McLaren’s Raikkonen started the rain-hit Japanese event from only 17th, but in the race he had arguably the best pace and by the last lap was just a tenth behind race leader, Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella. As the duo went into Turn One for the final time they were wheel-to-wheel and Raikkonen managed to go round the outside of the Italian and into the lead to seal his ninth F1 victory in spectacular fashion.

RON DENNIS, TEAM PRINCIPAL, TEAM McLAREN MERCEDES "I have enjoyed working with Kimi over the past five seasons and as a team we have achieved a lot of success. He is a very special driver and obviously everybody at McLaren wishes him all the best in his future career. Looking forward we remain confident that our line-up will be a strong and exciting one."

NORBERT HAUG, VICE-PRESIDENT, MERCEDES-BENZ MOTORSPORT "We worked with Kimi for five years and during that time he has become a great racing driver. On behalf of DaimlerChrysler and our premium brand Mercedes-Benz I would like to thank Kimi for all that he has done for us and I wish him well for the future. I am sure we will continue to have great respect for each other and will remain friends."

Team manager Marti Whitmarsh continues negotiations about Kimi Räikkönen's return to McLaren.

The English F1 Racing -magazine asked Whitmarsh which drivers who have driven in McLaren would have been the "dream team", which they are searching for next season.

Whitmarsh doesn't choose Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, nor Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

- We had Senna-Prost and it didn't work in the best way possible. We had Hamilton-Alonso and it didn't work either in the best way.

- Maybe the most functional dual chosen from our drivers would have been Mika Häkkinen and Kimi Räikkönen. With them it would have worked. Both of them are straight-forward drivers who only concentrate on driving, are unique personalities, but intelligent, clever and could give the essential feedback to their engineers, Whitmarsh ponders.

Still after Silverstone McLaren was wondering where had the Räikkönen they know disappeared; the guy who always gave his everything no matter what kind of car. After Brazil and many other races they know the answer in Woking - it has not disappeared anywhere.

TS, Abu Dhabi

Kimi Räikkönen's former McLaren-teammate David Coulthard tells directly the reason why Räikkönen left McLaren after season 2006 to move to Ferrari.

- It's not a secret that Kimi's biggest problem in McLaren during his five seasons in years 2002-2006 was Ron Dennis. Ron wanted to change him the same way he changed Mika, but it never worked. Kimi can't be changed; he is an outsider in the F1-paddock. If McLaren allows it, he appears to the location, drives the car and then goes home. No questions are asked. This time I believe they, crucially, will accept that, Coulthard told in his column in The Telegraph-magazines.

Dennis left all his F1 related duties in the beginning of this season so Räikkönen's return to McLaren next season is possible.

Kimi Raikkonen will make a remarkable return to McLaren next season to partner world champion Lewis Hamilton. The paper work is still being completed on the contract, but it is understood there is a will on all sides - including at Raikkonen's Ferrari team - to complete the move.

Raikkonen left McLaren for Ferrari in a £25million-a-year deal that made him the highest paid driver on the grid. He rewarded them by winning the world championship in his debut campaign in 2007, but his position came under threat when Fernando Alonso, Renault's double world champion, was rumoured to be replacing him.

Now the terms of Raikkonen's release are being thrashed out, with Ferrari lawyer Henry Peter at the Singapore Grand Prix over the weekend to unravel the complex situation. Raikkonen has a year left to run on his Ferrari deal and it is thought likely that Marlboro, who bankroll his pay, will give him a golden goodbye to supplement his salary of around £12m at McLaren.

Raikkonen's departure from McLaren after five years followed a falling out with then team principal Ron Dennis. But with Dennis having left the team, a source close to the negotiations said: 'Kimi is only looking at McLaren and McLaren are only looking at him.'
Raikkonen, 29, will replace his fellow Finn Heikki Kovalainen and Alonso will take Raikkonen's place at Ferrari.

via dailymail.co.uk

Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug says McLaren has no qualms about slotting in Kimi Raikkonen alongside Lewis Hamilton next year - as it closes in on a deal with the Finnish driver.

