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Has Kimi Räikkönen's mental approach to the WDC-battle changed?
– Nothing has changed for me at least. I have nothing to lose. I just try and improve the position. If I don't succeed then it doesn't change anything in my life, Räikkönen assured when getting ready for the practice.
Räikkönen has experience of rising up from a hopeless situation to world championship. Is it an advantage when you know how it's done?
– One has to remember that I have both lost and won the championship in the last race. I guess the guy ahead of me have also experienced the same. I think Vettel is the only one who has only won, but at least Alonso has also lost and won the championship in the last race.
– The fact is however that we all have enough experience and we all know what we need to do, Kimi said.
Five years ago Räikkönen needed the credible and strong F2007-car for his last stint. Back then Kimi was 18 points behind Lewis Hamilton when four races were left. The difference to Vettel right now is in practice the same. Back then Alonso was also between as second.
Räikkönen won three times in the four last races.
– There is the difference that in 2007 I knew I could win everyone of those races with that Ferrari. Now winning would depend more on others making mistakes. Of course we can win but speed wise we aren't in the same place regarding others than we were in Ferrari.
Lotus is working night and day so that they could get more competitiveness to E20-car. However Red Bull seems to have escaped so far that it would require a completely massive development kick to reach them.
Red Bull is escaping far away
– Really much should happen so that the power relations would change remarkably from this. It's more depending upon if Vettel and Alonso or their teams make some mistakes. You never know what might happen. At least we try our best every time. Who knows if some track would suit our car better than others and then we could get better results.
– If I would have to place a bet on the WDC, my money would go for Vettel. He is leading and he has the fastest car. They have been fast in the last races and they don't make mistakes.
Lotus has modified the new exhaust system and will also get other new updates to their car.
– Hopefully we can improve from the last race and go forward in the same way as we did from Japan to Korea. We need better results in the end season. There is development coming all the time, but the problem is that no other team will suddenly stop their work either. Everyone is squeezing until the end, since the situation in the lead is so tight, Räikkönen said.
– On a fast track like this there's probably not much advantage of the exhaust as it is in the next race in Abu Dhabi, Räikkönen thought.
Contract still not signed
On the contract frontier we are still depending upon rumours. The latest grain of information from Lotus-camp tells that Räikkönen's contract might possibly next week be filed up to the dots so that it can be announced.
Assumably Romain Grosjean has to show his performances until the end of the season in order to get a new contract. They also have negotiations with other candidates.
– We have options, but nothing has been decided definitely. Both names have to be in the contract and I guess they will be there at some point, Räikkönen said.
Turun Sanomat
HEIKKI KULTA
Courtesy: Nicole
Eric Boullier told on Sunday in MTV3:s live interview openly about how Kimi Räikkönen's next year's contracts is made.
Boullier has earlier said that Räikkönen's continuance is 100% sure, but Räikkönen himself says that he doesn't have a contract for next year.
- Nothing has yet been signed concerning next year, but his contract which was signed last year is a two-year contract with some options. They are related to performance clauses. We just have to go through the administrative process in order to get the contract again signed for next year, Bouillier described the situation to MTV3.
Boullier emphasizes that announcing the contract isn't even depending on any matters that concern the negotiations.
- It's only about timing.
Source MTV3
Courtesy Nicole
Kimi Räikkönen confirmed in MTV3:s interview in Singapore, that he and Lotus have an option when it comes to the next season
However the option hasn't yet been used and that's why Räikkönen doesn't want to talk about next season.
- The team and I have an option. Before they are signed you never know what is going to happen. We have seen earlier in F1, sadly, that even though you have a contract it doesn't mean that you would drive somewhere, Räikkönen told to MTV3 referring to how Ferrari kicked him out despite his contract.
According to information MTV3 has, Räikkönen's and Lotus-team's options expire at the end of September. According to inside sources the relationship is good on both sides and it's probable that Räikkönen continues in Lotus.
- I don't have any reason to do anything else, Räikkönen assures about his continuance in F1.
Räikkönen emphasizes that the information concerning him switching teams, spread by the media, are not coming from himself.
- After every race they seem to know terribly well where everyone is going to drive. According to them things change every second day, Räikkönen said about the rumour mill on the paddock.
Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Nicole
Gerard Lopez is very calm about the rumors which are taking Kimi back to Ferrari or McLaren.
What is Räikkönen's future in Lotus like?
- Kimi is with us at least on a short-term range. We have a contract which is based upon performance level and we have exceeded it, Lopez tells Turun Sanomat.
