7550 replies to this topic

[VresiBerba]

Say what you want about those drivers, but don't pretend you didn't know where Räikkönen started, and that he showed very impressive pace.

I'm not pretending, the prototype list actually included Pérez, but since Kimi started five places ahead of him and finished about a second in-front, I opted him out. I'm fair like that.

[gerry nassar]

Let it go VB, the mid 00s are long gone. Kimi had a great race, which could have gone alot better had he not ruined it in Quali.

[kimifanatic]

Let's hope Kimi gets in to the groove and start competing in the front once again, anyway Good race overall. COOL!

Edited by kimifanatic, 18 March 2012 - 10:22.

[Vesuvius]

Kimi Räikkönen, P7, E20-03

“It feels like I’ve never been away. Yesterday we made some mistakes which cost us quite badly so it could easily have been better in the race. I made a good start but then there was an accident in front of me at the first turn, so we lost a few places there as I had to almost stop and move onto the grass to avoid it. That made the race harder again as we had the speed, but a lot of traffic to get through. When you look at all these things we could have finished in a much better position. We had the safety car which I think actually hurt us a bit as well. Overall the weekend was far from ideal, but the car feels good and to come back to 7th means we at least come away with some points.”

[Wander]

The drivers Kimi beat, not by default, were;

Daniel Ricciardo
Paul Di Resta
Jean-Eric Vergne

Some pretty good scalps, there.

Indeed. Well done by kimi. Glad that you too acknowledge that.

[FW09]

Good race by Kimi, I was seriously impressed by his pace on softs in the beggining of the race, he was even faster than the two Mclarens when in free air! But on mediums he wasn't that fast, maybe the set up wasn't optimal cause of little running.

He never had any clean air with the mediums. He was within 2 seconds of Kobayashi the whole stint from safety car to finish.

I think he let Koba 2 seconds for a while to cool the car and to avoid the flying carbon fibre from Koba's rear wing.

How can you drive fast behind a slower car?

[Bosseking]

Hopefully Kimi has pace in Malaysia. The most important thing is to start beating Grosjean as soon as possible. Fingers crossed for a dry running and more practice laps!

At least Kimi still seems to have a good racecraft. Schumacher was really rusty on that department when he came back losing his front wing on every second race.

[VresiBerba]

Let it go VB, the mid 00s are long gone.

Check your PM!

[Gorma]

At least Kimi still seems to have a good racecraft. Schumacher was really rusty on that department when he came back losing his front wing on every second race.

Anyone who watched Kimi's NASCAR races could see that Kimi never lost his racecraft.

[hello86]

Courtesy of Wolfie

Raikkönen about his driving skills: It goes somehow

18.03.2012 12:31 (päivitetty 12:33)

7th position in Australia GP didn't exactly warm Kimi Räikkönen.

- It wasn't nearly a weekend that we would have wished for. Due to my own mistake and other's mistakes we put ourself in a bad position in the starting grid. All and all the position and race was quite good, but we would have had chances for better without the mistakes, Räikkönen told MTV3.

Räikkönen commented in a humoristic way how he can drive a F1-car these days.

- Somehow at least. Certainly not well but it goes somehow. Hopefully we won't make the same mistakes we made on Saturday in the next race.

- Actually since the weather was what it was on Friday I don't think we drove even one good lap before the race. Tricky in a way, Räikkönen said.

- The car was much better than the position inclines. I had a good start but then some crashed in the first corner so that I almost had to stop and drive to the grass in order to avoid them. I lost the places I got in the start right there, Kimi said.

source: MTV3

[OSX]

A couple of shots from the drivers' parade...

[LuckyStrike1]

Did anybody else notice the 3 gold stars on the top of the cockpit of the Lotus' today in the race (circled in red in the photo) - any ideas what they represent?

They represent Romains third place in qualifying.

[OSX]

Raikkonen: Qualifying Error Hurt Race
18 March 2012



Kimi Raikkonen was left ruing the mistakes of qualifying on his return to Formula 1 race action as the Finn admitted that the Australian Grand Prix felt just like old times.

The Lotus driver began the season-opener at Melbourne's Albert Park from 17th on the grid but forged his way into the points to finish seventh.

Afterwards he said that had he and the team not made the mistakes in qualifying that dropped them out of Q1, his track position would have given him a chance to race much closer to the front.

"It feels like I've never been away," said Raikkonen. "Yesterday we made some mistakes which cost us quite badly so it could easily have been better in the race."

Full Story: www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98172

[iMad]

Normal race by Kimi. It could had been worse and it could had been better.

A positive sight is a race pace. Laps 14, 15, 16 when Kimi received a clear track he was the fastest man on track by 0.3-0.4 sec on softs.

Then it was stategy and trafic all the way. Plus Kimi was cautions and not too risky i guess.

There is a way to go. Podium finishes are a posibility.