With Ferrari in the final stages of completing moves that will end Raikkonen's Ferrari deal a year early, and open the way for Fernando Alonso to join the Maranello-outfit, sources have confirmed that the 2007 world champion and McLaren are keen to renew their partnership.

And although the signing of Raikkonen for 2010 would give McLaren one of the strongest driver line-ups on the grid, it could also leave it exposed to the problems it has faced in the past in managing two top-line drivers.

However, Haug thinks that McLaren will have no trouble in dealing with such a situation – and does not risk a repeat of the problems that marred the outfit when Hamilton was partnered with Fernando Alonso.

"Whatever you can do to get the best available drivers, that is what you have to do," said Haug. "It's a question of money, it's a question of capability, a question of the amount of talent. Managing two megastars, I don't think that honestly it was a problem.

"With Alonso there were some noises to the outside world, but in reality inside the team everybody did his job and in reality we should have won the world championship. But it was not due to not having team orders.

"You can imagine what would have happened in Fernando would not have blocked Lewis in Hungary, no penalty, one point more and you are there. This is how it goes sometimes. We won it by one point and we lost it by one point.

"I stress, I do not confirm that there is change. This is very important. But managing drivers ifs and whys is the name of the game and we are qualified to do so."

Although Raikkonen did not enjoy the best of relationships with former McLaren team principal Ron Dennis, Haug says that the team would relish the opportunity to have the Finn back.

"Reflecting on our co-operation which was five years, I think that it was positive," explained Haug. "We should have won at least two world championships. I have to say we missed one with two points in 2003 but I think an engine failure was one of the reasons, so without that he could have done it.

"In 2005 he could have done it, in fairness. The engines at that stage were not as good and reliable as they are now. To have Kimi in our team winning two world championships would certainly have been a fair outcome for him. I have a good relationship with him and I'm sure he would say the same."

via Autosport.com

Norbert Haug didn't even try to hide the fact that Kimi would be a pleasant driver for McLaren next season.
– You should also ask himself but I think that we had a fantastic relationship with Kimi, Haug assured Sunday evening before the GP.

Has Räikkönen changed during these Ferrari-years?
– He will always be the same Kimi to me as he was before. The press must have better information about it because the reporters have been talking to him for 2-3 years more than I have. It's a fact that I still have a good relationship with Kimi - just like I have with 95 % of the other drivers also.
– Without doubt Kimi is a special guy but it would be wrong if I would start to estimate if he is better or has somehow changed. If something then he at least has a different hair style. A rock'n roll -style which I like, Haug says.

Does Haug want Räikkönen back to McLaren?
– Hahhah... We are now in Singapore racing. Of course we have our own options for next season.
– We have worked together with Kimi for 5 years and that time was absolutely positive. We should have won two WDC's. One we lost by 2 points and the reason for that was a DNF. In 2005 we would have won without a doubt if it hadn't been for our engines breaking down.
– During Kimi's time we weren't as good and reliable on the engine department like we now are. Hopefully that trend maintains this season. We operate together with McLaren better than ever.
– Two championships with Kimi would have been a better and more fair result for both of us. Personally I like the chap. Time will tell what happens.

Would McLaren get along if having two champions at the same time - Kimi and Lewis?
– Hmm, megastars together.... We have the policy that we will do our everything to get the two best available drivers in our team. It has to be done even though it's always a question of money and ability. The drivers are defined by their ability.

2007 the sparkles flew between Hamilton and Alonso in McLaren.
– But we didn't have any problems with Alonso. Maybe it looked like that from the outside but in reality everybody did their job within the team. We should have won the championship. Team orders are forbidden and what would have happened if Fernando wouldn't have blocked Hamilton in Hungary quali and dropped 5 places? Without that he would have had some points more and he would have won the championship.
– Sometimes things just go that way but it's no need to say it happened because big stars were team mates. We could have won with a point but we lost with a point. Sometimes things just go like this.