– And we never keep anyone by force if they don't want to be with us. Kimi wants to be with us and so does Romain Grosjean – and we are satisfied with them.
Did the rumors about other teams' interest in Räikkönen come as a surprise?
- No. This is F1. Sometimes rumors are true, sometimes they are just made up although they aren't based on anything.
Do Räikkönen's and Grosjean's contracts need to be confirmed officially?
– It is official when it is announced. We think that they are already official and when we present the car, we also present the drivers.
The new E21 -car is presented when winter tests begin. Räikkönen hasn't yet signed the contract, because the option closes at the end of September. Hence there is more than enough to be polished in it. In F1 even the concept of 'certain' is a variable concept.
Car 2013 is also strong
The most important thing for the drivers is that next year's Lotus is also competitive. Does the long WC-battle affect the striking ability of next year's car?
– We have a good understanding of our car. When you look at the most successful team in the past years, Red Bull, you can see that they don't either make any big changes into their car. They have a good basis and they develop it with patience.
– Now we also have a good basis. We aren't going to make any revolutionary car for next year. We make it a car that works a little bit better than this current one does.
– There aren't any big changes in regulations for season 2013 when we continue with the same engine for example etc., Lopez reminds.
Turun Sanomat, Monza
Courtesy: Nicole
Formula One champions Red Bull are more likely to promote their own young talent than try to lure Lewis Hamilton from McLaren if they have a vacancy at the end of the season, according to team boss Christian Horner
Australian Mark Webber's contract with Red Bull, as team mate to 24-year-old double champion Sebastian Vettel, expires at the end of the year, as does 2008 world champion Hamilton's at McLaren.
The Briton was linked last season to Red Bull, with Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone suggesting only last month that Hamilton might want to move, but Horner told British reporters before this weekend's Australian season-opener that his team were unlikely to be interested.
"I think that it's difficult to envisage Lewis in our team," he said. "I think he's comfortable in the environment that he's in and we're certainly comfortable with the two drivers we have.
"We also took a decision to invest in youth and we've got two really exciting youngsters that are entering GP racing in Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo - both very talented drivers and deserve that opportunity," said Horner.
"It will be fascinating to see how they evolve during the year. So we would be more likely to look inwardly than outwardly."
Both Vergne and Ricciardo are starting their first full seasons at Red Bull's sister team Toro Rosso with the potential reward of a promotion to partner Vettel should Webber retire or the champions decide a change is needed.
Germany's Vettel graduated in a similar way from Toro Rosso after winning the Italian Grand Prix in 2008.
"You've got to look at the balance within a team as well," said Horner, who recently tipped Hamilton's team mate Jenson Button, the 2009 champion, as likely to be Vettel's biggest threat from outside Red Bull.
"It's important to have the right balance within any team, not just with the drivers but throughout the organisation...our preference would probably be more to go with drivers in whom we have invested from a young age, and give them the opportunity to see how they evolve rather than take something external."
Horner refused to fuel any speculation about Webber's future however, saying the 35-year-old was in great shape, determined to bounce back from a disappointing 2011.
"I certainly don't think Mark is going into this year thinking this is his last," he said.
"He is motivated, he is hungry, he's enjoying Formula One again, he sees a future beyond the end of 2012. I think that inevitably when drivers get to a certain age...it's logical to take things one step at a time which is what both Mark and the team agreed to do.
"There is no pre-requisite that Mark won't be in the car in 2013. It's a long season. We'll talk about things at the end of the year."
Horner said there were no guarantees that youngsters like Frenchman Vergne or Australian Ricciardo would be ready to move up at the end of the year should Webber, who won just once last year against Vettel's 11 victories, decide to stop.
"It might take two years, or even three. It's just a healthy situation for the team to have two really young talented drivers who we'll be able to gauge against each other," he added. Source: Reuters Sports
It is not certain Lewis Hamilton will stay with the McLaren team beyond this year, according to 1996 world champion Damon Hill.
Although 2008 title winner Hamilton regularly pledges his loyalty to the famous British team, his contract runs out this year and last season he had talks with Christian Horner in the Red Bull motor home.
“It may be he will seek to move from McLaren,” pondered 51-year-old Hill, according to the Telegraph.
Earlier this week, former Williams driver Hill urged fellow Briton Hamilton to better manage his F1 career alongside his often troubled private life.
