4006 replies to this topic

[Gilles4Ever]

Continuation of the discussion of Kimi Raikkonen. Previous thread: http://forums.autosp...howtopic=159020

[Watkins74]

What was the story with Kimi's contract again? Does he have the option to leave at the end of the year or is he committed for next year? Just curious because of the numerous "driver moving" threads and no one seems to mention KR as a possibility.

Thank you in advance.

[Zava]

What was the story with Kimi's contract again? Does he have the option to leave at the end of the year or is he committed for next year? Just curious because of the numerous "driver moving" threads and no one seems to mention KR as a possibility.

Thank you in advance.

it was said that if he doesn't end in the drivers top8, he is free to leave (and maybe free to be replaced by the team, if it is he who failed, but that is just me interpreting the original version in another way) so maybe it is like "if Kimi is not in the top8, there are no obligations between him and the team"

[Menace]

What was the story with Kimi's contract again? Does he have the option to leave at the end of the year or is he committed for next year? Just curious because of the numerous "driver moving" threads and no one seems to mention KR as a possibility.

Thank you in advance.

I believe there is an "option" that is valid based on the performance of the team, and looking at how well the team has done so far I don't see him going anywhere else.

[Atreiu]

Kimi rocks, I'm still a huge fan, wish he returned to McLaren somehow.
That's my contribution.

[korzeniow]

Kimi rocks, I'm still a huge fan, wish he returned to McLaren somehow.
That's my contribution.

Even if he wins WDC with Lotus?

[iotar]

Kimi rocks, I'm still a huge fan, wish he returned to McLaren somehow.
That's my contribution.

Straight swap with Hamilton ? My contribution is onboard from Barcelona:
http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

It's not because of mistake itself but it's interesting to see how description from a driver is compatible with a video. Wasn't he too late with DRS deactivation=braking? [people complain about drivers not "pushing 100%" while DRS in qualifying is much worse in terms of "pure racing", push the button and you're faster ]

[1001]

Even if he wins WDC with Lotus?

I would. I want him to win a WDC with McLaren before he retires.

[Skinnyguy]

I would. I want him to win a WDC with McLaren before he retires.

If World is fair, that´ll happen twice before he retires.

[Atreiu]

Even if he wins WDC with Lotus?

Yeah, especially!

[Gagá Bueno]

Kimi rocks, I'm still a huge fan, wish he returned to McLaren somehow.
That's my contribution.

+1

[swerved]

Had to laugh at Raikkonens response to the Perez chop in the race edit. "did you see what the F*** happened"

http://www.formula1....deo/race_edits/


Good to see it looked like he was well aware of the Force India coming through on the left.

[Wander]

Had to laugh at Raikkonens response to the Perez chop in the race edit. "did you see what the F*** happened"

http://www.formula1....deo/race_edits/


Good to see it looked like he was well aware of the Force India coming through on the left.

Yeah, that was unlucky. Still annoys me a bit to see that, 2 points lost.

[swerved]

Yeah, that was unlucky. Still annoys me a bit to see that, 2 points lost.

Yep, i shouted for Perez's blood at the time, those points are valuable, but, it could also have ended much worse than it did, at least Kimi was on the ball, both cars crashing out would have been a disaster.

Onwards and upwards, hopefully

[sniper80]

Max 25°C on Sunday at Montreal as current weather forecast, that should be good for Lotus & Raikkonen. What are his chanches for a podium or possible race win? I think all Mercedes teams will be difficult to challenge, but you never know...

[glorius&victorius]

geez is this thread dead or what? is everybody depressed about Kimi in Monaco?

[puxanando]

Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen has expressed his displeasure at the difficult nature of the steering mechanics of the E20, but the team appears unwilling to look into the situation.

WEB>>>

[grunge]

WEB>>>

the report has nothing new whatsoever ..rehashing previous statements and the Title is misleading to say the least

[908T]

Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen has expressed his displeasure at the difficult nature of the steering mechanics of the E20, but the team appears unwilling to look into the situation.

They also write:

A Lotus team source disagreed that there was a rift within the team, however, and he told Finnish broadcaster MTV3: "By no means are we 'giving up' on fine tuning the development of the steering system according to Kimi's exact preferences."

[One]

WEB>>>

Just trying to picksome needles into somewhere more smoke can come out, and be the first one to report... Nothing really.

[swerved]

geez is this thread dead or what? is everybody depressed about Kimi in Monaco?

