Hm. He doesnt seem to well informed as Haug has said or was it Fry that they didnt want this to become an all German team..

its been put up today so i assume it was conducted yesterday in all probability

from the same interview

Q: There was a lot of speculation concerning the role salary played in Button’s switch to McLaren - and lots of reports suggesting the same team were unwilling to meet your pay demands. What is your position on bargaining for salary?
KR: I feel a good driver can make a bigger difference nowadays. If you look at how close the whole grid was this year, if a driver can lap two-tenths faster that is worth many positions on the grid. That could easily be the difference between winning and losing.

Q: How much of a petrol head still lays within Kimi Raikkonen?
KR: I have enjoyed my time in F1 and I still have ambitions. In the right circumstances I am very keen to return. The door is open. Let’s see what the future brings.

It is fun looking at all of you counting his money. However, there is no such thing as enough money - there's always a wish to get more and naturally not to get less, that's almost a rule. It doesn't matter if you earn 10 bucks or 10 million bucks - you will always count them and sweat over your budget distribution. Toys get more expensive, but the principle is almost always the same.

I think so too.

As I've said in the other thread, that was clearly smokescreen. So don't worry, Kimi fans.

Byron Young:

"Kimi may not be heading into rallying quite yet. Rosberg and Raikkonen in 2010 ? Two Finns at Mercedes? Errr I mean a Finn and a German : )"

http://twitter.com/byronf1/statuses/5854316556

+1 I've basically said exactly the same thing in other posts. Kimi taking a lesser wage is the difference between having a extra home ie; Florida beach front pad, or not having won. On principal alone, I personally wouldn't sell myself short. As I've said, I view Kimi's predicament from 2 viewpoints. One from a sporting perspective and one financial. In the world we inhabit today, the financial side should take precedent.

I do not really believe in the recent Mercedes link to Kimi. This is a pure speculation as far as we can see, isn't it?

Kimi to take a sabatical. WOuld be great to see him rallying up against Loeb for stages and finnaly kicking Loeb off the championship.

Kimi to consider Mercedes GP for 2010.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80215

So much for the UFO's and trolling that goes along at this forums.

There really should be a age/iq-test before people are allowed free speach on the internet.

Another thing that might interest Kimi (other than money) is the fact that the last championship Mercedes has won was 1955 by Fangio...

To achieve a WDC for both Ferrari and the real Silver Arrow would be historical, indeed!

Has many of you realised what Brawn -> Mercedes is really about?... It is the return of THE GIANT!

James Allen's views on what next for Kimi:
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2009/11/what...kimi-raikkonen/

includes:

He talks: http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2009/11/10229.html

was just about to post this.

also from J.A's blog

Brawn and Mercedes’ strongest alternative now is to field a line up of Rosberg and Heidfeld, which has never won a race and is no match for Alonso/Massa, Hamilton/Button or Vettel/Webber.

For Mercedes to go from Brawn (where they had two race winning drivers) to drivers without any wins would be a real loss. I think Mercedes need Kimi more than McLaren did. Whether they are willing to dig inyto their pockets to secure him is another matter. I doubt it very much.

Love it if he turns up at Mercedes

Its certainly a rule if your a greedy pig. If button had followed that 'rule' in 2009 he wouldnt be wc. Kimi sacrificed his career over money. What passion.

I'd rather have seen him at Mclaren to fight agaisnt Lewis, but I suppose this is the next best thing

I thought they dumped Button(didn't Eddie Jordan say that??).If so then this is exactly the position they would find themselves in ,no?

Brawn/Mercedes did not dump Button at all. Go check out the Nick Fry interview on Autosport, it's a pretty informative read.

At first I thought this is not very logical. If Button were too expensive for Mercedes and if Räikkönen were too expensive for McLaren how could Mercedes afford Räikkönen.

I can think of two ways out of this dilemma:

1. Mercedes considered Buttons worth to be less than his asking price. Same for McLaren and Räikkönen. Somehow however people in Mercedes consider Räikkönen's worth more than people in McLaren did. Furthermore they consider Räikkönen's worth higher than Button's.

2. Räikkönen has got second thoughts on sabbathical year. Maybe he figures out that it's better to "pay" for driving in F1 in 2010 and look for revenue in long term. (Sitting out for 17 million may be his last millions in f1, getting 10 million for driving plus his salary 2010 plus his salaries in 2011 and on may be better investment).

For BrawnGP it's true. But not for Mercedes with their ambitions.

It will be tough fight next year - Mac need titles for sponsors and money (Merc gave them ~200M per year), Ferrari wants to do a comeback (also questionable with Domi on board), RB could win titles and now Merc wants the same. There are won't be huge technical advantage next year for Brawn so pilot upgrade in the end good idea. Also they has already touched.

I have already passed it. So it's doesn't matter if it wouldn't happen.

As Allens suggest Fry played a VERY hard ball against Button, with the explicit knowledge of the connection between the two cracking, which consequently happened.

As of Kimi, I assume it is either Mercedes or RBR.

