F1-experts about Kimi's season: the biggest problem is money

Iltalehti made a quick gallup on Barcelona paddock about what Kimi's chances will be next season.

Jonathan Noble, Autosport (UK)

- The Lotus-car appears to be good but it's helplessly behind Red Bull and McLaren. I don't dare to bet that Kimi will win this season but of course that is possible under lucky stars. It will be interesting to see how he reacts if Lotus isn't in the top 6 in qualification.

Alberto Antonini, Autosprint (Italy)

- Kimi is extremely hungry after two years in rally and he seems to enjoy being in Lotus-team very much. In a way he has the ideal settings for the upcoming season but he has also a lot of difficulties. I believe that Kimi will win some day but not necessarily in 2012.

Patrick Camus, Auto Hebdo (France)

- The biggest problem is money. Can Lotus develop their machinery in the same pace with the top teams? A couple of years ago the first races in spring gave an opportunity to surprise but today all cars are really reliable so that chance has also narrowed down.

Heikki Kulta, Turun Sanomat

- A GP-victory doesn't seem to be realistically possible but if a chance for that opens up then Kimi's hands won't shake, that's for sure, instead he will take advantage of the situation. I believe that he will climb on the podium two or three times and be within the top 6 when the season ends. The beginning of the season is really important ; if it takes off really well then his motivation will rise even more.

KARI MELART

Courtesy: Nicole

F1 blog | Inside the Abu Dhabi GP | Kimi Shelter

With the Abu Dhabi grand prix around the corner and the global economic crisis in the back of everybody's minds, one question was on the press' lips... When will the iceman cometh back to F1?

Sitting in Yas Marina looking at the mega-yachts bobbing up and down in front of the five-star Yas Viceroy hotel, lit up as usual in all its pomp, it’s fair to say that the global economic downturn isn’t exactly in evidence. Then again, who knows? Maybe the people on the boats are ranging against the dying of the light and its all going to be repossessed in the morning? Even the fantasy-land that is the F1 paddock isn’t immune to the travails of the global economy and at today’s press conference team principals accustomed to answering questions about grumpy drivers and broken gearboxes were asked to step out onto the rather more unfamiliar territory of airing their views on the state of the Euro and other such matters economic. Admittedly, the questions were couched in fairly comfortable terms, mostly along the lines of ‘If Europe sinks into a catastrophe not seen since the Mongol horde was at the gate of Vienna and fire, famine, plague and pestilence rain down, will it affect your development budget for next year?’ Reassuringly most of them said ‘No'.

Rather more in keeping was the inevitability that Frank Williams would receive a question or two about Kimi Räikkönen. The Iceman is currently sliding around the forests of Wales in a borrowed Citroën, but his presence is very much in evidence on Yas Island as the saga of whether or not the 2007 F1 World Champion is coming back for another tilt edges nearer to an answer. Whenever one of the Williams board is put in front of the microphone these days, that’s usually the first question, and always if the man doing the asking is Finnish.

“Frank, 10 years ago you were interested in getting Kimi to your team. Now, 10 years later are you still interested to get him now you can do so?’

Newspaper men know that local talent is what sells their papers, so when Red Bull Racing disappear into the distance and record another one-two finish, the headlines in Italy are going to be ‘Ferrari disaster’, while the British will probably go for ‘HAMILTON SNATCHES THIRD as Vettel wins again.’ As the F1 media’s professional Finn, Heikki Kulta of the Turku daily Turun Sanomat has a rather more narrow window of opportunity. Heikki Kovalainen is the amiable bread and butter story, but the possibility of a returning Räikkönen is an ice-cream sundae with a cherry on top. A cherry that’s probably been dipped in vodka and taken a ride on a jetski dressed as a gorilla, but definitely a cherry. So when Frank’s on the panel, and Heikki snaffles the microphone, everybody in the room smiles, including Frank. Credit to Heikki he asks the same question he’s asked every race but for variety changes the phrasing. This week it was “Frank, 10 years ago you were interested in getting Kimi to your team. Now, 10 years later are you still interested to get him now you can do so?’

Frank pauses for dramatic effect, eyes twinkling before saying “A lot of supposition, and I cannot make any comment about supposition, sorry to be so unhelpful.” It’s the ‘no comment’ everybody knew was coming, but delivered with sufficient grace to create a respectable quote to file. Even with the world falling about their ears, you can still depend on the old school.

Source: Red Bull

Ilta-Sanomat (paper edition) Come back, Kimi

IS Urheilu asked experts on Singapore paddock if they would want Kimi back to F1

Niki Lauda

- I don't believe that he is coming back. He drives rally now and that I really don't understand. It has never happened before that someone from F1 goes to drive rally.