Who decides about McLaren's drivers?
– It's not a secret that Mercedes pays half of the salaries and hence we also decide collectively about drivers. The decisions are made by me and Martin Whitmarsh. After that we talk to both our boards. There aren't that many discussions as there was during Ron's time, Haug said.

Mercedes doesn't have the power to chose the drivers but Haug sas that they can give suggestions.

Ferrari is expected to announce some news this week in Suzuka. It's obvious that according to the traditional scheme Ferrari will first announce that Kimi Räikkönen will leave the team and thank him for the work he has done with them for 3 years.

Only after that they will confirm Fernando Alonso's switch to Ferrari with a 3-year contract, according to the rumours.

McLaren's super pairs:
1984-85 Alain Prost and Niki Lauda
1986 Prost and Keke Rosberg
1988-89 Prost and Ayrton Senna
2005-06 Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya
2007 Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso
2009 Hamilton and Räikkönen?

Turun Sanomat, Singapore/Heikki Kulta

With the political rows that have dominated this Formula 1 season more or less over apart from a few late skirmishes, attention in Valencia has turned to the driver market.

The key move this season is Fernando Alonso's prospective switch to Ferrari. This has not been officially confirmed yet, but it is considered a given. And it will trigger a series of swaps that will significantly change the look of the F1 grid next season.

Among the top teams, only Red Bull are not changing their line-up and there are attractive seats available at Ferrari, McLaren and Brawn.
In the wake of Alonso's move, the key men in the market place are Kimi Raikkonen and Robert Kubica.

Assuming Jenson Button stays at Brawn - which is not 100% certain, but looks very likely - they are the A-listers who will be top of most teams' shopping list.

The driver market is always complicated - but the injury suffered by Felipe Massa has made it more Byzantine than usual this summer.

Ferrari have actually got themselves into a bit of a pickle. Alonso's arrival means they have three of the top drivers in F1 for next season and only two cars to put them in, as both Felipe Massa and Raikkonen are under contract until the end of 2010.

They intended to partner Alonso with Massa, but the Brazilian has a fractured skull following his accident in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Although he is expected to make a full recovery, in terms of living a normal life, it is impossible to know right now whether he will be able to race in F1 again, even if Brawn driver Rubens Barrichello and Massa's race engineer Rob Smedley, probably the two people closest to him in the paddock, are optimistic.

Massa is talking about an emotional return for the Brazilian Grand Prix in October, but many feel that may well be over-optimistic, even allowing for the traditionally astonishing powers of recovery of F1 drivers.

And if Massa cannot drive until after the end of the season - which means he might not be able to do so until January, because of the testing restrictions in December - that makes getting rid of Raikkonen less immediately appealing.

more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2009/08/could_ferraris_finn_make_a_sho.html

Kimi Raikkonen has no regrets over his win-or-bust gamble at the Nurburgring and goes into this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal with his world championship ambition burning as bright as ever.

The Finn was all set to close on world championship pacesetter Fernando Alonso when he entered the last lap of the European Grand Prix two weeks ago in the lead.

But he ended the race a further 10 points down after a suspension failure pitched him out of the race.

Vibrations from a damaged tyre caused the accident but McLaren opted to keep Raikkonen on track and in the hunt for victory, rather than make an extra pit stop and claim a safe third place.

Despite leaving Germany with no points from another dominant weekend, Raikkonen is adamant McLaren did the right thing and insists he still has a real chance to claim the title, despite trailing Alonso by 32 points.

Raikkonen, who caused the problem by locking up while lapping a back-marker, said: “In the end we needed to gain more points than Alonso and he was behind me.

“I didn’t see any reason to come in when we were in a position to take two points more than him.


“We took the gamble and it didn’t pay off but I would still do the same thing again.

“I don’t complain to anyone else, it was my mistake and it cost me quite a bit. It’s always easy to say afterwards that if I had braked earlier it wouldn’t have happened.”