[Wander]

Some extra comments by Kimi, saying that he could have overtaken Kamui if there had been more time, from Finnish Iltasanomat:

"I lost a place (to Kobayashi) after safety car, cause I just couldn't keep temperature in the tires, no matter what I did. That was a bit of a problem. One the other hand, Saubers started to lose traction while my car improved all the time. If there had been more laps, we could have got rid of them.


He also talks briefly about how the race would've gone differently if he hadn't had to slow down after a good start, which dropped him behind the Saubers and whatnot.

[Sakae]

Not bad ending after Sat. Congrats - you are back!

[Victor]

Kimi wasnt happy at all by the result. He said to finnish tv, that his driving is not where it should be and they must improve. His attitude is really great.

Kimi knows very well that he has inherited quite a few positions today (Grosjean, Schumacher, Maldonado, etc). Under normal circumstances he would have been out of the points.
And I am sure it was difficult for him to digest the fact that Grosjean was quicker. Kimi is an honest guy, he knows he must improve.

[Vesuvius]

Some extra comments by Kimi, saying that he could have overtaken Kamui if there had been more time, from Finnish Iltasanomat:

"I lost a place (to Kobayashi) after safety car, cause I just couldn't keep temperature in the tires, no matter what I did. That was a bit of a problem. One the other hand, Saubers started to lose traction while my car improved all the time. If there had been more laps, we could have got rid of them.


He also talks briefly about how the race would've gone differently if he hadn't had to slow down after a good start, which dropped him behind the Saubers and whatnot.

Also Vettel seemed to have similar problems with medium tyres after safety car and Button got some gap.

yup Kimi was on the side of Ferrari (P9, Massa I think) after the start and had to stop in the first corner because there was some collission.

[ruby soho]

Kimi knows very well that he has inherited quite a few positions today (Grosjean, Schumacher, Maldonado, etc). Under normal circumstances he would have been out of the points.
And I am sure it was difficult for him to digest the fact that Grosjean was quicker. Kimi is an honest guy, he knows he must improve.

I'm not so sure it's about that. Comparing Kimi and GJ is really difficult right now, but I thought they were pretty much even on pace. But I'm sure there is much more to come from Raikkonen.

[zack1994]

Great race and pace from kimi today great entertainment

[Trust]

Some extra comments by Kimi, saying that he could have overtaken Kamui if there had been more time, from Finnish Iltasanomat:

"I lost a place (to Kobayashi) after safety car, cause I just couldn't keep temperature in the tires, no matter what I did. That was a bit of a problem. One the other hand, Saubers started to lose traction while my car improved all the time. If there had been more laps, we could have got rid of them.


He also talks briefly about how the race would've gone differently if he hadn't had to slow down after a good start, which dropped him behind the Saubers and whatnot.

Well, then I'm encouraged by that comment when we are talking about dry weather. But it doesn't bode well when wet races come.

[Vesuvius]

According to Kimi, his car got some damage when Kobayashi hit his car.

Kimi interview

-"t was nice to race again and car felt good, even though the floor of the car did broke a little, when Kobayashi did hit the side of my car. It maybe cost us some speed but other than that everything worked quite well", Räikkönen said.

-"this isn't the best track when it comes to racing even if there were two DRS zones it was very difficult to get close other cars. straights in here are too short for that purpose".

-"we are the ones to blame from the mistakes done in qualifying, it was our fault that we started from so far away.Hopefully we won't make similar mistakes from now on so that we can get normal weekend".

-"I lost one place after safety car was gone because I couldn't get enough heat to the tyres.After that others started to slide with their tyres when mine started to work better all the time"

[Raelene]

not a bad race by KR but nothing special but its only his first race back..I was surprised by his chatter on the radio trying to get Koby pulled in (theold KR wouldn't have wanted the spot tht way IMO) maye he wanted the position back after the great pass by Koby...

[artista]

not a bad race by KR but nothing special but its only his first race back..I was surprised by his chatter on the radio trying to get Koby pulled in (theold KR wouldn't have wanted the spot tht way IMO) maye he wanted the position back after the great pass by Koby...

Well, if we consider what Räikkönen has experienced himself and what he has seen happening to his teammate, I can perfectly understand what he was saying in the radio, and it doesn't necessarily mean he was trying to get a position back. He knows perfectly well what happens when a rear wing detaches from a car (remember that very nasty crash when he was in McLaren?) and he knows perfectly well what happens when something detaches from a car and hits the driver behind (do I have to name Massa?).

Moreover, drivers have sometimes problems to know what's going on in the rear part of their cars. It's perfectly possible Kobayashi didn't know what was going on, the person behind is the one that has to talk.

Edited by Buttoneer, 18 March 2012 - 22:51.

