I like Kimi very much but they were right to replace him with Alonso ( even though I dont like particularly). I feel sure that Massa will outperform FA next year.
Kimi needs to decide what he wants to do and focus on it ,he is too selective as to whether he is interested or not ! He has been overpaid for his performances I hate to say.However with a new team and on his day he is the fastest out there.

on a value-for-money basis the answer is YES. Alonso is bringing sponsors and a new level of media spotlight. it's a commercially viable operation. kimi is a quick driver, someone who's very good but too expensive and "unfriendly".

Very true but Alonso is hardly a bundle of fun.They should all learn from Valentino Rossi.

Ferrari prove they are dumb by replacing Kimi with a driver like ALonso. Alonso is one of the most overrated drivers in f1 and a big cry baby! Massa would beat this big baby and he wont have Flav to wipe his bum

These are the things about ALonso:

Got this team mate to crash so he can win
Used Ferrari stolen data
Got beaten by rookie
Complains if he cant have number 1 status
He is a pay driver
Not the best in wet
Not the best in single lap pole
Not the best in overtaking
Not the best in Car development
Not the best speed
Not the best in anything apart from complaining

**** that shit.
2007 everyone tought that wdc is about Hamilton and Alonso(or alonso already is the champion,don´t mind Lewis).
Kimi was the only who said from the beginning that "it isn´t over until the last race of the season is over ".
2007 WDC is Kimi.
alonso has to do the same or he is a major failure.

An old article

Date: 02/11/2007 18:18
Turun Sanomat

HEIKKI KULTA

The Italian press has praised and praised Kimi Räikkönen after his magical championship-day. Auto Sprint -magazine interviewed Kimi's Race Engineer Chris Dyer and his Data Engineer Andrea Stella who both have been nominated as Kimi's guardian angels.

Stella's statements are based on the coldest of cold facts - the data information that are drawn from Räikkönen's driving. From there you can find a resumé that is at least as good as Michael Schumacher's skills.

- Kimi is absolutely and extremely fast in corners that are known as medium-fast corners. He can even win more time in those corners that Michael could. Kimi is able to maintain a fast speed when he comes into the corner after braking, he can keep it up through the corner and doesn't lose it when he comes out of the corner, Stella praised.

- Michael has the same skill to deal with corners like this but his driving style was different. Michael controlled the car more with the brakes whereas Kimi wants a faster and more aggressive braking after which he lets the car go more freely.

According to Stella the difference between the drivers is clear when it comes to the setup of the car.

- Kimi wants a precise car that reacts very fast. This caused certain problems in the beginning of the season when he wasn't familiar with the tyres, Stella explained.

Courtesy of Nicole

I don't think Ferrari should have ever given Kimi the money they did so I'd say they should have either replaced him or given him a serious salary cut.

Who really cares whether they replaced him or not. I means less than nothing really.....can something be less than nothing?

Looking at his comments of late.... I am slightly confused as to whether it was Massa who was hit on the head by a spring or Kimi...

The attitude of the guy and his statements about what "he" wants and only what he will "accept" otherwise he is not coming back to F1....

Er hello??? You were fired chief!!!!!
Does someone want to point out to him that actually none of the top teams seem to be beating his door down to sign him...because there are other equal if not better drivers without the baggage...

His comments about the Brawn I find simply staggering... Now....part of me wonders if this is Kimi truly talking or stage management by that idiot Robertson...

Kimi has basically been shown by the Ferrari team to be lazy and not focused to work hard at the job at hand... otherwise they would have kept him rather than take Alonso. At least with Fred, they know he will work hard and has proven ability to help develop cars with quality feedback. Kimi..not so much.

If I were him, I would be doing all I could to get into that Merc...otherwise come 2011, many of the F1 teams may very well say "Kimi who?". he needs to swallow his pride...and get his head down and work hard again, as it would be a great shame to lose him from F1 for next year...unfortunately it seems he has started to believe either his own hype... or the 'hype (read another four letter word here)' that Robertson may be telling his client...

Quite bizarre how some of these 'agents' survive imho....

Even as a Kimi fan I think Ferrari have made the good choice, can't go wrong with Nando performance-wise, provided wasting money is not an issue..

As for putting ourselves into Kimi's shoes, I think many people are too thick to get it... Raikkonen is a WDC so he knows what he needs to do, he doesn't need to know what random idiots on BBs think he needs to know or do to know what he needs or can do with his career..

It's the nature of BBs, mostly people who need to get laid and get a life

They should have replaced him much earlier. Kimi was a waste of money.

The main problem behind the driver replacement regards to Ferrari tactics to win WDC and WCC.
After giving 'equal' status to Kimi and Massa, Ferrari realized that the equality model doesn't work for them, so they decided to revert to the Schumy model of 1 main driver and 1 domestique.
The problem is... Ferrari needs a selfish and dirty driver to make the scheme work properly - mercifulless to the #2 to make it work.
But Kimi is too pure and too naive to perform this hole, so Ferrari had to wait for Briatore to corrupt Alonso's soul to finaly get him.

