Kimi Raikkonen News: analise

After two strong second place finishes in Germany and Hungary, Kimi Raikkonen reclaimed the number two position in the World Championship but is still 38 points adrift of leader Sebastian Vettel.

With nine more races to go this season, the championship battle is heating up, with Sebastien Vettel, Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso - the top three- battling and Hamilton chasing in fourth.

The Iceman, who held off a late surge from Vettel in Hungary, has been a strong Championship contender again this year, winning the first GP of the season.

But some slow development by the Lotus Team had seen him slip to third before Germany and Hungary. He is now one point ahead of career-long rival Fernando Alonso in third.

Speaking to ESPN, Raikkonen said:"I am now back in second which was a good way to enter the summer break. I finished ahead of Seb in Hungary so obviously scored more points than him there.

"To beat him, we need to be winning races and if we keep finishing second like we've done many times this year it's probably not going to be enough for the championship, but you never know what might happen."

Raikonnen also acknowledged his recent qualifying woes.

"Obviously I keep making my life difficult on Saturdays in qualifying so then we pay a price, but we still have a good car in the race," he continued.

"Now we have tyres that are a little bit different we have to understand exactly how to use them. We made progress in Budapest so it should be easier in Spa, but that will be the same for everyone. To win, it's always better to be starting near the front."

The Iceman was last on pole in France 2008 with Ferrari, but since then for two seasons (2009 and 2012) he has gone without starting from the front.

Despite his starting position though, Raikkonen has displayed strong race pace and overtaking capacity throughout, climbing up numerous places in Hungary to keep him in the hunt.

With the second half of the season resuming in Spa - a track Raikkonen relishes- next week, he'll be looking to further reduce the gap between him and Vettel. The Iceman has won in Spa four times and was third on the podium last year.

source

8/21/2013 10:24:00 p.m. No comments

12/05/2012 06:33:00 p.m. No comments

It was Nico Rosberg who did the outing. We had been talking about his father, Keke, who lifted the 1982 Formula One word championship in 1982, despite winning only one race. Rosberg junior, recalling the Flying Finn's win in Dallas in 1984, said: "It was 40 degrees and while the other drivers wore refrigerated suits, Dad was bare-chested in the sun, smoking a cigarette."

Old fashioned expressions were exchanged but no one smoked in the paddock these days. Surely there had not been a smoker in the sport since Jan Magnussen in the late 1990s. "No, you're wrong," said Rosberg. "There's one driver who lights one cigarette after another. I'm not naming names."

But who could this be? This is F1 2012 and today's drivers look like toothpicks in overalls. They have never been this fit. We spend as much time talking to Jenson Button about his triathlons as we do discussing his racing. Surely no one in F1 actually smokes? And then someone mentioned the name of Kimi Raikkonen, the party animal, and everyone started sniggering. "Yes, that's it, it must be Kimi!"

This, of course, may have been an awful slander. Raikkonen may not smoke at all. But, somehow, the notion fitted. Because the Finn is the throwback driver in the paddock. In the last race, in Abu Dhabi, his race engineer came on the radio to tell him about Fernando Alonso, who was chasing him down in his Ferrari. The Finn, the world champion of 2007, did not take kindly to that. "Just leave me alone," he said, impatiently. "I know what I'm doing."

Later in the afternoon the same engineer, this time a little more nervously, decided to make another communication, this time telling him to remember to warm up his new set of tyres. "Yes, yes, yes, yes," came the irritated response. "I'm doing all the tyres. You don't have to remind me every second."

After the race, when the 33-year-old Raikkonen had won a grand prix for the 19th time, Button reflected on his old rival. "I don't speak to him very often because I don't normally get an answer. He's a man of few words. But I flew back from Korea to Japan with him recently and I had a couple of beers with him and he opened up. He's a good guy."

But why is he so quiet? Maybe he was shy, Button was asked. "I think he's insecure," he said. "But he really deserved to win. He's been so close all year and I've been saying all year that Lotus are going to win a race. I just didn't say it at Abu Dhabi. Kimi is a true racer. He came back for the racing, which is great. He doesn't enjoy anything else in the sport, it seems, apart from the party afterwards if he wins. So I'm happy for him. He hasn't been in that position for a while."

read more

11/26/2012 11:49:00 a.m. No comments

8/16/2012 02:51:00 p.m. No comments

We are reaching the halfway point of the season this weekend in Hockenheim. It’s our tenth attempt to get a clean and productive weekend. So far something has been missing, although it has been a good first part of the season.

This team really would deserve a win or two. The car is competitive and the development work goes nicely with it.

Personally for me the Grands Prix in German soil are a little bit like a misery. Obviously, I have had some very strong races – but not the whole way through to the checkered flag, unfortunately.
Sometimes the engine has failed, sometimes the tyre, sometimes the heavy rain has put the things upside down.

I’m not fond of remembering what has happened in the past, but mentioning the German races make me wonder, why it has always been such a tricky place to get top results in the race, too.
This is now my first visit to Germany with Lotus. Hopefully it will turn my fortunes there, too.

Now we have back-to-back races in Hockenheim and Hungary. Obviously, we push really hard to get the maximum out of our car. It’s a strong and consistent car, capable of taking us in the front row - if we get everything nicely together on Saturday.

We need a good position in the grid to make our life a little bit easier during the race compared to Valencia and Silverstone.

Going to Hockenheim is something I have missed for four years. It’s a challenging circuit, with some tricky corners and some heavy breaking. It’s going to be interesting to see, how Pirelli tyres last there. Hopefully the weather will be as summerish as possible - like it has usually been in Hockenheim.

Obviously, I never predict anything beforehand. Let’s wait and see, how the first few laps go on Friday morning. The team has been working very hard and I felt the the high spirits everybody has in the factory, so I have a good feeling, we can get the job done in Hockenheim, too.

After Germany we go to Hungary. At least there we will get a hot race. Obviously I will do my very best to achieve some nice points before starting the well deserved summer vacation to charge the batteries for the rest of the season fight.

view more

7/20/2012 01:39:00 p.m. No comments

6/14/2011 04:17:00 p.m. No comments

Author Info

Video Of Day

Labels