Thats spot on what i was about to post, Kimi allready said in interviews that he would do rally next year, doesnt matter if hes in F1 or not. Surely mercedes/mclaren is not going to allow him to drive Citroen or Ford at WRC. In the end that probably will be main reason they cant get into agreement.

Kimi will drive with this:



It's the same car Mika Häkkinen used in Top Gear when he was teaching Captain Slow to how to drive a rally car

Haha, thats not going to happen. Kimi said it needs to be "top" car in rally too, so basicly Citroen or Ford.

Well Lewis is staying with Phil Prew, for sure. That means Mark Slade for Kimi, who else is there to argue over? Data engineers? Doesn't sound like a dealbreaker to me.

So Raikkenon wants his own crew (some of whom may now be working for Hamilton), and Alonso wants Massa's race engineer. I hope Ferrari and McLaren just tell them to piss off. If the teams hire them, they're good at what they do.

interview with skysport after AD grand prix

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=raik...view=2&so=1

as mentioned before as well kimi pit crew never went to hamilton.alonso inherited his race engineer mark slade and then so did heikki.

it doesnt make any sense at all.

That pit crew thing is possibly the craziest dealbreaker issue that's been suggested so far...

Apparently italian media has made a new low and called Kimi autistic.

I ageee. It almost sounds like we are being set up for an excuse why the deal did not get done.

Interviewer :This is your last race for Ferrari etc,etc Finally say something in italian for the tifosi

Kimi : Ciao

I think Kimi is too cool to sue them, but I would enjoy it if he did so! He has a lot of material from Spain and from Italy to have some libel cases taken to court INCLUDING FERRARI TOP MANAGEMENT!

What if some day a blood vessel in Kimi's head pops, and he becomes an uncool guy, and decides to sue everyone who insulted him publicly with untrue claims. Luca Cordero di Montezemolo could be one of the very first targets. Luca, I never saw Kimi insult you in public, but I saw you insult Kimi in public - guess who could get sued for slander? You.

I dont give a crap anymore what they write,but that piece i am talking about is a new low and thought i mentioned it.Mods can delete my posts if the want.

Your post is fine.


Me, I am laughing! The press in certain countries prove time after time why I should not give them any money at all - the quality is horrible. Sure, some press is bad quality here as well, and yeah, I avoid them. I make them pay for the bad quality - by not buying!

Let's just enjoy these exciting times and see what comes next year - I am remaining optimistic.

Woof!

He first said "I would have learned italian next year"

He knows he's up against Hamilton who is very much absorbing all attention and interest in the team. Räikkönen is probably advised to assure that he has a committed team of people around him that are willing to work against Lewis in the team. It takes quite a thorough search now to find enough of those at McLaren. It sounds logical, otherwise he is canned fish, just as Heikki was.

Well if he wants that then he is probably best not at McLaren if you think picking a team of people to work against the other driver is the way to go...

Yes, He said that in English

What he wanted to say was "I would have learned italian next year if they hadn't sacked me "

Kimi

I forgot that his job would be No2 for Lewis.Silly to even suggest he could get equal opprtunities.

We don't even know if this is true. This bit of "news" came from random poster who attended some random event and heard from some random person that Raikkonen is not going to McLaren because he can't bring his own team with him. There's nothing about stealing about Hamilton's crew.

Well, as the random poster ....... Abu Dhabi Paddock Club

You were in Abu Dhabi good fo you i guess,but who was it who said those things and because you are not a journalist names would be nice.Your posting history tells you have agenda,so sorry if i dont take your word for it without evidence.

Kimi has hinted that he has an offer from McLaren.

Those contracts (McLaren) have more pages to go trough than with Ferrari.

Also, I don't remember where, but Heikki has said he will not continue with McLaren.

No worries - I don't know the names and how senior the people were . All that i do know is that I was there , and i asked some random team personal . maybe they were talking out of their ass - but they did seem quite serious. I was also told that Pedro has left the team and got a seat at one of the new teams. Finally I think the "crew" they were refering to was not the race engineers etc - but the people who handle drivers for PR / Sponsors / event etc.

Asking for his own PR people seems like an even more ridiculous reason to blow up the negotiations.

It's not the first time they've suggested it, and even if it was, they'd still be late to the party. Kimi's autism was 'diagnosed' on PlanetF1 boards something like five years ago already. It was one of the more memorable threads there, along with the "only criminals, sailors and prostitutes have tattoos" thread that popped up when he showed up with one of those frigging henna tattoos or whatever.

I had hoped they'd let him be now that he's been fired and stuff but apparently I need to wait until he's retired. Shouldn't take too long, I gather.

That sounds more normal i guess,because that race engineer thing just sounded really wacky.Im jealous and those pictures you took are amazing.

You really think engineers are daft enough to work against the other engineers in a team?

Why? He can buy and use his own car - it's has nothing to do with F1.

I guess it only goes to show that "normal" team members in McLaren practically have as little a clue to whats really going on with that deal as we do.
That cannot be the tipping point of that deal. Not if you add up the sum of other sources and what Kimi has hinted himself to the Finnish media.

So what's the moods? Who will be next year in Mclaren?

Heidfeld He deserves the seat after he was robbed of it before by the ungrateful Kimi.

Then he will have much more time to spend with Matti Nykänen... are you looking forward to that?

