Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next season?
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
There's a new article on Autosport called 'Commercial Side Key To Raikkonen Fate' Can someone post it here please, I'm on iPod so can't do it now, thank you
There's a bit from Lopez talking rubbish but worth a read.
There's a bit from Lopez talking rubbish but worth a read.
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
Thanks Julia, you read my mind
I know F1 is a business but still.
I know F1 is a business but still.
Last edited by ish678 on 17 Sep 2010, 17:18, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
commercially speaking.. renault needs kimi...
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
Julia wrote: can somebody get to us the autosport plus story?
Spoiler:
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
iceman you are fast as lightning
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
thanks iceman!
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
It's just copy/pasteKriss wrote:iceman you are fast as lightning
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
Im going through my potential kim-news pages at the momentish678 wrote: Thanks Julia, you read my mind
I know F1 is a business but the idea of there being any kind of a contest between Kimi and Petrov is still hard to deal with.
I actually think that Lopez is speaking smarter than Bullier... and I dont think its bad Pr for Kimi.... they thinking hard at the moment are they ready to have a wdc in their team already next year... its no idea to put money on a driver i you dont have the winning car and team.
Last edited by Julia on 17 Sep 2010, 17:22, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
Serious I wish Renault will just keep quiet, they are contradicting themselves. On the one hand they are talking about how important commercial viability is, and then they turn around and say that Petrov's place in the team doesn't depend on money. So what are they actually saying? It seems like they are just talking to keep their name in press and unfortunately they are using Kimi to do so. I bet the Robertsons wish they have never spoken to Renault.
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
It's becoming increasingly clear to me that Renault have no interest in Kimi.Boudica wrote:Serious I wish Renault will just keep quiet, they are contradicting themselves. On the one hand they are talking about how important commercial viability is, and then they turn around and say that Petrov's place in the team doesn't depend on money. So what are they actually saying? It seems like they are just talking to keep their name in press and unfortunately they are using Kimi to do so. I bet the Robertsons wish they have never spoken to Renault.
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
I agree with you Sleenster!sleenster wrote:It's becoming increasingly clear to me that Renault have no interest in Kimi.Boudica wrote:Serious I wish Renault will just keep quiet, they are contradicting themselves. On the one hand they are talking about how important commercial viability is, and then they turn around and say that Petrov's place in the team doesn't depend on money. So what are they actually saying? It seems like they are just talking to keep their name in press and unfortunately they are using Kimi to do so. I bet the Robertsons wish they have never spoken to Renault.
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
Now i'm sure that kimi wont be driving in Renault next year... i'm sure that the robertsons regreted the phone call to renault..."It's funny because people now think things are going well and we're going to change drivers, and there's a certain rally driver that wasn't interested in Formula One but now has made contact and is interested in coming back to F1, funnily enough with us, but we're not there yet.
Last edited by Vida on 17 Sep 2010, 17:27, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
Mmh I dont know all of the bashers have jumped out of the woodwork and they are relishing in the fact that Kimi isn't good enough for Renault.Julia wrote:Im going through my potential kim-news pages at the momentish678 wrote: Thanks Julia, you read my mind
I know F1 is a business but the idea of there being any kind of a contest between Kimi and Petrov is still hard to deal with.
I actually think that Lopez is speaking smarter than Bullier... and I dont think its bad Pr for Kimi.... they thinking hard at the moment are they ready to have a wdc in their team already next year... its no idea to put money on a driver i you dont have the winning car and team.
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
.. or they know that they probably cant get him ... but they still seem to be in shock that they got th phone call and are going to hype it so long as they can... as I said I dont actually think its bad PR if you have to choose between no PR at all... the amount of speculation about it is very good when robertsons are negotiating with RB.sleenster wrote:It's becoming increasingly clear to me that Renault have no interest in Kimi.Boudica wrote:Serious I wish Renault will just keep quiet, they are contradicting themselves. On the one hand they are talking about how important commercial viability is, and then they turn around and say that Petrov's place in the team doesn't depend on money. So what are they actually saying? It seems like they are just talking to keep their name in press and unfortunately they are using Kimi to do so. I bet the Robertsons wish they have never spoken to Renault.