There hasn't been much news really has there, not much point rehashing old stuff, though that obviously appeals to some


I was hoping for a better result in Monaco, but at least he finished the race, and scored some points for both himself and the team, I can't speak for anyone else but i'm certainly not depressed, can't wait until Friday practice to see him back in the car again.

I have a better feeling about this race than i ever did for the last one, I still think its a bit early to consider a win, but podiums are possible, and a win might be on the horizon.

[DutchQuicksilver]

it was said that if he doesn't end in the drivers top8, he is free to leave (and maybe free to be replaced by the team, if it is he who failed, but that is just me interpreting the original version in another way) so maybe it is like "if Kimi is not in the top8, there are no obligations between him and the team"

I'd say if Lewis decides to move on and sign for Mercedes, Kimi is de most likely candidate to partner Button next year.

[908T]

Canadian GP 2012, Suite101 writes:

Kimi Raikkonen knows what it takes to win around here and frankly a win is the best chance the photographers are going to get of the Raikkonen smiling money shot. Grosjean has to put in a good weekend and pick up some points for the team. He is starting to make a name for himself as a bit crash happy, which is a shame considering he clearly has raw talent.

Read more at Suite101: Canadian GP 2012: Runners and Riders | Suite101.com http://suite101.com/...3#ixzz1wx727G00

http://suite101.com/...-riders-a408453

[MP422]

Straight swap with Hamilton ? My contribution is onboard from Barcelona:
http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

It's not because of mistake itself but it's interesting to see how description from a driver is compatible with a video. Wasn't he too late with DRS deactivation=braking? [people complain about drivers not "pushing 100%" while DRS in qualifying is much worse in terms of "pure racing", push the button and you're faster ]

They don't have to hit a button in qual, it activates around like 90% throttle. It deactivates automatically too.

[InSearchOfThe]

When Schumacher stops, Kimi goes to Mercedes. Norbert digs KR.

[kingofspa]

i had dream last night.kimi was leading the early quali sessions in canada.for some reason i didnot watch q3.and next day it was rosberg p1..kimi p2 and perhaps schumi p3 on the grid.rosberg had some special parts in the car than schumi.in the race those particular parts in NR's car failed.at the end it was KR 1 and MS 2.it didnt bother to check the results for p3.

[Jimisgod]

Kimi makes Schumacher look like an amateur. Straight on the pace after a comeback. He needs a win before the Lotus falls behind the others with more moneys.

[subete]

The team didn't give up solving KR's steering!!

LOTUS WORKING ON SOLVING STEERING ISSUES AFTER 2012 MONACO GRAND PRIX
http://www.crash.net...n_steering.html

[bourbon]

It will be great seeing Kimi drive Canada! Go Kimi Go!

[One]

The team didn't give up solving KR's steering!!

LOTUS WORKING ON SOLVING STEERING ISSUES AFTER 2012 MONACO GRAND PRIX
http://www.crash.net...n_steering.html

Battle to take on Ferrari and Red Bull is fully on at the Canada! Canno miss the event!

[sniper80]

Some media is trying to fight a fire between Lotus & Raikkonen, it's obvious.
I'm pretty sure there are enough Raikkonen supporters in the Lotus team to get him what he wants. If they want world champion results (even more than they already got), they'll make sure he has the car just as he likes.

[swerved]

It will be great seeing Kimi drive Canada! Go Kimi Go!

Really looking forward to this race after the parade that was Monaco, dont care what the weather does, dont care about steering "issues", just cant wait to see the man hustling the car around and showing why Lotus were very shrewd when they hired him

[One]

Some media is trying to fight a fire between Lotus & Raikkonen, it's obvious.
I'm pretty sure there are enough Raikkonen supporters in the Lotus team to get him what he wants. If they want world champion results (even more than they already got), they'll make sure he has the car just as he likes.

I am sure that Kimi is keeping his Garage united. It will help Kimi to fight for the championship later on. Hope we will see a great Race.

[hello86]

At the moment it looks as if on sunday the weather will be okayish for Lotus (around 25°C)! Well lets wait and see I hope we get to see him on the podium!

Anyway some hapless pics of Kimi from yesterday (he looks 5 years younger with that hairstyle )

[sheSgoTthElooK]

aww, thanks hello86! Looks good, kimi and his hap divorced

did you noticed in the first picture...Kimi seems faster than Gro besides having a more chaotic Hapiness...
or maybe he has less haps to sign...

Edited by sheSgoTthElooK, 07 June 2012 - 10:45.