Part of improving that focus might involve leaving McLaren, suggested Hill, referring to the Woking based team that began grooming Hamilton for F1 stardom when he was a boy.
“It (leaving) may be something he feels he needs to do, which will be a bit like leaving home as he’s been there since he was 13,” said Hill.
“If I was Bernie (Ecclestone) I would probably want to see Lewis at Red Bull with Vettel.”
Source: YallaF1
The latest rumour tells that the contract between Kimi Räikkönen and Williams will be announced in the Abu Dhabi GP.
They expect Williams to announce a substantial sponsor-deal which would make it possible to hire Räikkönen. Williams is known to have had negotiations with at least Qatar National Bank.
They have earlier told from Williams, that they will announce next year's drivers before the last race of the season which is Brazil in the end of November.
Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Nicole
”Well will Kimi Räikkönen come back?”. The question is presented to me more and more often and in the most strangest places and from all different kinds of quarters. And who says that F1 doesn't interest Finns anymore? The greatest thing in the discussions I have had, has been how genuinely they want Räikkönen to come back. A world champion is always a world champion but they also want his disputable personality back. It feels like now Kimi would be left in peace as his own self. The audience would accept it and surely also the team that would hire him.
The comeback would do Räikkönen himself a lot of good and also to the whole sport. One has to keep in mind that the possible F1-operation is completely on Räikkönen's own terms. He isn't doing it for Finns, for the fans in the world or for the sport. He does it for himself.
But I also believe that Räikkönen, who has taken distance and has matured for a couple of years also thinks about the team he would go to. I'm sure that he is willing to give a lot of himself in order to produce results. And much more than before. As a private person and as a professional he knows what he is getting into. Since he doesn't have a winning car at his reach he has a project ahead of him that requires patience. The setting can well be compared to Schumacher: one has to make a clear plan and stick with it. No matter what happens.
”Well does Kimi Räikkönen come back?” I hope he does. Why wouldn't one of the toughest drivers do what they are best at. In order to succeed you have to do what you are good at. Rally is a world of its own and very challenging. But if you have been driving on tarmac all your life then it's best to stay on that surface. And if you want to drive track-racing on a high level, then it's difficult to find another working enviroment as classy as F1.
USA is not the right address. DTM is classy but it's not time for that yet.
I still see that Williams is the only option. Now it's only a matter if the team has been able to convice Räikkönen with their development plans. With all the changes coming on, the next season will be really tough unless they get the car concept to work right from the first winter tests.
Can Williams then offer Räikkönen everything that he wants? The engineering is a department of it's own and financial matters a chapter of it's own. They would have to be able to exploit Räikkönen's comeback in the best possible way. And it's not a question over them collecting his salary. It's only a small part of the project. Development- and operational funding play a far more remarkable role. As a corporation Williams could find a quick solution to Kimi's salary but it doesn't help alone. They also have to be able to exploit Räikkönen's skills and value.
As far as I have understood the carrying out of Räikkönen's comeback rests mostly on Williams' shoulders. But if Kimi really wants to come back then he also has to be really active other than just working out a lot.
”Well will Kimi Räikkönen come back?” Today I believe that he will.
Jukka Mildh Source: YleCourtesy: Nicole
At the eve of India GP there seems to be most worldwide interest for a driver who isn't even participating.
They are nw talking seriously about Kimi Räikkönen's comeback after him being away for two years, it's not only just joking because there are no bigger matters to talk about.
On Thursday a rumour took off from the press room telling that Räikkönen would already had signed a contract with Williams for next season.
Publicist Claire Williams assured Turun Sanomat on Thursday that they haven't yet made a decision about the drivers and that the time for those decisions would be at the end of the season - meaning after one month.
– They were writing me out from Honda four times too, however I drove there even when it was Brawn. I will be 40 years old and next season would be my 20th season in F1 so I hope I'm still there, Rubens Barrichello said to Brasilian reporters.
Turun Sanomat, Greater Noida
HEIKKI KULTA
Courtesy: Nicole
Kimi Räikkönen is, at least according to rumours in the Indian GP paddock, on his way to Williams next season, having signed a deal
Ever since he walked away from F1 at the end of the 2009 season, parting ways with Ferrari and failing to secure a return to McLaren, rumours have persisted saying the Finn will return.
The latest, which emerged in the week before the Singapore GP, claimed that he is in talks with Williams regarding next season and even visited their factory in Grove.
However, at the time, his manager Steve Robertson downplayed the visit.