Re: Speculation-thread: Will Kimi be in WRC or F1 next seaso
Boudica wrote:Mmh I dont know all of the bashers have jumped out of the woodwork and they are relishing in the fact that Kimi isn't good enough for Renault.Julia wrote:Im going through my potential kim-news pages at the momentish678 wrote: Thanks Julia, you read my mind
I know F1 is a business but the idea of there being any kind of a contest between Kimi and Petrov is still hard to deal with.
I actually think that Lopez is speaking smarter than Bullier... and I dont think its bad Pr for Kimi.... they thinking hard at the moment are they ready to have a wdc in their team already next year... its no idea to put money on a driver i you dont have the winning car and team.
the bashers are always going to be there... and the goal is not to change their opinion but to get a good deal to drive next year... there are also a lot of articles hyping the magical kimi ...
Should Renault gamble on Kimi Raikkonen?
Sep.17 (Daniel Chalmers) If Renault could bring the best out of Kimi Raikkonen then it would prove a huge coup, but much would depend on the car and changes to his demands and work ethic.
Kimi ponders his future
Kimi pondering his future
There is no doubt that the on-form Kimi is a driver any team should sign without hesitation. When he is in the mood he is potentially quicker than any of the current generation of drivers.
His incredible win from 17th in Japan 2005 is evidence of that. The speed, race craft and bravery he demonstrated that day was at good as anything we have seen in F1. When he chased down Giancarlo Fisichella in those final stages he delivered lap times that just shouldn’t have been possible.
McLaren always seemed to extract the best out of the Finn. In 2003 Raikkonen nearly won the championship in a car that was two years old. In 2005 he was regularly quicker than champion Fernando Alonso but was let down by reliability issues.
Many forget about these performances earlier in his career, with too many mediocre performances at Ferrari being the dominant memory.
Raikkonen could well have left F1 in 2009 having the same number of titles as Ayrton Senna.
A huge plus with Raikkonen is that he is uninterested by F1’s politics and just does his talking on the track. The benefit of that was evident in the last third of 2007, when Kimi ignored the spy-gate saga and the in house battle at McLaren, and snatched his first and only driver’s title to date.
(L to R): Vitaly Petrov (RUS) Renault; Ho-Ping Tung (CHN) Renault Third Driver; Eric Boullier (FRA) Renault F1 Team Principal; Jerome d'Ambrosio (BEL) Renault Reserve Driver and Robert Kubica (POL) Renault. Renault R30 Launch, Valencia, Spain, Sunday 31 January 2010.
Renault have recovered from the turmoil of 2008 and 2009
Renault is very much a team on the up with the turmoil of the last couple of seasons all but forgotten. Having two top drivers would send a huge statement of intent to the likes of Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.
There is positivity and huge spirit back at Renault. That would only get stronger with two top drivers in the team.
The first stumbling block to this move happening would be money. In 2009 Raikkonen topped the F1 driver salary rankings with a wage of 45 million dollars. When he was looking for a drive in 2010 he priced himself out of the market, when teams were looking to trim their budgets significantly.
Kimi would have to lower his wage demands considerably to have any chance of joining Renault. Renault pay Kubica around six or seven million pounds, whilst Vitaly Petrov brings money to the team.
2010 Bahrain Grand Prix - Sunday Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain 14th March 2010 Eric Boullier and Gerard lopez on the grid. World Copyright: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic ref: Digital Image _Q0C4917
Gerard Lopez with eric Boullier on the grid in Bahrain
Therefore it would be a huge jump on Renault’s wage bill. It’s true that the team has solid finances, but possibly not so much to invest a large amount on just their drivers. Gerard Lopez already admitted recently that F1 is costing more than he anticipated, and that’s with a relatively cheap driver bill.
An argument Renault will consider is whether it would wiser to put Kimi’s potential wages on car development instead. This could potentially give the 2011 Renault the extra few tenths they need to win races.
Obviously having the finances and facilities to develop a quick car is at the forefront of the team’s thoughts. There’s no point in having two of the best drivers in the world if you don’t have enough money left to deliver them a quick car.
The vital question is do the team really need to sign Raikkonen?
Robert Kubica has rejuvenated the Renault team
Robert Kubica has rejuvenated the Renault team
In Kubica they already possess a super fast and reliable driver who is more than capable of challenging for the driver’s championship. In 2008 he challenged for the title in a car inferior to the McLaren and Ferrari.