[denthierry]

Kimi knows very well that he has inherited quite a few positions today (Grosjean, Schumacher, Maldonado, etc). Under normal circumstances he would have been out of the points.
And I am sure it was difficult for him to digest the fact that Grosjean was quicker. Kimi is an honest guy, he knows he must improve.

Agree but MSC and MAL inherited their grid positions from Kimi during qualifying one could say, so...;)

[Gorma]

I was surprised by his chatter on the radio trying to get Koby pulled in (theold KR wouldn't have wanted the spot tht way IMO) maye he wanted the position back after the great pass by Koby...

Kimi was being hit by debris from the broken wing so that's why. Hundreds of kilos downforce are transferred through those endplates and the wing was vibrating a lot. It looked like it could have busted any minute. It's not nice get a rear wing on your face at 200 mph. I'm suprised he didn't get black flagged.

[Raelene]

Well, if we consider what Räikkönen has experienced himself and what he has seen happening to his teammate, I can perfectly understand what he was saying in the radio, and it doesn't necessarily mean he was trying to get a position back. He knows perfectly well what happens when a rear wing detaches from a car (remember that very nasty crash when he was in McLaren?) and he knows perfectly well what happens when something detaches from a car and hits the driver behind (do I have to name Massa?).

Moreover, drivers have sometimes problems to know what's going on in the rear part of their cars. It's perfectly possible Kobayashi didn't know what was going on, the person behind is the one that has to talk.

fair enough...

[Man of the race]

Well, if we consider what Räikkönen has experienced himself and what he has seen happening to his teammate, I can perfectly understand what he was saying in the radio, and it doesn't necessarily mean he was trying to get a position back. He knows perfectly well what happens when a rear wing detaches from a car (remember that very nasty crash when he was in McLaren?) and he knows perfectly well what happens when something detaches from a car and hits the driver behind (do I have to name Massa?).

Moreover, drivers have sometimes problems to know what's going on in the rear part of their cars. It's perfectly possible Kobayashi didn't know what was going on, the person behind is the one that has to talk.

Plus, sometimes that information is useful for the team to plan ahead, and analyse competitors lap times. Also, the team can explain back what is really happening if they see something more themselves in the monitors.

Complaints about Kimi actually talking... Yeah, right.

[Skinnyguy]

Not a good result, but very good signs for Kimi. He was amazing the time he was on clear air and managed the tyres extremely well. That´ll help in the future. Must work on the mediums better though.

[OSX]

Helmet Change Proved Costly to Kimi in Qualifying
18 March 2012



Changing of helmet prior to the decisive qualifying run cost Kimi the time needed for one extra lap.

Kimi wanted a helmet equipped with another visor and all-important seconds were lost in the process.

http://www.ts.fi/moo... lisakierroksen

[zyphro]

Helmet Change Proved Costly to Kimi in Qualifying
18 March 2012



Changing of helmet prior to the decisive qualifying run cost Kimi the time needed for one extra lap.

Kimi wanted a helmet equipped with another visor and all-important seconds were lost in the process.

http://www.ts.fi/moo... lisakierroksen

lolwut

[OSX]

lolwut

That's what Sir Jackie Stewart told to Turun Sanomat. Jackie works for Genii Capital and is present at all the races so he has the inside information. I can see the helmet change being a contributing factor to what happened but not the reason.

[Skinnyguy]

It´s good to see they´re so good on tyres. And they knew their car perfectly.

First of all they didn´t want to waste soft rubber on Saturday, then they kept the softs on very long (with very good pace) to use the mediums not too much time. That´s the area to work, the mediums. However, Kimi said they were getting good, maybe if he wasn´t racing other people he would have a so-so first laps and then good pace again.

[artista]

lolwut

In the twilight races, the helmet choice is a big issue (because of the visor).
Today, in the Spanish pre-race show, they were talking to one of the drivers (don't remember which one, at 6:30 I'm only half a human being), and the driver had 2 helmets there and had not decided yet which one to use. No matter which helmet (visor) they choose, the sun is going to disturb their sight, it's all about trying to guess with which one the problem is going to be smaller.

The qualifying also takes place when the sun is already too low.

[Stormsky68]

Great drive today, Kimi was the most impressive driver for me today


Given half a chance, he's a wildcard for WDC

Edited by Stormsky68, 18 March 2012 - 15:33.

[Cyanide]

Kimi Raikkonen - 7th
After his error in qualifying, Raikkonen confirmed that he's lost none of his racecraft as he climbed through the field to score points. He ran as high as second before his first stop on lap 20, at one point lapping over a second quicker than the leaders, and will have enjoyed putting a move on Massa into turn one. May have been able to finish higher, but was caught a bit cold by Kobayashi on the restart after the safety car.

Source: http://en.espnf1.com...tory/73505.html

I think that shows Malaysia will be interesting if he gets his qualifying together.

[subseven]

I think Kimi had a very good first race.