Maybe he's going to be robbed of the seat again.

italian chicks <3

OK I will watch it now - didn't bother earlier

Absolutely! Not. If ever there was a 'friendship' that doesn't seem to make any ****ing sense whatsoever, this would be it. I. Just. Don't. Get. It. At all. Not that I need to. Kimi "it's no one's business what I do on my own time" Räikkönen is BBF with a one-man public spectacle who basically makes a living selling his escapades to tabloid rags and/or gossip mags. I suppose he doesn't care but that's just so ****ing stupid that it makes my blood boil. Yes, I know he gets to choose his friends but still... Eww!

Kimi's manager says that their aim is to get matters solved with Mclaren sooner rather than later.(deal or not) Kimi's aim in F1 is only about wins and titles, not other statistics. Discussions are going on and agreement requires arrangements.

He was misquoted. The quote was widely published, but he didn't say that. Heikki complained about the car's handling to a Finnish reporter who asked: "Shouldn't you change to another car then?" Heikki replied something along the lines of: "The car will change next year, that's for sure, whatever happens." (meaning the McLaren and all others build a new car for next year). Then he went on saying that he is waiting for McLaren's decision and doesn't know if he'll continue there or not. Of course this part was omitted when the quote was translated to English and published around the world. Some Finnish reporters then read the quote from foreign papers and translated the misquote back to Finnish.

Same here . I've seen two recent Kimi interviews where a hot chick interviewed him and he was smiling all the time. Why didn't Ferrari think of that before...

http://www.ts.fi/f1/uutiset/85542.html

A. Hamilton praises Kimi.

It isn't so much to do with manufacturers, it is to do with McLaren historically not wanting their drivers to do anything that could be dangerous and force them to sit out of F1.

Look at Montoya's "tennis injury". It is an open secret that he was injured racing a bike. I don't buy into the money equation as being a sticking point with Kimi and McLaren. Kimi already has his 2010 wage paid for, (more than any other driver), and McLaren can afford to pay his old wage.

I believe that the problem with the contract is McLaren insisting that he doesn't compete in any other series where he could hurt himself and put his F1 season in trouble. Kimi will most likely just retire from F1 if he can't get McLaren to change their mind on letting him go rallying.

Google translation: [my edits]
"
British sources [claimed] that Anthony and Lewis Hamilton would not be at all excited about the idea that the hired Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes last year's world champion team as a new friend.

Anthony Hamilton wanted to correct the Turun Sanomat, through such allegations.

- First, I must say that [neither] Lewis nor I do not have any influence over the McLaren driver solutions. But if you need a great championships, then I think Kimi is also needed with the team. Kimi is the best driver that is available. Lewis and Kimi [would goad] each other more and certainly the best way to tougher performance.

If Raikkonen reaches an agreement with McLaren, it knows the origin of passports Heikki Kovalaiselle the future of the stock options expired in late July.

- If the choice I would do himself or Kimi, Heikki, I would take Kim's, but I do not have anything against it, if Heikki will continue, the father of Hamilton explained.

- We have always believed about [Heikki]. He's a great teammate, which makes his job well. While Kimi is a cool-type. I think he is the number one choice and the best driver, which could come in addition to Lewis' team, Hamilton says, and looks forward to how managers and Räikkönen tallipäällkkö Martin Whitmarshin talks this week progresses.
"

Courtesy of Nicole

What was the situation concerning Kimi Räikkönen's contract negotiations on Sunday evening?
– The intention is to stay on F1-tracks. The discussions continue and it requires some arrangements to reach make a deal. Kimi is very honest and says straight what he wants to do. He will continue in F1 only if he gets a deal with McLaren, Steve Robertson said to Turun Sanomat.
– If that deal isn't made, Kimi doesn't want to drive in any other F1-team. Kimi only wants to win and fight for the championship. He isn't interested in being there only to make his statistics bigger.

What are the chances for that deal?
– You can't measure the chances beforehand. But when you look at what Kimi did during the endseason with a car that should have belonged to the museum, at least everybody knows what he is capable of. Hopefully we get something made up. There are things that need to be cleared out between both parties.

Will it take weeks before the decision is made?
– Hopefully the decision will come sooner than later. Kimi has other options than to continue in F1. It would be easier for everybody if we could get things cleared up soon, Robertson said.

TS

Now we can stop talking about vetos and whatnot (hopefully)....

Well Mr Robertson just get the freaken Deal done already.

A. Hamilton is a good man

Mr Robertson has to stay up all day and all night to read a ten thousand page contract.

The Italian media has always been bipolar.

Few weeks ago they were praising Kimi for his performances. But we knew the deal from Day One; Kimi lacks the kind of personality Italians like. That meant as long as they were winning races, he was going to be tolerated. But to get positive reviews even when the car isn´t good, you need to say the right things. Single-handedly keeping the team in contention of 3rd place in the WCC with car that is no longer being developed was nowhere enough.

Had Kimi spent every press conference praising how special Ferrari is, and how deeply he loves tifosi, he would have received rave reviews for closing stages of 2009 season. Breaking in tears after failing to score the 2 missing points At Abu Dhabi would have guaranteed his exit as real Ferrari hero. Despite of some average GP´s in 2008.

It is what it is. I think Alonso will play that game better.