they're designed to make you read the article, even if they're misleading. I just wouldn't read too much into them otherwise.

Brawnista - 09 November 2009 08:50 AM

I don't know if they were surprised by the move to Ferrari in 2006 but McLaren had an Alonso-Raikkonen line up in mind for 2007 not an Alonso-Hamilton, as you recall.

If anyone got "pushed out", it was Montoya (I'll quit before you fire me).

The "opportunity" to move young Hamilton into a driver's role rather than a tester's role opened up and it worked out tremendously so for them. Perhaps that was a bit of a surprise for McLaren that Hamilton held his own so well early on against Alonso ?

Hamilton and Pedro de La Rosa should thank Kimi and Ferrari for furthering their careers because in some alternate universe and timeline, Kimi staying at McLaren 2007 would have one merely testing rather than winning a WDC the next yr and one retired looking for a job.

You do realize of course you could apply that thinking to every team and every driver. Which means that Raikkonen would like not have had the drive at McLaren but for the season being open.

It's a vlaueless comment. PDR and Hamilton have nothing to thank Raikkonen for. Will Alonso be thanking Raikkonen for furthering his career by vacating the Ferrari seat?

'Motivated' Raikkonen will only stay in F1 if he can fight
http://www.crash.net/f1/news/154508/1/motivated_raikkonen_will_only_stay_in_f1_if_he_can_fight.html

Raikkonen demands to send Mclaren Heidfeld way?
http://www.crash.net/f1/news/154432/1/raikkonen_demands_to_send_mclaren_heidfeld_way.html

^Article says -- Ferrari offering Kimi 17m if he walks off the grid:

10m if he races for an f1 rival. further rumors in artcile says Mclaren (apparently armed with this knowledge) offering Raikkonen only 5m -- with the apparent idea that the (10m from Ferrari/Santander) 15m (combined) is good pay for the 2007 World Champion.

oracle - 09 November 2009 12:19 PM

You do realize of course you could apply that thinking to every team and every driver.

There you go making a drama out of nothing again oracle.

Well, let's play ball. Apply it to Bruno Senna and Barrichello if you want to apply it to Brawm.

It doesn't fit. Does it ?

The Raikkonen to Ferrari deal was a blindsider to Dennis. They didn't see it coming. Or are you now going to pull the faithful "Dennis had a magic 8 ball and knew it all along" line ?

It's completely unique. Are you telling me that after Montoya left and de La Rosa took over in 2006, they had Hamilton coming in 2007 to join Alonso ? Really ?

oracle - 09 November 2009 12:19 PM

It's a vlaueless comment. PDR and Hamilton have nothing to thank Raikkonen for. Will Alonso be thanking Raikkonen for furthering his career by vacating the Ferrari seat?

Thanking Ferrari must make your stomach crawl.

Well actually yes, Alonso should be thanking Kimi for terminating his contract early when he didn't have to. All Kimi had to do was say "No, I want to finish out my whole contract for next yr as spelled out on my contract." and unless Luca could convince everyone of a 3 car per team grid, Alonso would be "furthering his career" at Renault for another yr and waiting for 2011 as originally planned.

Is there valued evidence contrary to that from the McLaren die hard loyalist oracle and his magic 8 ball ?

Revel - do you believe the numbers and terms of that article ?

Brawnista - 09 November 2009 12:29 PM

Revel - do you believe the numbers and terms of that article ?

To be honest I believe very little of what I see or read or hear in regards to F1 -- as the entire F1 circus seems full of obfuscators. The journalists covering the sport as well --


So no I don't 'believe' what the article says; but it is reasonable to explain the impasse between Raikkonen and Mclaren's sides of the negotiating table.

I could understand Raikkonen's managers/agents etc -- wanting to find some way to take home the same-sized pie as they took home in 2008; and I could understand Kimi not wanting to race at a place where he will no longer be well recieved. (Under Ferrari-Santander & new Italo-Spanish rule which desires & prefers the services of the Spanaird).

About F1 contracts:

The F1 contracts often have very complex performance-clauses and other out-clauses; we do not know what position; Raikkonen or Ferrari or Santander were really negotiating from, do we?

I know from your various posting on the subject that you assume.. that --Raikkonen could have simply sat on his hands and demanded his 49 million-- rather he had raced or not, as he contact presumably states.. But keep in mind that is only an assumption by some -- and none of us really know what leverage the lawyers held.

From what I read Kimi and his peeps are going through a mountain of paperwork which represents the Mclaren driver contract -- I'm sure the Ferrari-contract was an equally tall mountain of paperwork; full-off hidden and multi-layered Lawyer-voodoo.

so yeah.. the numbers kind of make sense to me. Do I belive them..?? not really .. just compiling data.