On his championship chances, Raikkonen added: “We got some points back [with wins in Spain and Monaco] but it’s not easy to gain much back because they keep finishing races.

“There are many races to go so anything can happen. As long as we keep finishing races ahead of him there is still a chance.

“It was never going to be easy but we have to do our best.”

Raikkonen is convinced his McLaren is still the car to beat this weekend in Montreal.

The Finn has been the fastest man on track for the last four races, with engine and tyre problems respectively denying him certain victory in San Marino and Nurburgring, and he believes that advantage will continue in Canada this weekend.

“We had a very good test last week,” he said.

“The car is quick, better than it was in the last race. I am pretty hopeful the car will be good here.

“For sure the car will be good in the United States because every car we have made has been good there.

“Here is more of a question mark but I don’t see why we shouldn’t be competitive here.

“I think Renault are a very reliable package but we have at least as good car as they have, we can fight against them.

“Hopefully we are stronger at every point than they are but we shall see.”

Rain is predicted over the weekend in Montreal but Raikkonen is confident even the Canadian weather cannot derail his bid for a third win of the season.

McLaren’s Michelin tyres have struggled in wet weather but Raikkonen helped test new designs recently and, even though he concedes Bridgestone still possess a slight advantage, he is not concerned at reports of thunderstorms throughout the three-day weekend.

He added: “I think the intermediate tyres are pretty good.

“We have had some opportunities to use them and they seem as quick as the Bridgestone.

“I think the full wets are not on the same level but they are improving all the time – it depends how much water is on the circuit.

“I don’t think we should have any major problems even if it rains.”

Source

Sweet memories :(

Kimi Raikkonen is very likely to run for Renault next season, even if rumors for the time being said he was on the point of signing with Ferrari. With Schumacher not deciding what the future is going to bring for him or the Italian team, Raikkonen has many options for the 2007 season.

First, Ferrari might have an opening for Kimi, in case Schumacher decides to leave the team. Second, current champ, Fernando Alonso, is very close to signing a new deal with McLaren for the next season. So, as Raikkonen is concerned, he could either sign with Ferrari or Renault. Even if it was believed that the Finn already signed a pre-contract with Ferrari, he made it very clear that his options are still open.

"There are only really three teams these last two years who have been capable [of winning]. There are not many different positions where I would go. I don't think it will be a big surprise whatever I decide", said Raikkonen. Unhappy with his 5 years without a season title at McLaren, it is more than likely that he will not sign another contract with the German constructor.

Raikkonen is currently 18 points behind leader Fernando Alonso in the standings. The next race could see the Finn getting closer to the title hopes, since McLaren will compete on home ground, at Nurburgring.

----------

remember the rumors? 5th of May 2006
Source: here

Ron Dennis doesn’t subscribe to the theory that his former driver Kimi Raikkonen suffered from a lack of motivation in 2008 and is tipping the Ferrari ace to provide stiff competition to his McLaren drivers again this season.

After finally winning the world title during his first year at Maranello following his switch from Dennis’s McLaren team, Raikkonen endured a disappointing championship defence last year and scored just two victories before playing a support role to team-mate Felipe Massa’s title bid.

Raikkonen’s form prompted some to suggest the Finn was losing interest in F1 and contemplating retirement, although he quashed this speculation by extending his Ferrari deal by a year to the end of 2010.

And now with the Finn promising a stronger 2009, his former team boss believes Raikkonen will be as competitive as ever.

Asked in an interview in the latest issue of F1 Racing magazine if he thought Raikkonen’s 2008 problems stemmed from a lack of motivation or his driving style not being suited to the F2008, Dennis said: “I’d say it was neither.

“Despite what his detractors say about him, Kimi is always motivated.

“He’s very quiet, yes – in that uniquely Finnish way – but he’s a great driver.

“He’ll be quick in 2009 and he’ll therefore be a fierce competitor.”

Dennis, who will step down as McLaren team principal at the start of next month, reckons there are several teams who should have the potential to challenge the recent McLaren/Ferrari duopoly at the front of the field in F1’s new era of rules in 2009.