[spinster]

aww, thanks hello86! Looks good, kimi and his hap divorced

did you noticed in the first picture...Kimi seems faster than Gro besides having a more chaotic Hapiness...
or maybe he has less haps to sign...

those haps from Kimi are more asked than from grogro

[Trust]

It's time for Kimi to deliver massively now! If he strings 2 or 3 gps in a row with good results he can be in a good position in the championship.

[MortenF1]

It's time for Kimi to deliver massively now! If he strings 2 or 3 gps in a row with good results he can be in a good position in the championship.

Monaco was the anomaly. I totally expect him to get back into it this weekend. Top five on both counting days is on the cards.

[swerved]

Monaco was the anomaly. I totally expect him to get back into it this weekend. Top five on both counting days is on the cards.

I think Monaco is nearly always an anomaly, and it kind of feels like some momentum has been lost, It'd be great to see a decent qualy this weekend, top 5 would be good, and a good base to work from, at the end of the day though its always the Sunday that counts, a good haul of points would be more than welcome, a move up the table would be even better.

[swerved]

It's time for Kimi to deliver massively now! If he strings 2 or 3 gps in a row with good results he can be in a good position in the championship.

Thats exactly whats needed

[MortenF1]

I think Monaco is nearly always an anomaly, and it kind of feels like some momentum has been lost, It'd be great to see a decent qualy this weekend, top 5 would be good, and a good base to work from, at the end of the day though its always the Sunday that counts, a good haul of points would be more than welcome, a move up the table would be even better.

See what you mean, but what I had in mind was that Räikkönen's Monaco never really took off following the bad start it had.

[mursuka80]

Zero talk about the steering through the weekend and im happy.

[swerved]

See what you mean, but what I had in mind was that Räikkönen's Monaco never really took off following the bad start it had.

Yeah i'd agree with that entirely, It was less than ideal, but without delving into the rights and wrongs of all that i think the team are right to try everything to get the car as he likes it, as with every other driver on the grid driver & team are working towards the same end, what benefits one will benefit the other.

As said by Mursuka, a weekend thats relatively trouble free should restore some sense of normailty.

My overriding feeling is that things are still progressing in the right way overall, yes it could be better, but it could also be worse, points in 5 out of 6 races isn't exactly shabby, podiums in more than 2 out of 6 would have been a bonus, hopefully this weekend will add something to the aggregates.

[korzeniow]

[swerved]

Nice pic


So far so good, Kimi put in the most laps of anyone, no dramas so far, hopefully a sign of the more "normal" weekend

[Trust]

Didn't follow FP2. Did Kimi had any traffic in his best lap in comparison to Romain?

[artista]

Didn't follow FP2. Did Kimi had any traffic in his best lap in comparison to Romain?

Webber was too close for my taste, and Räikkönen's 3 best sectors don't even belong to the same lap. And anyway, it's free practice, the drivers have been doing different programs for most of the session (one on used supersofts while the other was in used softs, for example, or the penultimate run where Grosjean seemed significantly heavier or whatever than Räikkönen), the best times weren't driven at the same time and both of them already had about 6/7 laps on the tyres when they did their best times.

[Trust]

Thanks artista. Yes, I know it's only free practice, but usually who was faster on Friday was also faster in the race that weekend, IIRC. That's why I'm interested in their times, though they can't be compared totally, but you can get some kind of picture.

[artista]

You just worry too much.
Out of 14 Friday practices so far, Grosjean was faster in 10 of them and Räikkönen in 4. Just different ways of working.

[swerved]

Cautiously optimistic ?


"Overall the feeling was OK," said Raikkonen in the Montreal paddock. "I'm probably missing a little bit of overall grip, but it was quite cool today and it should get a bit warmer. Usually that helps us to get the tyre working better.

"I think we should be OK. If we can get the tyres working slightly better then that will help a lot."

Raikkonen also feels that Lotus is not going to have many problems with tyre degradation in the race on Sunday.

"[On the super soft tyre] there were no problems at all for us," he added. "I think we did more than 20 laps with it and the tyres seemed to be OK still.

"Maybe for some people it will be more of an issue [in hotter conditions]. But usually when it is hotter the tyres seem to work better for us."


http://www.autosport...t.php/id/100198


"I'm not 100 percent happy with my setup and I think we're missing a trick somewhere. It's not a major issue, but I know we can go faster. Let's see how it goes tomorrow, anything can happen and hopefully it's a little warmer as that usually seems to help."


http://www.autosport...t.php/id/100218




Nothing mentioned about any steering issues so thats a good sign, lets hope the weathers a bit warmer for tomorrow and Sunday.