David Coulthard

- I haven't even thought about it. He is a good driver with a good personality. Kimi also always had time for his fans.

- I still don't really believe in his comeback.

Eddie Jordan

- I don't believe Kimi will come back.

Martin Whitmarsh

- Kimi's comeback would be a good thing for F1-races. He has a great personality and he is also a great driver. He would have to come back soon, next year at the latest. After that it's too late.

- Isn't he going to Renault? If I would have to choose between Vitali Petrov and Kimi I wouldn't think twice about it.

Jenson Button

- I hope that Kimi comes back. But only he knows if he is coming back to F1.

Sir Jackie Stewart

- It would be great if Kimi would come back. I respect his driving style and the F1-serie isn't the same without him.

- If Kimi stays away from the F1-world for too long it will be a great risk to come back. The same could happen to him that happened to Michael Schumacher who still hasn't won his team mate Nico Rosberg. Hopefully he finds the sparkle and Kimi returns to the track.

Norbert Haug

- I don't know if he comes back or not. It would be cool if he would come back. I have always liked Kimi.

- He is driving rally now and has shown already during the first year that he is good in that sport too. Kimi has talents. Thanks to Kimi we would have been more often world champions if we just wouldn't have had problems with technical matter and engines.

Bernie Ecclestone

- Of course I hope that Kimi comes back. But you should ask Kimi himself if he is coming back.

Rupert Grint, actor from Harry Potter -movies

- Kimi who? I only know Mika Häkkinen. I don't really follow F1 but I came here because I was invited.

Source: Ilta-Sanomat
Courtesy: Nicole

IN THE DEPTHS OF THE HARBOR

Monaco GP-column 13.5.

Although Kimi Räikkönen is ashore in Monaco he will not be seen on the GP-paddock with 100% certainity. Kimi didn't like it when he was driving in F1 so he feels even less attracted to go and say hello to his busy friends when he is on a well deserved vacation.

Nine reporters out of ten asks on a regular basis what Räikkönen might be doing next year.

"If I only knew", many team managers probably sigh.

They whisper more and more that Mark Webber would end his career after this season. When the whispers get louder all available drivers are alert. Nicolas Todt is Felipe Massa's manager and he is known to have made some inquiries about Red Bull's possible interest in Massa.

Red Bull will surely still be competitive next year with the joint KERS-system and Michelin-tyres because the F-Duct -system has been forbidden.

I doubt Vettel's team mate will come from Red Bull's own junior team. A possible seat is therefore offered to a complete winner.

If Massa would go to Red Bull it would create some interpretation problems for the Brasilian viewer. They refuse to use the energy drink's name in their airings, they always talk about RBR.

Why? They claim that the reason for it is because Red Bull's and Brazil's tv's negotiations didn't lead anywhere.

But that's how the world changes even in Brazil. Whereas Ayrton Senna was the real king of Monaco's streets his nephew Bruno starts with Hispania in the other end.

For the first time the name Senna was the last name.

Source: Turun Sanomat
Courtesy: Nicole

Scans Citroen's magazine

PROFILE: Kimi Räikkönen
By Heikki Kulta

According to many measurements Kimi Räikkönen is the best known Finn in the world right now.

It is known in pretty much every corner of the world that Kimi is a world champion of the pinnacle of circuit racing, F1. Where Finland lies on the map is not as well known. This year Räikkönen will surely get more fans as he boldly moves from the best F1 team to the best WRC rally car.The novelty shines from the Finnish driver's appearance in every way, although succeeding in rally will take a lot of time and hard work. ”Rally is a completely different world compared to what I've been used to in F1. In the F1 paddock everything is a bit stiff and conservative. In rally people are more relaxed”, says the jovial Räikkönen.

Räikkönen's surprising move from F1 to rally was covered as similar mega news as the return of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher to F1 Grand Prixs after three years.

Räikkönen is a celebrity with a capital C but still shies away from publicity. ”Publicity is just a part of this job. But it's a big relief that in rally I can be a bit more relaxed even about that.

”Räikkönen has always passionately loved racing. He has never been vague about that. ”Of course I would be living in paradise if this job was only about driving. I love to drive a racing car. I love it when we are able to make the car better and we work efficiently. I love it when we can challenge for victory.”

HE IS HIMSELF

Of all the Finnish drivers Kimi is the one who has definitely changed the least in F1 publicity. Kimi is known as an Iceman and a racing driver but his family and friends know him as a caring guy who has a warm heart. ”I myself don't feel that I've changed at all. There's no reason why I should have. I'm not here to conciously build some public image and I don't think that anyone expects that of me either."

