The original interview is from the Finnish Turun Sanomat. In English it was published on many F1 news site.

http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/11/06/...on-for-mclaren/

Brilliant. Let´s see who the first poster is who takes your bait.

You're giving hope to the bashers so that if McLaren actually does hire Kimi they can write him off as a #2.

I don't know, I'm not sure who will be faster. I suspect Lewis will learn more from the partnership, and that might be his winning card over the season.

On Kimi being no2 and not minding, it's hard to tell with Kimi but I suspect he will be much more bothered about beating Lewis than he was about about Felipe. Felipe I sense he didn't see as being on his level, and could explain his victories with the car/front tyre issues. Also I think Lewis' overt competitiveness will be a spur. I think it will be game on. Kimi is quite aggressive under the surface.

Excellent post.

Snooze. You are such a bore.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2007/10/20/alon...ren-conspiracy/

Covers everything, except the fact that it was Hamilton's car in Brazil that stopped working for no apparent reason. If that had happened to Fernando can you imagine the cries of conspiracy.

Personally, I'd like Kimi back into the mac Heidfeld's a solid alternative though.

I like.

Good post Kar.

Kimi will be Kimi "unflappable"

Lewis should best Kimi most of the time but if he does not manage that Lewis may come unglued a bit. The crap Hamilton pulled on Alonso will not work on Kimi because Kimi is Kimi as I said unflappable so it could be very interesting

I agree with that, with one minor exception, quite recently, last week I think, Raikkonen was asked who has been his toughest team-mate so far in F1, he said Massa without any hesitation.

I'll try and find a link, if only for Kars sake.

So the odd rally is more important than a full time job as an F1 driver in possibly the best car?
And the PR stuff, I reckon he wishes to do none of it?

The problem is everyone still seems to think Massa is some kind of idiot (to paraphrase, well actually to directly quote Flavio Briatore). And that what happened at Ferrari was a bit of a fluke.

I don't think it is.

And that in some regards stands Kimi in good stead. I think Hamilton is probably the most naturally talented driver of this generation, he has a certain unrelenting aggression that is quite remarkable. It's somewhere between Schumacher and Senna in it's intensity and focus. The former being more consistent, the latter, more inherently inspired.

I think Kimi has a more instinctive brilliance. Where Lewis will pick the car up by the skirt and throw it around the track to make it do what he wants, Kimi seems much more intuitive in the way he manipulates the car. There's nothing subtle about Lewis.

But the problem with Kimi is not his talent, it's his mental approach. If he can't feel the car, he loses that magic 5% that separates the good from the gods.

Lewis seems better equipped in cars that have to be bullied, rather than caressed.

So while it might seem I'm slating Kimi (and I am in a way), don't mistake it for a lack of respect or admiration for him as a driver. I just wish he was wired a bit differently. And so the driver we know, I think, wont be a match for Lewis over a season. He'll certainly give him a hiding at those tracks which are about high cornering speeds. But those tracks are an increasingly endangered species. The stop-go tracks that the Hamilton's and Massa's thrive at, are sadly, in the ascendancy.

Own sponsors,worth of millions euros....? And what comes to PR stuff,this could be one reason
Can you imagine Kimi doing shit like this because i sure can´t
IMO, deal is already done.

I wonder if Kimi could do to Hamilton what Hamilton did to Alonso- i.e get under his skin so badly that he self-destructs. If Kimi does sign it will be interesting to see how Hamilton handles the occassions when he is beaten by Kimi.

Probably the same way he handled getting beaten by Alonso, whine to the press, ignore intra team agreements and have his daddy rat out the team to the FIA.

Difference, Kimi probably wouldn't give a sh*t

Funny - I don't recall any of that happening ?

It did happen, just go and read some articles. I am sure you can find quotes from Lewis Hamilton and from Ron Dennis which confirm that.

On Fim24 ATM there's a Lewis biog thingy showing. Sky 157 in the UK.

[edit] quite old and terrible commentary.