"At the end of the day people know Kimi visited Williams, but there's nothing more to say apart from that," he told GPUpdate.net. "There is nothing more to report."
But, according to PlanetF1's man on the ground in India, Chetan Narula, rumours in the paddock say not only is Räikkönen in talks with Williams but the Finn has in fact already signed a contract to race for them next season.
Source: Planet-F1
Britain's 2009 world champion Jenson Button has signed a new multi-year contract with McLaren, the Formula One team announced Wednesday
The announcement came ahead of Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, with Button the only driver still standing between Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and a second successive championship.
Vettel needs just one point to clinch the title while Button must win to have even a glimmer of a hope of staying in contention with four more races to come after Japan.
McLaren said in a statement that retaining Button's services for the next few years would strengthen the Woking-based team's long-term stability.
Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, already has a contract with the team to the end of next season.
"I've never felt more at home at a team than I do at... McLaren," said Button, who won his title with Brawn GP -- the former Honda team now racing as Mercedes.
"I've won four of the greatest races of my life here (with McLaren), I'm currently lying second in the drivers' world championship and I feel that I'm driving better than ever," the 31-year-old Englishman added.
"You can only achieve that with the right level of support, and I truly believe that the passion and determination to win are stronger here... than anywhere else," said Button, who started his F1 career at Williams in 2000.
McLaren gave no details about the deal, other than saying it was multi-year, but the length of time will end paddock speculation about a possible move by the Briton to glamour team Ferrari for 2013.
"I've made no secret of my ambition to continue winning races and world championships and I fully believe this is the place where I can achieve those things," said Button.
"We... know how to win and we're busy refining an organisation that will enable us to keep on doing that for years to come."
Hamilton, who risks finishing second behind a team mate in the championship for the first time, welcomed the 'great news'.
"Jenson has been a great person to work with and a genuine team player, from the moment we welcomed him on board (in 2010)," he said.
"Jenson and I are as hungry and as ambitious as ever to win races and world championships in the future."
McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh hailed Button as "one of the most capable and respected drivers we've ever had."
"He's a considerable credit to this organisation and I'm proud to be his team principal," he added.
"I feel sure that he'll now build on the considerable success he's already achieved with us and will be even more successful with us in years to come."
Vettel leads the championship on 309 points with Button a distant second in the standings on 185. Hamilton lies fifth on 168 points.
Source: Reuters Sports
Mark Webber has now signed a one-year extension to his Red Bull contract, despite recent reports that the team was looking at alternative drivers to replace the Australian including the likes of Lewis Hamilton or one of the two Toro Rosso drivers.
The Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat said the 34-year-old Australian’s 2012 deal will be announced in Hungary this week.
Earlier, it was rumoured that another driver, perhaps Lewis Hamilton, might be drafted in to replace Webber as Sebastian Vettel’s teammate.
But team owner Dietrich Mateschitz said recently that Webber, who achieved pole at the Nurburgring and outperformed Vettel all weekend, is staying put.
“I always said that I expect our 2012 driver lineup to be the same,” team boss Christian Horner told F1′s official website, adding that the news becoming official is a “formality”.
“I am very happy with the two drivers we have. They push each other hard and I can’t imagine any other driver in our car, or Mark Webber in any other team’s car next year,” he added.
Webber joined Red Bull in 2007 after stints with Williams, Jaguar and Minardi. Source: YallaF1
Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz spoke about the conflict at RBR - and ended any discrepancies in the World Championship team. A contract extension with Mark Webber would be beyond doubt.
That Mark Webber got himself out of the "race" to a contract extension with Red Bull Racing because of ignoring team orders at Silverstone, Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz discounts with a smile. And contradicts once again premature media reports. The SN, he said: "The agreement to hold positions in the finish, was discussed between the team and drivers before the race. Mark approached Sebastian Vettel in the finish, because he saw that he can't get Fernando Alonso and cut back. I understand Webber that he wanted to get infront. He would be a bad rider, if he would not try. "
What will happen before the summer break? The Australian has already been to Salzburg and is probably again at the hangar-7 after the Hungarian Grand Prix (July 31) - and probably not only to drink one can of Red Bull. One could speculate: Afternoon signing the new contract, then announcement in the evening on "Sports Talk" on Servus TV.