Each time he had clean air he was pulling really fast towards car in front. He got stuck behind Sauber's... when he finally passed them, he had a HORRIBLE first pit stop jesus what a way to start your pitstop averages. Ended up again behind Saubers. Then safety car didn't help strategy too much.

In the end, got a bit of Karma back on that exciting last lap.

Edited by subseven, 18 March 2012 - 15:59.

[Cyanide]

Helmet Change Proved Costly to Kimi in Qualifying
18 March 2012



Changing of helmet prior to the decisive qualifying run cost Kimi the time needed for one extra lap.

Kimi wanted a helmet equipped with another visor and all-important seconds were lost in the process.

http://www.ts.fi/moo... lisakierroksen

O.o

That doesn't make any sense.

[TailG]

Anyone have the speed trap numbers for Kimi?

Anyway, encouraging result given the horrible qualifying, the fact that Lotus seems to be very easy on tires should be a major advantage in Malaysia.

[sebomaniac]

Its a shame qualifying cost him a shot at the podium. But it was still nice to see him back and racing hard.

[sebomaniac]

LMAO epic Kimi moment:

Kimi:"Why are they waving blue flags"

engineer: "they are for the cars behind you"

That was hillarious. Typical Kimi.

[halifaxf1fan]

Both Raikkonen and the Lotus looked good today. One good thing about starting in 17th is that we were able to see how Kimi's racing skills had held up after his two seasons away - he proved that he is still a racer!

Seventh was a good result.

[iMad]

5 lap before 1st pit Analisys



Averything looks good.

Steering issue will remain unsolved in Malayasia. That will be a problem i guess.

Edited by iMad, 18 March 2012 - 16:41.

[glorius&victorius]

Both Raikkonen and the Lotus looked good today. One good thing about starting in 17th is that we were able to see how Kimi's racing skills had held up after his two seasons away - he proved that he is still a racer!

Seventh was a good result.

indeed he didnt go crashing his front wing etc.. i was amazed how he stayed out of trouble at the start... having to halt almost completely.
dicing with koba was fun to see. he managed his tires really well... after being in free air you could see his purple sectors right away. so all the speed is there.

perhaps his weekend preparation needs a bit more polishing. good that malaysia is next.. the scene if his first victory (right?)

grosjean qualifying pace will also have been a wake up call to him.

time to get to work. great to see kimi back!!!

also given the lack of running in friday practices... I´d say he looked pretty good during the race.

Edited by glorius&victorius, 18 March 2012 - 16:47.

[OSX]

Kimi Raikkonen: "I Think We Have a Chance to Fight for Podiums"
18 March 2012



Kimi shares his thought on an eventful day down under, as he made his long awaited Formula 1 comeback at the 2012 Australian Grand Prix.

Congratulations kimi, that performance must make you one of the heroes of the day

(Laughs) I don’t know about that, but today went pretty well. Yesterday we made some mistakes which cost us quite a bit so it could easily have been better. We had the safety car which I think actually hurt us a bit as well. I made a good start but then there was an accident in front of me at the first turn, so we lost a few places there as I had to almost stop and move onto the grass to avoid it. That made the race harder again as we had the speed, but a lot of traffic to get through.

When you look at all these things we could have finished in a much better position, so overall the weekend was far from ideal. The good thing is that the car was handling well and to come back to 7th was not a bad result. It at least means we came away with some points and made a big improvement from Saturday.

Full Interview: http://www.lotusf1team.com/Kimi-Raikkonen-...-we-have-a.html

[icecream_man]

Really solid first race with some great pace ! Bodes well for the rest of the season

[Afterburner]

Back to status quo from race one for Kimi--hauls the car out of nowhere into the points and deals with all sorts of miscellaneous circumstances being thrown in his face (literally ) on the way up. Looking forward to more races like this and maybe a win this year. Will be a good season.

(And I laughed so hard when he asked his team why they were waving blue flags at him. )

Edited by Afterburner, 18 March 2012 - 16:54.

[Verderer]

Frankly, I didn't find the comment all that funny, the lights obviously were messed up, that was obvious even on telly? But Kimstah did sound pretty pissed off at it.

Edited by Verderer, 18 March 2012 - 16:56.

[OSX]

A few more shots from today...

[Zava]

indeed he didnt go crashing his front wing etc.. i was amazed how he stayed out of trouble at the start... having to halt almost completely.
dicing with koba was fun to see. he managed his tires really well... after being in free air you could see his purple sectors right away. so all the speed is there.

perhaps his weekend preparation needs a bit more polishing. good that malaysia is next.. the scene if his first victory (right?)

grosjean qualifying pace will also have been a wake up call to him.

time to get to work. great to see kimi back!!!

also given the lack of running in friday practices... I´d say he looked pretty good during the race.

so damn right!

the end of the video is hilarious.