However it would be reasonable to suggest that they don’t have the pairing to win the constructors championship. For this the team must have two drivers bringing home big points.
Petrov isn’t doing that, having scored only a tenth of Kubica’s points in 2010.
In 2005 and 2006 Fisichella was comprehensively beaten by Fernando Alonso. Despite that he still contributed enough points for Renault to win the constructors titles both seasons. It’s possible that Petrov could improve to this sufficient level in his second year.
Would we see the best of Raikkonen alongside Kubica? That’s debatable.
Race winner Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) McLaren celebrates in parc ferme. Formula One World Championship, Rd18, Japanese Grand Prix, Race, Suzuka, Japan, 9 October 2005. DIGITAL IMAGE
Kimi Raikkonen celebrates after winning the 2005 Japanese GP for McLaren
It would be very similar to the current McLaren situation where you have two drivers who are complete opposites on the driver’s spectrum.
Kubica is the ultimate under steer driver. Raikkonen is similar to the likes of Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton who love a touch of oversteer on their cars.
We didn’t see the best of Raikkonen at Ferrari because understeer featured heavily on their cars.
Although such a sheer difference in style isn’t necessarily a disaster. McLaren appear to have effectively accommodated both Lewis’s aggressive and Button’s smooth driving styles
The other notable difference though (which doesn’t apply to Lewis and Jenson) between the pair is their work ethic. Kubica has to be one of the most dedicated and hard working drivers in F1. He will happily work with his engineers to the early hours of the morning to get his car exactly how he wants.
Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) Ferrari. Formula One World Championship, Rd 17, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Preparations, Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Thursday 29 October 2009.
Casual Kimi during his final F1 race weekend at Yas Marina
Raikkonen on the other hand is far more content just to turn up and drive. This is precisely what could lead to Kimi’s downfall alongside Kubica.
Whilst Raikkonen is out enjoying himself between race weekends, Kubica will be with his mechanics taking the Renault in the direction that suits his style, and away from the iceman’s style.
Exactly the same thing happened alongside Massa in 2008 and Kimi was soundly beaten. Interestingly after Felipe had his horrific accident Kimi suddenly re-found his form.
Clearly this indicates that when the team focuses on him, as McLaren did when he drove for them, that he produces results. However it’s hard to see this happening in a team that Kubica is currently making his own.
There are other issues such as whether Raikkonen can adapt to the non-refuelling era of cars. His main rivals will already have had a year’s experience of them. Kimi was never renowned for nursing the car or his tyres, something that is critical under these regulations.
The new Pirelli tyres could also make or break his success. If he gets on well with them as he did with the Michelins he could fly, but if they are similar to the Bridgestone tyres, which he was never been as at ease with, he will struggle.
Fans banner asking for a smile from Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) Ferrari. Formula One World Championship, Rd 7, Turkish Grand Prix, Qualifying Day, Istanbul Park, Turkey, Saturday 6 June 2009.
Fans miss Kimi
It goes without saying that having the Iceman back in F1 would be great for the sport. He provides some thrilling moments on the track, along with moments of comedy gold off the track.
If one of the Red Bull drivers wins the championship and Kimi returns we would have the tantalising prospect of six world champions going to wheel to wheel next season.
Ultimately if Raikkonen is serious about a return to racing he needs to change. He has to be realistic about his wage demands and work much harder with his mechanics if he is to be repeat the form from his McLaren days, and his championship winning season with Ferrari.
Whilst this huge gamble could pay massive dividends, it would be costly if Kimi didn’t deliver the goods.
Kimi Raikkonen (FIN), FIAT Punto Abarth crashes on SS19. World Rally Championship, Rd9, Neste Oil Rally Finland, Jyvaskyla, Finland, Day Two, Saturday 1 August 2009.
The rally world would miss Kimi
Overall finances is going to be the decisive factor here which is why I predict Renault to retain Petrov and seek the potential commercial opportunities in Russia.
Or they will go for Sutil who will cost far less than Raikkonen and has all the ingredients to be the second top driver the team need
If the teams can negotiate to receive more of F1’s revenue or Renault regain a larger stake in the team then signing Raikkonen would become more viable.
If Renault can easily afford Kimi they should sign him, but if they can’t then there are better options.
Last edited by Julia on 17 Sep 2010, 17:40, edited 1 time in total.