About the situation said Mateschitz: "The contract extension with Mark is still beyond doubt. He feels comfortable with us, in the team he is very popular. He can not get a better car, and we can't get a better driver on the market". And rumors about Lewis Hamilton, the Red Bull boss just said: "It's usual at this time. Hamilton came in Montreal to us, not vice versa." Source: Salzburg.comCourtesy: Miezicat
McLaren are set to offer Jenson Button a new lucrative contract in a bid to keep Ferrari away from the 2009 Champion
Reports this weekend claim that Ferrari are eager to sign Button as Fernando Alonso's new 2012 team-mate, replacing the beleaguered Felipe Massa.
According to the News of the World tabloid, a source at Maranello revealed that there has been "a lot of talk" at Ferrari about securing Button's services.
The Ferrari source said: "They (Ferrari) have already checked to see if he would be available.
"The team realise they need a stronger partner for Fernando Alonso than Felipe Massa if they want to win the title again."
However, the Daily Mail reports that McLaren are set to do everything they can to ensure Button and Lewis Hamilton remain team-mates for the foreseeable future.
The newspaper claims that even if they want Ferrari cannot sign Button for 2012 as McLaren are "set to trigger an automatic one-year extension to Button's £6million-ayear contract."
And, added to that, they are also likely to "offer him an extended deal on improved terms over the next few weeks" in a bid to keep Ferrari are bay.
But whether Button will agree a long-term contract remains to be seen as the 31-year-old recently stated that he does not want to sign a long-term deal.
"For me, it makes no sense to sign a long-term contract," Button told Switzerland's Blick newspaper.
"I don't know how I'm going to feel in a few years. I can't imagine racing at 40, I just want to race for as long as I can win.
"I've not had any calls about my future - McLaren has an option on me for next year, that's all I know. Many of my colleagues don't hesitate to secure for the long term, but I like it when my future is open." Source: Planet-F1
Amid rumours Mark Webber is close to agreeing a new deal for 2012, Sebastian Vettel cracked a joke in Canada when asked who his ideal Red Bull teammate would be.
The reigning world champion humorously plumped for Dirk Nowitzki, the German basketball player who is seven feet tall and tips the scales well above 100 kilograms.
"He wouldn’t even fit in the car," Vettel laughed to Bild am Sonntag newspaper. "So then I’d have one opponent less."
More seriously, Vettel said his only requirement for a teammate is "respect and honesty", and answered "why not?" if he could imagine sharing a garage with Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso.
Source: Nextgen
Maranello, 19 May -
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro announces that it has renewed its technical and racing agreement with the driver Fernando Alonso up to the end of the 2016 season.
“It is a great pleasure to have renewed our agreement with a driver who has always demonstrated a winning mentality even in the most difficult circumstances, commented President Luca di Montezemolo. “Fernando has all the required qualities, both technically and personally to play a leading role in the history of Ferrari and I hope he will be enriching it with further wins very soon.”
“I am very happy to have reached this agreement, said Fernando Alonso. “I immediately felt comfortable within Ferrari and now it feels to me like a second family. I have the utmost faith in the men and women who work in Maranello and in those who lead them: it is therefore natural for me to decide to extend my relationship in the long term like this, with a team at which I will no doubt end my Formula 1 career one day.” Source: Ferrari.com
Michael Schumacher insists he is not ready to throw in the towel following another difficult start to the season
A lot was expected of the seven-time World Champion when he came out of retirement in 2010 to sign a deal with Mercedes GP. However, he failed to live up to expectations last year and finished a disappointing ninth in the Drivers' Champions - 70 points behind team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Although there has been a marked improvement this year, he is still finding it difficult to match the performances of Rosberg.
There have been suggestions that Schumacher could pack it in before his contract expires in 2012, but he is having none of it.
"I will fulfil my three-year contract with Mercedes after which I will work as a representative of the team's brand," he told Germany's Bunte.
He added: "I am on a mission to take Mercedes GP to the top step of the podium. Fighting for 10th place is not always pleasant. I expect to be in a better position soon."
Although he is confident of improving, Schumacher also admits that being 42-years-old "is not the same as 25". Source: Planet-F1
Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, the two McLaren drivers, could continue their partnership with the team for "another five years", the team's team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, believes.
Whitmarsh said that the pair's relationship was so competitive that it could withstand the pressures of pursuing world titles in Formula One.
He was speaking as McLaren arrived in Shanghai for the Chinese grand prix this coming weekend. "We have two drivers that do really have a particular bond. They like working together and are both enjoying it," Whitmarsh said of Hamilton, 26, and Button, 31.
Button, said Whitmarsh, could stay with McLaren for "another five years at least" and Hamilton seemed so comfortable with McLaren that the younger driver could keep the combination intact.