IMHO the thing is if Mercedes fancy Kimi enough to play with him on 2010 this will surly includes framework to avoid damaging their possible WDC asset Nico. I say, this perhaps cold happen, if and as long as Kimi has one year deal. On the other side, RBR 2011's politic is yet unknown. Are they ready to place Vettel head to head with KIMI? Can RBR build a car that will beat Ross plus Mercedes, as Ross Brawn have beaten Newey too many times, naturally with Rory on board. If Mateshits sell Vettel to Mercedes, is out of question. We saw this year Webber got some kinda 'equal' treatment as common wealth driver, but pressure to help Vettel was clearly there. I am questioning if Mateshits will enjoy Kimi playing hard to destroy Vettel.


My hope is that any next move of Kimi will ends up in true racing rather than politics.


If Kimi were to move in to Mercedes there is nothing behind other than his speed, isn't it? And if Kimi play tough to beat anybody including other WDC's on title, then the picture is clear, so let us hope we will see this true racing rather than who gives advantage to his protege.



I mean Kimi has such free agent position having no major team operating from his country, no major sponsor paying, no car company trying to promote finland... All what Kimi got is his awesome speed and that should suit someone's passion for the sport.

If you have something in the works, you deny it, that's what you do in the first place.

it happens in any negotiations, business, NBA trades/transactions, etc.

So that interview, I REPEAT, means nothing.

exactly, the time for loopholes are already over. Or the loopholes are not so big, so exspect the cars to be closer next year. So the driver will be the difference. And as opposed to Mclaren, Mercedes really needs kimi, to have one of the big three that can make a difference.
Maybe Mercedes can convince kimi to do some dtm just for the fun of it.

Brawn offered Jenson 12 million, he got 6 at MacLaren.

Mercedes will most probably pay Kimi 30 million a year, they need him.

But Brawn doesn´t like Kimi

It is a almost a rule if you are a human. If you personally did not have access to large sums and have no experience on this, it does not mean it is not true, calm down with your name tagging.
Button didn't have WDC under his belt and didn't have much better proposals for driving another team, let alone for taking a sabbatical.

I posted that I doubt anything will happen, as well. The interview was made to KIMI's side and he says he will consider IF... Robertson sas that Kimi needs to be CONVINCED,... this does says a lot besides this media-speaking-technik-of-denial that it is a reflective thoughts on a question rather than a political comment.


I rather think that Norbert Haug may steal Vettel for 2011 in such case there is a great chance that KIMI can if he wants to.

Where do you get Brawn offered Jenson 12 million from.

Jenson 12 milion? Untrue.

That was over 3 years, I read similar quote somewhere. So 4 million per season.

The 12 million comes from this article I think by Bob McKenzie

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/141168...-deal-slip-away

Full-time WRC racer with a fraction of the corporate annoyance and duties plus millions comming in from various source does seem a lot more fun. Unless Kimi likes F1 a lot more than I believe.

If what you say is true, then the concept of charity would not exist. Many rich people donate millions to charity even non rich people do it, so this rule you keep talking about is far from universal.

It's not true. In 2007 he said good things about Kimi. He is also one of the best managers and professional. So as Kimi. Nothing personal.

I'm Brazilian and i leave in the country.

But you take a pay cut, so as I.

I think the Robertsons like to play hard ball on negotiations but the problem is it's not a driver's market. Even the recent interview strikes me as one where they are trying to avoid a low low offer from Brawn (if they even get one), by making it sound like Kimi is ready to walk. Problem is I suspect Brawn see straight through that and if Kimi does want to race it will be for seriously, seriously reduced dollars.

Anyway, who know, Brawn could be a spent force anyway.

the key factor here is that merc cant possibly be content with whats he got at the moment..rosberg and heidfeld(?)...im sure hes looking at lewis/button and vettel/webber and thinking he needs a big name.

Thanx.


I never consider Nick Fry as a great leader. So No surprise. I think that Mercedes will drop down its position the next year.

Thanks for the support!

Yes.

And Norbert likes Kimi, very much. Isn´t it Norbert team now?

Even I do some charity sometimes, yet I am no wealthy person by your standards, however, it does not mean that I would easily agree to salary cuts or pay for my job to my bosses.
You mix different things and firstly, your view of Kimi as desperate for money or desperate for F1 is far from reality - he is desperate to live a happy life by his own rules, that's the only desperation in him I'm sure of.

He put it in the context of Brawn 12 million, McLaren 6 million a year. There was no other way to interpret it.

Did you (or I) have a choice to sit on sofa and earn even more?

My thoughts exactly. A lineup of Rosberg and Heidfeld (or Sutil) would be pathetic in comparison to other top teams which all have at least one top driver in their team.

This time in 2008, Allen might have said the same thing about a Rosberg/Button or Button/Heidfeld team.

yes but what haug dont like is greedy wdc's he said that very specificly in an interview!
I hope although that they find a solution. I really do. It would be good for both of them. It would show mercedes level of commitment, determination and ambition, now that they lost the number 1 on their cars, and it will do kimi good. To show all he want is revenge.