Ferrari asked FIA to expel Michelin from F1. As a consequence Renault lost all its competitiveness and Alonso moved to McLaren, where he was cheated there.
The McLaren experience made Alonso step into the Dark Side for the first time.
Alonso came back to his Renault home-sweet-home, but the car didn't work with the Bridgestones.
Fred got bitter and bitter as the times got by.
Then in 2008 Hokenhein race, Piquet was benefited from a SC entry and achieved the podium there [P2], a position that Envionso haven't score so far in the season.
Piquet success sparked an idea of cheating in Singapore, to make Alonso reach the podium, just like Nelsinho did.
Bang, Alonso did it... first victory in the season.
So it was over, Alonso was recruited by the Dark Side.
Good to go to Ferrari #1 spot.

It makes good sense to take on FA at many levels, but at the cost of dismissing Kimi, a contract in place, with FA happily waiting for 2011, the uncertainty over Felipe's form for 2010? I'm not so sure.
Whatever the ins and outs, pros and cons of it all, I'd give a definite thumbs down to the timing of this if not its clumsy execution; not good Luca, not good for the 2010 grid either, imo.

Another of your rants:
http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?show...p;#entry3829199

Great stuff. Keep it coming.

If you think 1 WDC, 2 WCC´s in three years is waste of money then you have really high hopes for a driver...

Do you really think Ferrari are that sentimental to wreck their long term plan? If they had replaced him then no doubt they would have replaced Kimi eventually he just is too unpredictable. It doesn't matter who is world champion if they rarely show that form again.
I don't know if your Massa comment is sarcastic? If it isn't then didn't they do the right thing with keeping Massa?
Besides it may not matter who they replace. Massa's contract is up soon so they may have a whole new line up-Kubica? Alonso wanted Smedley and if Felipe goes then he can have him. I don't think it should happen. Kubica has been beaten by Nick twice, he was good last year and deserved more of a chance but to me he was more consistent then spectacular. I was deeply impressed at Japan 08 however. But him and Alonso are friends and he really rates Robert so he'll probably hate it more if he is beaten by him.

Hey people. It's Kimi's life, not yours. If he says the deal must be perfect for him or else he won't sign it, it's totally OK. It's not like you have any say in it.

Kimi is a very well balanced individual and it seems that doesn't go down well for many of you. There IS a life outside F1 for him and he isn't afraid to say so and that's a very positive thing. He is not obsessed with F1. Obsessions are rarely healthy.

It's quite pathetic from you to complain about that. It's his life, he makes the decisions concerning his life, not me, not you, not a F1 team boss, not his manager, et cetera. I take my hat off for his attitude to make it clear F1 is not all he has in his life. He is not a pretender, never was, never will be, some drivers in F1 look like pretenders to me, Kimi is not one of them, and for that he gets my respect

I think they were right in replacing him, not because he is a worse driver, but because Kimi and Ferrari just didn't work. In my opinion they wanted a team leader like Schumi, something Kimi isn't. Alonso has shown in his Renault time he is.

According to Auto Sprint magazine Ferrari fans are crying after Kimi Raikkonens and Ross Brawns departure from the team.

http://www.twitter.com/f1zone

This isn't news. This is some twitter update from a Kimi fanboy.

Trust me, I think Ferrari fans are quite happy to have a top tier driver again.

Went to Autosprint.
There was only news about Kimi and rally, but there is some heavy criticism of both Ferrari and Alonso.
It happens as usual - when Ferrari is not winning, it's always criticised.

Yet there was something that is worth mentioning.
http://www.auto.it/autosprint/formula_1/20...eria+Ferrari%21
In 2011 Ferrari will get rid of Marlboro associations in its logo.
The new logo has been approved.
It means that Santander will become Ferrari's main sponsor next year.

They are not true Ferrari Fans.

Well, surely some Ferrari fans are saying getting rid of Kimi was a mistake. If you go read some of the Italian websites this surely will come up every once in a while. They are not in total agreement with each other, you know. Just like every Finn is not in total agreement about Kimi, either. This is how it goes. Let's not over-generalise.

Are true Ferrari fans ones who never disagree with what the team does? Surely a fan has a right to disagree with the team and criticise them. If you don't think so then that's insulting the intelligence of people - people can think, they don't have to blindly follow.

Actually, that has been known for a while (that Marlboro would stop sponsor Ferrari) and that they needed a new main-sponsor.

Yep, but how it's official.

you are confusing kimi fans with the tifosi/ferrari fans

I find much more interesting the tweet just below the one you guys are discussing: “According to Autosprint; Raikkonen, Loeb, Sordo, Ogier, Meeke & Sarrazin will drive the new Citroen DS3 next week for testing new car.”