"I can't think of two drivers who are better communicators than Jenson and Lewis. And we've got both of them."
Source: The Guardian
Kimi Räikkönen is finalizing an agreement with the team of Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Truck Series driving a Toyota Tundra. A deal to be finalized in the coming days.
The agreement will include between three and five races this year. Three races and two races farms optional depending on the results of the 2007 F1 world champion. Räikkönen then begin his career in Charlotte.
Note that Räikkönen arrives in paying his wheel. Without Kyle Bush knows exactly where the money comes. "My contract with Kimi is personal, for the budget, yes he has money behind him, but I do not know where that money comes from. " Kyle Bush launches U.S. media.
Kimi Räikkönen will pay approximately between 300,000 and 500,000 dollars in total, $ 100,000 race
Source: TomorrowNewsF1
Courtesy: _TaniaS_
Foster Gillett, who lured Kimi Räikkönen into NASCAR-challenges was following his future star driver's grips in the rally in Portugal, which he also attended.
At the same time I got offered a chance to explain some backgrounds to Räikkönen's surprising switch when Gillett gave Turun Sanomat an exclusive interview.
NHL-star Saku Koivu had his share in Gillett and Räikkönen making contact.
– We owned Montreal Canadiens for nine years. I attended every game and lived with the players in both down- and uphills. The most challenging and critical situation I have ever experienced was Saku's battle against cancer.
– At that time we were the team-owners for the first year. I was 23-years old. We didn't know well, Saku and I, but that period connected us very closely. My family did all they could to help Saku win his battle. It was a worthy victory. Saku is alive, he is doing well, he has a wonderful family and still plays magnificently.
– That victory also spiced our eternal friendship and mutual respect. Saku is a skillful leader on ice and a great man as a human being. He gave a face to Canadiens organisation for many years. We went through some rough times but he never lost his will to try. To me Saku is one of the most inspirational sport figures of all times, Gillett praised.
Although both left Montreal they still kept in touch.
– When I came to the NASCAR-circles Saku knew it and called on a regular basis to hear how it goes for us and if he could do something for us.
– Then one day I was thinking what I and our sponsors should do to get forward. The idea of offering Kimi Räikkönen co-operation was born. I didn't know how it would work out in practice so I called Saku. Saku assured me he would be happy to help and he gave me the contact information I needed in order to get in touch with Kimi.
– I called to Finland immediately, we met in Miami and now a few months later we have chosen our joint path and are at the moment looking at the right moves at this point, Gillett said.
– We have made many plans over how to combine Kimi's rally- and NASCAR-schedules. We have really got our feet wet so to say. Lets see how it starts going and how Kimi feels.
Driver-centered racing
Räikkönen's switch to NASCAR offered a news bomb all around the world.
– The sport is its own small world, Gillett thinks.
– Kimi is known all around the world and he is a popular sport star. I hope that Kimi's decision to come over the Atlant to struggle as a pioneer in new challenges also wakes up other top drivers, sponsors and top engineers to follow him.
What does Gillett expect from Räikköen as a NASCAR-driver?
– It will become clear in time. Of course I have my own theory about how it could go.
– When they in Europe talk about over- and understeering, we again use words tight and loose. With a tight the front pushes when you turn into a corner and with a loose the rear again is loose. The more tight, the more physically the driver has to turn the wheel to the corner.
– I know that Kimi has drove on so many different tracks and rallies and slided sideways so often that the looseness will feel very familiar to him. I would assume that he feels quite comfortable in a car like that.
– From what I have understood about Kimi's history he doesn't like a tight car. The situation will become clear in time but I think he will have an advantage of it in the beginning.
– NASCAR is very driver-centered because the cars are almost identical and the difference between the faster and the slower is very small and laptimes are tightly bundled. Therefore the driver makes the difference as long as he gets the right equipment. There is no computer, no telemetry. In NASCAR the driver himself is the computer.
Marketing by driving
Räikkönen's image is a silent Iceman. How will Kimi fit in the American marketing mentality?
– The way you drive talks for itself. You don't have to blabber there. The way you drive and the way others drive against you brings out your character and that fascinates the audience. Kimi is an incredible personality and all our organisations are thrilled over him being part of this program.
– I know Saku's steel character and know its part of his Finnish nature. I believe that Kimi is made of the same wood, Gillett emphasises.
Turun Sanomat, Faro
HEIKKI KULTA
Courtesy: Nicole
