@Alexandros wrote in Part III
Do we seriously have to argue about that?
Let's put it this way: In 2007 he actually took the WDC by trailing it 18 points (something like 40-45pts deficit with the new point system) and being 4th at the driver rankings, after the 10th round (out of 17) when he DNF'ed.
In 2012 he "peaked" at Spa (12th round) in terms of realistic chances for the title after the misfortunes of others. At that point he was 33 points from the leader (Alonso).
In 2013 he was much closer at the start, but mid-season the gap opened considerably (and went to RBR-dominance mode after the tire changes)
1 GP into 2013, Kimi leads the WDC
3 GPs into 2013, Kimi trails Vettel by 3 points (52 vs 49)
5 GPs into 2013, Kimi trails Vettel by 5 points (89 Vettel / 85 Kimi).
7 GPs into 2013, the score opens to 44 points after bad results in Monaco and Canada (Kimi drops from runner up to 3rd)
9 GPs into 2013, the gap is at 41 points (Kimi 3rd) - and it goes downhill from some point afterwards. Kimi retained 3rd for as long as he was competing though, before going for surgery.
Don't get me wrong, Kimi drove some great races in 2012 and 2013, but these results are not "battling for the WDC" by any means. One could say he looked like he could be in the battle in the first third of the season, but alas, he was not.
Edited by KnucklesAgain, 09 July 2014 - 19:53.