Häkkinen says Räikkönen will find it tough

Formerly his strongest supporter, Mika Häkkinen is now questioning how quickly his compatriot Kimi Räikkönen can get back up to speed in formula one.

When he retired a decade ago, Häkkinen recommended rookie Räikkönen to then McLaren team boss Ron Dennis by saying: “If you want to win, get the Finn.”

Now, a 32-year-old Räikkönen is reportedly busy losing the four kilograms he put on during his forays in world rallying and NASCAR.

Häkkinen tells Bild am Sonntag: “The return will be very difficult for Kimi. He will have almost no time to test the new car — five or six days, that’s it.

“If you lose a day with a problem you don’t get it back, while in the past we used to sit in the cockpit from morning to night, because you get faster and faster the more time you have to get into the rhythm,” he said.

That is why, to help Räikkönen readjust after his two-year sabbatical, Lotus already has plans to circumvent the current testing restrictions by preparing the 32-year-old a 2009-spec Renault equipped with GP2 tyres.

According to Häkkinen, Räikkönen will still find it difficult.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are a world champion or not. In formula one the competition has never been tougher.

“The fitness of the drivers, their technical understanding, it just gets better and better. These drivers, they work brutally hard!

“It will all make Kimi’s return much more difficult even than five years ago.”

Giancarlo Fisichella, whose last few grands prix were alongside Räikkönen at Ferrari in 2009, agrees: “Formula one is unforgiving, especially if you’ve been away for a couple of years.”

More optimistic for Räikkönen is 2009 world champion Jenson Button.

“This is a very good thing for the sport; he’s such a competitive driver,” the McLaren driver is quoted by France’s autohebdo.fr.

“The guys at McLaren have told me that he is very good at setting up a car.”

Räikkönen travelled to Lotus’ Enstone base on Saturday and met with team owner Gerard Lopez, who sensed the former McLaren and Ferrari driver is highly motivated.

And “the more people that question it (his motivation) the better, because it’s only going to motivate him further,” said Lopez.

Source: YallaF1

Schumacher will win again, says Häkkinen

Mika Häkkinen is sure that former arch rival Michael Schumacher will return to winning ways after a tough first four races in the German's comeback season. The 7-time World Champion's sixth place finish in Bahrain is his best for Mercedes so far whereas team-mate Nico Rosberg has enjoyed two podium results.

Having claimed double titles in 1998 and 1999, the first of which was also within Schumacher's grasp until the final race of the season at Suzuka, Häkkinen left Formula 1 after a disappointing campaign yielded only two wins for McLaren in 2001. With Schumacher having departed the sport five years later, the Finn understands the desire to return for the Mercedes driver.

"It was clear that he needed a break," Häkkinen told Germany's Bild before explaining why Schumacher's pace so far may have appeared slower than expected. "It is up to the new technology of the cars and the tyres - that takes time to get to grips with.

"Another reason is that he is up against a selection of young drivers who have nothing else in their lives at the moment other than a will to win; their lives consist only of Formula 1 but that's a good thing because this sport requires total concentration and total attention. Age does make it more difficult, though; if you're 41, you have other things in life - a family, for example."

However, Mika is confident that Schumacher will greet a podium's top step at least once in 2010. "I'm pretty sure he will win a race this year," the Finn continued. "I know how he ticks and how obsessed he is with working if he has a goal set; but it is difficult for him because this sport allows no excuses - I'm glad I'm not doing it anymore!"

Source: GPUPDATE

Raikkonen is warned over rally move

ABU DHABI // Mika Hakkinen, the two-time Formula One world champion, has cautioned Kimi Raikkonen, his Finnish compatriot, to expect a tough introduction to the World Rally Championship (WRC) when the new season gets under way today in Sweden.

Raikkonen, the winner of the 2007 F1 drivers’ championship, left 16-time constructors’ champions Ferrari last year to take a permanent seat on Citroen’s WRC Junior Team. He will race in 12 of the championship’s 13 races, including this weekend’s season-opener in Karlstad.

But while Raikkonen hopes for an easy transition from F1’s smooth tarmac to rally’s more testing terrain, Hakkinen expects his countryman to struggle to get to grips with his new career choice.

“I tried rally many times and if you want to be at the top of the podium in rally, it’s going to take a massively long time,” said Hakkinen, who was in the capital yesterday announcing the shortlists for the Laureus Sports Awards.

“In Kimi’s case, he is a fantastically talented driver and he has all the chances, but it takes time. It takes years before you can perform at the top level. And the media is going to focus on him – especially in Finland. He has to be careful and really work hard.”

Raikkonen is famed for his withdrawn demeanour and an eagerness to shun the spotlight, but Hakkinen, the F1 world champion in 1998 and 1999, says such characteristics will have to change if the 30-year-old plans to reach his full potential in the WRC.

“He will have to work even harder than he did in Formula One, not only on the driving side, but also outside the driving: teamwork, media work, etc,” said Hakkinen, who retired from racing in 2001 after winning 20 grands prix in a career that spanned a decade.

“You have to co-operate and it’s challenging – there is no escape. In every sport you cannot just perform your sport, you have to do everything that goes on around it. You have to face the challenge.”

Raikkonen, who competed in last year’s Rally Finland and was placed 15th shortly before crashing out on the penultimate day’s final stage, said he is ready for the test that lies ahead.

“My goal is simply to do my best with the Citroen C4 WRC. My debut [season] in the World Rally Championship is an enormous challenge, but any driver who has competed in motorsport at a certain level always maintains the same way of working and the same desire to push themselves,” he said.

The 18-time grand prix winner hinted he may return to F1 next year, with Red Bull Racing being strongly linked. Raikkonen held talks with McLaren-Mercedes before opting to quit the sport.

“I think the decision to go to the WRC was perfect for him: he wanted to go to rally so why not let it be like that,” said Hakkinen.

“In Formula One, when you are a champion, you can always come back – always there are doors open. The question is which teams offer seats. You will always get a drive, but you want to come back in a winning team with a winning car. That is the target.”

Source: The National Newspaper/UAE
Courtesy: luieluv @PF1 Forum