Yeah, but none of those affected his on track performances. The fact that, as you say, Kimi doesn't give a sh*t may just serve to get under his skin. He will have to watch how he handles himself as it could blow up in his face, a la Alonso.

... With this in mind, i wouldnt be surprised if Kimi holds of any McLaren deal. Just watch the dedication from Lewis / Kimi, watch the fisics from Lewis / Kimi, interestes from Lewis / Kimi. They are like yin & yang, fire & ice.

I dont think Kimi is up to it, but i could be wrong.

If it was Senna or someone who'd done the whole get an extra lap thing (which he surely would have tried had they had a fuel-burning phase in those days) everyone would say "oh, that guy was such a true racer, he was amazing, he'd always find a way to take an advantage and use it to the max" or something but when it's Hamilton (or Schumacher for that matter, he got plenty of stick whether or not he was going beyond the rules) you hear about it for years and years from the haters as if it was some awful crime. I think it was a great idea by Hamilton, it obviously rattled Alonso and I think in years to come in the nostalgia forum we'll look back on it as one of the great stunts by one of history's great racers.

Kimi is a fast driver - when he can be bothered - which isnt often.
The problem he will have if he goes to McLaren is keeping himself motivated for more than a few races because Hami will push at every race.

Its pretty obviosu Kimi isnt that interested anymore - other than the money I cant really see why he wants to put himsefl through the trouble.

You brought it up, you prove it ...

Fast forward to Monaco 2010 Kimi quicker,... Ham having kittens in the garage while Kimi is having ice cream and sporting a wry smile while lounging on the deck of “one more toy”!

What will Kimi call his boat if he is teammates with Lewis?

As far as I can recall Senna could be trusted to keep his word, the true sign of a real man. Lewis otoh?

Smirnorff Black!

Great contribution. Not only informative, but unique as well - hard to achieve on an internet forum... Keep em coming

Of course it didn't happen like that.

Lewis had been beaten by Fernando several times and been perfectly gracious about it. At Monaco he was obviously frustrated that he wasn't allowed to execute his strategy, and if you read the transcript that was posted here recently his comments were very mild. Max made the most of the opportunity, as usual.

Hungary was wrong obviously but just a spur of the moment thing triggered by Kimi being so close. His manager was seen talking to a steward, according to one report, that's all we know, but obviously he was entitled to be annoyed. To suggest that Lewis put him up to complaining is just the usual basher dishonesty.

When Kimi wins Lewis will be totally gracious, again, learn from it, and work harder. When Lewis wins, Kimi will be perfectly gracious too.

Not according to Prost.

I don't think Heidfeld will beat Hamilton often enough for it to be much of a problem.

Sorry undersquare but Alonso was the quicker guy in Monaco, the numbers just don't lie.

Lewis reacted like the Child that he was at the time and it all went down hill from there for him and Alonso

Take special note of the Q2 times, that was Lewis' chance to shine but he did not cuz he was not faster than Alonso. Fernando owned Hamilton all weekend and then Hamilton cried like a little baby cuz he thought he was as good as Alonso when he is not.

Monaco 2007

FP 1
1. Fernando Alonso Spain McLaren-Mercedes 1:16.973
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.601
Alonso quicker

FP 2
1. Fernando Alonso Spain McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.940
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1:16.296
Alonso quicker

FP 3
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.767
6. Fernando Alonso Spain McLaren-Mercedes 1:37.020
Hamilton quicker

Q
1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:16.059 / 1:15.431 / 1:15.726
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.685 / 1:15.479 / 1:15.905
Hamilton quicker
Alonso quicker
Alonso quicker

Fastest race lap
1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.284
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.372
Alonso quicker

Alonso owned Hamilton in Monaco 2007
Five of seven chances he bested Hamilton including the all important Q2 Q3 and race fastest lap.

Difficult to lap faster than someone when you're under their exhaust for most of the race. Any fool could see Hamilton had the speed to win, and having been used to a series where you can overtake much easier it's easy to understand his frustration too. But it was all part of the growing up process. He'd be happy to go home with the second place trophy after a race like that today, I'm sure.

explain Q2 (low fuel as fast as you can go)

Q2 results

1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.431
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.479

Please stop already, Alonso was the quicker guy, full stop, case closed, period end of story!