"It's good that I can be exactly the way that I am. I haven't changed a bit and it's nicer when no one is expecting me to be something that I'm really not.”Well, what is Kimi Räikkönen like then? ”I probably differ from a lot of people in a lot of ways. At least I've lived my life the way I've wanted to. I don't stress about much. I usually do what I want to do.”

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF HIS DRIVING CAREER

Räikkönen would have wanted to drive for Ferrari this year but since that wasn't possible for different reasons he decided to change to a completely different scenery.

F1 star Räikkönen became rally driver Räikkönen. Ferrari's red clothes were replaced by Citroën's and Red Bull's colors when Kimi signed a year-long contract with Red Bull Racing which rents a car for Kimi from Citroën's junior team. ”This is the most difficult challenge of my life. But it's something that I want very much. For the first time I'll have to learn something from the very beginning. On the circuit you race against other cars but in rally you race against the clock. In F1 you sit alone, in rally you sit with a co-driver. The notes are just as important in rally as your gut feeling is in F1."Räikkönen's rally career has evoked plenty of discussion in the world of motorsport. As expected, Kimi is learning the secrets of the Citroën C4 the hard way. Kimi acquainted himself with snow banks in both Lapland and Sweden. ”The mistakes are perfectly normal and it's also normal that there will be more mistakes. The most important thing is to make the best possible notes and learn to drive precisely according to them.”There'll be plenty of new things to analyze when moving from snow to gravel and asphalt. ”In F1 you learn the circuits by driving. In rally every corner is different and every situation is new. You only adjust to them when you gain more experience.”

PATIENCE IS DEMANDED

Patience and the will to learn are of course challenged when there are setbacks. But Räikkönen knows how to deal with them in his own efficient way. ”That bad feeling goes away just as quickly as it comes. You're angry for a moment but then you forget about it. I've always been like that. When I started, the car used to brake down all the time and there wouldn't have been much else to do than to cry and complain. But that would have been useless. Throwing a tantrum doesn't help since it doesn't change the result.

”Räikkönen hasn't regretted his choice for a moment. ”I've always wanted to try rally at some point and now that they're driving with WRC cars for the last year it was nice to get to try them as well. I have a contract for this year. Whether I will stay in rally or go back to F1 depends on how my rallying starts going and what happens in F1.”

THREE FACTS ABOUT KIMI

1. Kimi has an exceptionally well developed ability to perceive time, place and shape three-dimentionally. It is a neuropsychological trait which is very beneficial for a racing driver.

2. If Kimi wasn't a racing driver, he would be an ice-hockey player. He used to play ice-hockey as a junior but quit because the training sessions were held too early in the morning.

3. Kimi likes Finnish music. ”I play Finnish music almost all the time. Well, I don't really play music, I usually just listen to the radio”

KIMI'S FRIENDS TELL ABOUT HIM

Räikkönen has a reputation of being the great silent of the race tracks. But what do his team mates and rivals think?

Felipe Massa, who drove three years as Räikkönen's team mate, joked to the Italian press that during a few days he's spoken more with Fernando Alonso than ever with Kimi. Kimi responded to this comment when he was being interviewed by the rally media in Paris before the start of the WRC season. ”I met Dani Sordo when we were driving in the Arctic Lapland Rally and I talked wit him more then than I did with Massa during three years”.

Andrea Stella, who was Räikkönen's race engineer last year and is now responsible for Alonso's car, confessed at the last race of last season that he will miss Kimi both as a friend and as a co-worker. ”I won't miss Kimi only for personal reasons but also because I know what a fast and competitive driver he is”, said Stella.

And what do his rivals think of Räikkönen?

”Kimi is a pretty sympathetic guy. Completely different than I thought based on magazine articles”, said Dani Sordo from Citroën's factory team after his trip to Rovaniemi.

F1 driver Robert Kubica tried rally himself during the winter and he plans to follow Kimi's example after his F1 career. The Pole likes Räikkönen's style and is keeping a close eye on his WRC career. ”I used to have a different attitude towards Kimi until we spoke a bit longer in some Asian GP. Kimi is a weird guy. During three years we used to only exchange a few words. Then suddenly we just started talking and we talked for a long time. Kimi likes carting and Kimi likes rally. Just like I do.”

F1 champion candidate Sebastian Vettel lives close to Räikkönen in Switzerland. Red Bull's German star is tells very openly about liking Kimi's attitude and his relaxed way of life. ”I'm happy that Kimi lives close by. He's a nice guy. I like Kimi a lot because he's always honest and a very open guy. Many people say that they don't like Kimi because of the way that he is. But Kimi can also be very funny. He's always the same and doesn't treat you differently. No matter who you are. Kimi always says exactly what he's thinking.”

Source: Citroën Magazine

Courtesy: Nicole and Dracaena