"Usually, the beginners are paying to drive F1 car. But this, this is the first time I see a double world champions who pays." said Raikkonen.

http://www.skynet.be/actu-sports/sports/fo...rrari?id=576378

I don't get this.

Why do people think Alonso is paying to drive at Ferrari.

Someone please explain in simple language, I'm none too smart.

Paying as in lower salary to buy out Kimi?

/Viktor

I thought Kimi does not care.. where is this bitterness coming from..?

Looks like someones upset at being sacked. He should close his mouth and accept he was sacked for his performances.

It is not Alonso who is paying, its all about Santander

Luca already told Kimi what are the differences between him and Alonso. Kimi could be a very fast driver but to them that is not enough, they bring in Alonso, as they know he is equally good or better, but most importantly someone who is more dedicated to the team, works harder and Latino..

I TOLD YOU

The Iceman is throwing his bitter and sharp spikes of ice towards the new Ferrari gang.

Kimi is IMO, the fastest driver to ever drive a F1 car with the exception of Schumacher. When he's in the zone, it's mindboggling how fast he is. But that's all he is, just raw talent. He doesn't have the desire to take it a step further. What more can you say from a guy who eats icecream in the garage moments after retiring from a race.

It was probably a joke. Raikkonen and Alonso are good buddies.

I would love to see a research paper on this subject.

Actually I can´t imagine Kimi saying this. What was this? An interview?

If he did I think he should have shupt up

Well, you can't really argue with it. Santander is rumored to sponsor Ferrai around €50 million per season and only if Alonso is there. It is an offer that is very hard to resist.
It does not make Alonso a worse driver, but it indicates that there is more to the picture than just a wish replace Kimi with a better driver.

Oh, I see.

What's the big deal?

Marlboro paid Schumacher's salary.

Does that make him a pay driver too?

Kimi didn't deliver last year, so Ferrari chose to shop elsewhere.

If the Kimi comments are true it would suggest he is far more bitter than we'd been led to believe.

The Iceman is obviously not an iceman. The dismissal by Ferrari obviously hit Räikkönen's nerve. Well, he has only himself to blame.

GC

Why wouldn't he be bitter? Is it really so ****ing amazing that being fired and made a public laughing stock may actually sting a bit? Seriously...

Let me guess:

This is from a Spanish media?

I think they should ban from giving us the "news"

+ Kimis 2010 salary 30 million euros + 15 million breaking the contract.

translation..anyone!!!!!!

"Kini doesn't care" is merely another Räikkönen myth, busted as all the other myths were.

GC

Of course Alonso (or rather his sponsor buddies) paid. Ferrari didn't want to draw attention to this, so they delayed his announcement by a few weeks.

It's quite appalling actually that a WDC would need to do that, but maybe that's why the call him 'the complete package' *

* Six tenths sold separately

That's true, but I thought he'd try and publically stay calm and act as though he didn't care.

I thought he did a good job of that at Suzuka.

A good example is Alonso being booted out of McLaren in 2007.

I'm sure he would have liked to slag off the team from the highest rooftop, but he kept his own counsel and stayed quiet.

I do not want to be mean or anything but what should he have been doing after retiring from a race then?
Cry or something maybe?
To me this icecream-eating is perfectly OK but I have naturally no idea of the higher values You are used to.

I don't think Kimi said that.

It's funny because that report comes from a French source, and Renault is french.

Ok, here´s very simple explanation: Drivers who come in F1 from lower series by "paying" their ride, aren´t the ones who pay the bill. Shocking, aint it? They have this this thing called "sponsors" who pay for some team an X amount of money which enables "their driver" to land the seat. This is what happened with Alonso/Ferrari deal, Santander paid enough and got their boy to drive legendary team named Ferrari. Congrats for both Santander and Alonso though, thats one fine achievement to buy a ride for a double WDC... never done before.

so?

Who told you that? It seems like each person who write Kimi's salary down adds a couple of millions

You guys been complaining that Kimi doesn't talk. Now he talks, tells how things are, and you are complaining that Kimi talks. You should make up your mind.

Nope. No myth. Unfortunately wrong again.
He really does not care. He knows exactly how superior he is so why should he care.

Not comparable situations, Alonso breached his contract with McLaren. Had he chosen to sling shit on McLaren there would have been plenty real shit at Woking to hurl right back at him, perhaps even legal consequences. Räikkönen it seems really cannot be faulted with any misconduct worth mentioning. Besides Alonso was with pretty good likelihood contractually gagged, I would think Räikkönen is less so as he is the aggrieved party in this situation.

Just common F1 paddoc talk from Robertson brothers

Must be totally wrong that one.

I have read that it was $35M + $25M.

And when has Kimi slagged off Ferrari?

If Raikkonen indeed said that, which I'm not sure yet, he's totaly right, Alonso's sponsor did pay for the seat!
He has every right not to like it, he is human not a robot, and yes, he's still the ICEMAN!!!

What do Taki inoui, Alex Yoong and Fernando Alonso have in common? They are all pay drivers.

He obviously does care and cares a lot. But he should have cared about improving his driving but obviously, in his vast superiority, he didn't care about it and got badly beaten. Well, it happens, and he should be angry, but only with himself.

GC

If the comments in the OP of this thread are true I'd take that as being quite disrespectful to Ferrari.

But hey, it's a storm in a teacup as far as I'm concerned.

Ferrari are looking for the best driver for the team and they think that is Alonso.

If Santander are picking up his tab, all the better for Ferrari.

Hehe No More Mr Nice Guy . Kimi's always been a bit more of a hard case than we've seen IMO, we've just seen odd flashes like brake-testing JPM at Spa, ditto Lewis at Brazil in 07, moving over on Felipe at Spa last year. Now he's just getting ready for some revenge as Martin Whitmarsh said, with this barbed little joke. Great .

Well Räikkönen owes Ferrari no respect, so fire away for all I care.

I don´t see any problem with this. He is just saying how it is,The Truth

Oh yea, what a crappy driver, last two seasons 1st and 3rd. I just don't understand how he even dares to show up at races.

This article is old it is from the 8th of October, Kimi hasn't said anything like this, it certainly would have surfaced before now.

What's the source of the beligian site in the link ?

I think he's been doing that just fine.

I'd say it's a bit much to expect that he refrains from an occasional slightly snarky though essentially truthful comment when his employers have no qualms about flaunting their Alonso acquisition in his face, on a race weekend, or parading him around so people can point and laugh and ask uncomfortable questions, on a race weekend, or just generally highlighting what a worthless waste of space he is and how Alonso is so much better and haha - on a race weekend!

Yes, it would've been better for him to just STFU and let everyone put one more boot in to accompany the 5229 (appr.) previously inserted ones but that tends to get a bit old after a few years.

High ground (moral or otherwise) is a lonely place. Or so they tell me, I haven't visited it myself.

A gifted 1st and barely 3rd with a superior and dominant car. Poor!

GC

Nope, not a French source. .BE means Belgium.
And Renault F1 is not French.
Renault F1-engines and F1-cars come from Great Britain.

But don't You worry, the three first words were OK.

Well he should have been in Finland at the time, I think it was Thursday or Friday night he allegedly partied at Tampere with Nykänen and co. Certainly was not making any statements to French press, then again I rather think he said the very same thing on the day following his sacking.

Still better than Alonso's efforts. But I guess that's why he needed to pay.. DOH!

Even more - Santander pay Mclaren so they can hire Kimi. So it's two biggest paid drivers in the world.

And I must admit Kimi is on proper way to be a great champion.