Furthermore, the Briton predicts that a dark horse will emerge to trouble the established front runners.

“There’s obviously some well-financed teams, who should have the ability to hit the ground running next year,” he said of teams other than traditional main rival Ferrari likely to compete at the front.

“It’s likely that BMW and Renault will be two of them, but there’ll also be a dark horse.

“I’m not sure who that’ll be yet, but there will be a dark horse.”

[via ITV]

There are reports in Germany this morning that Kimi Raikkonen has signed an option to join Ferrari in 2007. This option is almost certainly dependent on whether or not Michael Schumacher is still with the team or whether the German retires or moves to another F1 operation. The signs are that Schumacher will not retire and, given a story in the same newspaper on the previous day, wants more money from Ferrari. This suggestion would seem to negate the second story as Raikkonen is unlikely to go to Ferrari while Michael is still there.

What is clear from all of this is that the leaks in the German press are part of the negotiating process but what is not clear is who is leaking what to whom. What it all means is probably not yet decided but the stories are designed to sway the opinions of those involved. It could be that Ferrari does not want to pay Michael what he wants and so is leaking Raikkonen stories. At the same time stories linking Michael with McLaren could be just scare tactics to get Ferrari to cough up.

When a deal is done we will know.

It is worth noting that back in July, Ron Dennis made the point of telling the F1 media that Kimi Raikkonen would be best served staying where he is as most of the World Champions in the last 20 years have been successful because they have not jumped around between the teams. This is a fair point, but why did Ron feel the need to mention it?

[source]

Remember and laugh:

There are rumours kicking around at the moment that Kimi Raikkonen is close to agreeing a deal to race for Renault in 2007 and 2008. The team has already signed up Giancarlo Fisichella and with strong rumours from Italy that Michael Schumacher has agreed to a new two-year deal with Ferrari, it is likely that Raikkonen will now either stay where he is at McLaren, alongside Fernando Alonso, or move across to take Alonso's drive at Renault. Running a Raikkonen-Alonso duo would be expensive for McLaren with a total driver budget (including testers) of around $45m, an increase of around $10m on this year's costs.

However, the stories of a Raikkonen offer from Renault suggest a three-year deal worth only $63m. This does not sound like a very attractive deal, given that Raikkonen is currently earning that sort of money at McLaren and was looking for a serious hike in salary in 2007 and that Michael Schumacher will probably be leaving Ferrari at the end of 2008, and raikkonen wants to be available when that happens. It may also not be possible to do such a deal as Ferrari may have first option on Raikkonen's services for the year's ahead. A two-year deal thus makes more sense for Raikkonen.


All of this is not very cheery news for Heikki Kovalainen who was hoping to step up to become a Renault F1 racer in 2007 after a year testing for the team. If Fisichella and Raikkonen are signed there will be no room for him. He might land a drive elsewhere but moving straight into the Renault team, as Fernando Alonso did, would be a much better option for the young Finn.

[source]

World Champion Kimi Raikkonen does not believe that Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen's respective inexperience has cost McLaren too much this season.

The ex-McLaren racer was speaking at Silverstone where he was testing for Ferrari and insists that there is enough expertise within the Woking squad to combat any potential issues.

When ask if the pair's lack of track time in Formula 1 was affecting his former team, the Finn replied: "I don’t think so because there are a lot of people [at the team] who know what they are doing.

"Sometimes you have a difficult car, sometimes a better one. That’s normal."

And, having watched Hamilton in action on Thursday, Raikkonen predicted a tough battle between the sport's top two teams at the next race.

"McLaren are always strong here, and I’m expecting that next weekend.

"[But] we were strong here last year, so I expect us to be in with a good chance of being able to win the race again.

"I think it’s going to be quite close between us and them. I don’t see the other teams being close enough for the win.”

[via Setanta]

Tagged pentru al saptelea an consecutiv. Pilotul finlandez de la Ferrari a semnat a saptea oara pentru compania elvetiana Tag Heuer.