Great post Conk, top-notch evidence, very cogent and persuasive. Bit of a pity that wasn't what I was talking about, but never mind .

Meanwhile here's a bit of Lewis' post-race comment... "All weekend we’ve both had great pace and it was tough. I knew that we were both extremely quick and when you’re behind someone you can’t follow them that closely, so I knew there would be no way to get so close to him and overtake him. So the only way was to apply pressure, and he’s a two time world champion, he doesn’t really make mistakes so it’s extremely difficult. He did a great job."

# 2 on my car...# 2 driver.... down hill from there

I would imagine that it is a strict condition of Alonso's severance pay from McLaren that he is not allowed to talk down his old employer, it is standard business practice

And it was all going so pleasant, nice to read. till the same lot had to step in and bring in back down to earth.

Well yes, a lot of commentators called that a key moment, Lewis asserting himself and refusing to be the No 2. Vital part of being a winner, of course. Downhill for Fernando, uphill for Lewis .

Lewis was gracious about Fernando's victory anyway, that's the point for 2010.

Alonso's response was far better. A great display of cunning and smart thinking under pressure, topped off with pole position (under tremendous pressure). Hamiltons stunt backfired and he was put in his place, until daddy and the british stewards stepped in to save him.

This just proves you didnt even watch the race. Hamilton couldnt see Alonso for most of the race. Alonso pulled out BIG gaps each stint. The attempted rewriting of history about this race is highly amusing. Now Hamilton was on Alonso's exhaust all race

Yeah, sure Alonso was quick witted to get his own back and unlucky the stewards got involved.

Nice spin But the gracious part was just standard PR lip service

I would characterize the #2 part as a case of plain old sore loser myself.

But how will Lewis react when spanked by Kimi in the same fashion? IMHO Kimi at Mac is a no win situation for Lewis if Lewis is quicker then that will be what everyone expected but if Kimi is quicker the fire works may start again! It will be said by many that Lewis cannot beat the disinterested distracted washed up old man. Imagine the fun Kimi's fans will have with some of the posts from the past by the Lewis army degrading Kimi. What goes around comes around, pay back is a bitch and what not.
Fear the return, not of Schumacher but of Kimi at Mac.

I really really really hope Kimi gets the ride at Mac it would be ultra!

It was very close as the times above show. I didn't agree at the time that the team had screwed Hamilton despite bringing him in 5 laps early. Even had he stayed out he wouldn't have beaten Alonso that day. His response was childish, yes. It would appear that he and Alonso were quite even on that score too, as well as points at the end of the season.

However, like Hungary, you could say Hamilton played a blinder in positioning himself into a more advanatgeous in the team. He wasn't interested in being treated like a rookie. And that's teh way it should be. This is every man for themsleves afterall.

Ignoring the fanboy/basher BS it's bound to be very close between the pair. I wouldn't be brave enough to stick my house on either coming out on top.

What's guaranteed is that the same tired old excuses used for Alonso will be trotted out if Hamilton does beat Kimi.

Hehe well that we agree on, for sure. No fingers pointing at me though I've always thought Kimi's great.

When Kiimi wins we know exactly how Lewis will react, he'll learn from it and get stronger

I agree with that. Sadly, FIA got involved. I think it was great battle and Alonso's response was appropriate. I'd like to see more of that in F1, it was a great story.

It was great to watch, but he broke the rules by blocking intentionally, however correct he may have been at delivering some payback. Hamilton screwed Alonso, without breaking the rules. Who was smarter?

Because Alonso never ratted McLaren to the FIA and its arch fuckwit Max Mosley?

you forgot, and he´ll be a better person for it.

Final gap: +4.095s

Hamilton's was pitted 6-7 laps earlier than his strategy was. Do your math.

wasn't it arch fuckwit Ron Dennis who did that to himself