I can not find the original piece of news in Autosprint, but if it is true, there you have a very big clue about what Kimi is doing next season.

This is getting ridiculous.

twitter is just not changing my life - am I missing out?

I found the news from Heikki Kulta, a respected journalist at Turun Sanomat, who got the news from the Italian Auto Sprint magazine. Since I don't know any Italian I referred to a twitter from f1zone. Here is what Heikki Kulta wrote: Auto Sprint -lehden mukaan Ferrari-fanit itkevät jo Räikkösen perään, mutta vieläkin suurempi on Ross Brawnin kaltaisen kylmäpäisen taktikon puuttuminen varikkomuurilta.

A rough translation would be: according to the Auto Sprint magazine Ferrari fans are already crying after Raikkonen, but even more for Ross Brawns coolheaded tactical presence in the pits.

Trust me, I think Ferrari fans are quite happy to have a top tier driver again.[/quote]

I assume by your comment you are pleased that they have Massa back ?

Alonso is displaying all the character weaknesses that were so apparent at McLaren.
The only team where he has been successful was Renault where he was undisputed number one and had the team built around him.

His performance in 2010 has been patchy, to say the least, compared with the McLaren drivers and Kubica.

Ferrari are also making mistakes, just like Red Bull :

The penalty given to Alonso at Silverstone was inevitable after the driver failed to give the place back to Kubica straight away and the error was compounded by team management not ordering him to do so : especially as we now know Charlie Whiting advised them to hand it back immediately after the incident.

This is not a team at the top of it's game as it was in the time of Jean Todt / Ross Brawn / Michael Schumacher.

I would argue that the team is now more honest and sporting in it's behaviour but I wonder how long the Italians will put up with the lack of delivery ?

This thread is an express train to Locksville.

The Tifosi's love of their drivers is notoriously conditional. Unless, apparently, you are Felipe Massa or Jean Alesi, who are of course honourary Italians. They could both turn out for the Azzurri, anyway.

I agree, Alonso was the right choice for Ferrari, but I would have preferred Alonso and Kimi as team mates. That would have been a devastating combination capable of doing serious damage.

...Not least to each other.

There's always a place for people with a sense of humour. Thank you.

[quote name='Risil' date='Jul 13 2010, 21:19' post='4476234']
I would have preferred Alonso and Kimi as team mates. That would have been a devastating combination capable of doing serious damage.

You have to be joking : Alonso can't live with a competitive team mate :the only serious damage he would do if he was partnered with Kimi would be to Ferrari and their chances of winning the a WDC or WCC .

They would have made a very balanced pairing for Ferrari IMHO

Both are very natural talented drivers.

Agreed. Actually I think Fernando needs a Kimi to cool him a bit.

I'm confused. Have the Ferrari fans only just realised he has gone?

Exactly. Alonso needs a teammate with a cool head.

I take it you basing your opinion on what happened in 2007. Well that's a shame... Not too long ago some on this very bb said that their would be fireworks with Alonso and Massa.

There is hardly any testing limit in WRC, so Citroen might just be using all drivers available.
Yet Kimi probably wouldn't want to spend some days testing if he wasn't planning to continue rallying.

But those of us that thought that a possibility were expecting the 2008 Massa.

The interesting point is not that he is testing (as a matter of fact that’s true) but the car.
That’s the point I have not been able to check from that tweet. I thought he was testing with the C4, but if he’s testing the DS3… that's next season's car.

Yep, I know. He might be just doing a favour for the team, or there is a certain number of testing days in the contract, and the team is using them for next year's car.

The Sun or Daily Mail is more reliable then AutoSprint

You mean since they are not hired by Ferrari like Pino Allevi.

And Finnish person....


Like I said, Kimi fanboys still bitter about whatever.

Ross Brawn has hardly been a 'tactical' genius this year with Mercedes, nor is his team really making many strides(although the Silverstone race went well for Nico), so I dont see whats to miss with him, either.

Ferrari is doing just fine. Bringing Kimi and Ross Brawn back wouldn't do a damn thing.

I think if somebody were a real Ferrari fan, they'd realize that having a superior driver to Kimi is a *good* thing.

At this stage Alonso needs someone like Kimi to light up his ar$e and push him to his limits.

I must confess in the past (2009) I didn`t have the highest esteem for Kimi, as I was led to believe all this "Kimi no motivation bullshit". But if you compare what Kimi did last year (pulling all Ferrari points alone) to what Alonso and Massa are doing right now, I have to admit Kimi really was a driver who pushed the car, went for guys like Webber, Vettel, Hamilton, Jenson and made very little silly mistakes (unlike Alonso). Kimi got into the car, raced flat out and squeezed the last bit out of the car. Something I can not say of Alonso and esp. Massa.

It’s possible. It would be ironic if they asked the newbie to test next season’s car, but it’s true Quesnel sounds (sincerely) more optimistic and happy about Kimi every day.

I keep thinking those tests will provably take place with a C4, though.