By Simon Wright – Follow
me on Twitter @Siwri88
What are the
first things you think when the name Kimi Raikkonen is mentioned? Perhaps it is
humorous, successful and cool. Others would think lazy, dim-witted and rude.
The Iceman does have his many legions of fans worldwide. For their sake, they
might not want to carry on reading…
Whilst I have
taken a backseat from Formula One reporting in 2014, I have seen the results
and watched clips and highlight packages of all races, as well as the live
events in Canada and recently at Silverstone last weekend. It was around this
time seven days ago that Raikkonen was being discharged from the medical centre
at the Northamptonshire circuit, with bruised ankles and knees after a frightening crash on the
opening lap of the event that saw his chassis destroyed in a 47G impact (remains below)
 |
| The remains of Raikkonen's Ferrari after his 47G impact at Silverstone last weekend |
As Kimi
limped away from the remains of his Ferrari machinery, I wonder what he
was thinking. Perhaps he needed a stiff drink and you couldn’t blame him if that
was the case. His season has been a tale of woe and regular underperforming in
a Prancing Horse car that is quite possibly, the worst they have designed back at
Maranello in over two decades.
So in the
crazy world of the ‘former’ Flying Finn, does he have much more of a future at the pinnacle of Grand Prix racing?
Stats check
When
Raikkonen returned to Ferrari for the 2014 season, there was excitement in the
paddock. Paired up alongside one of his seasoned rivals in Fernando Alonso,
many experts were predicting fireworks between the pair and a close battle
throughout the campaign.
Whilst Alonso
was expected to have the slight edge as he has been with Ferrari for the past
four years, many members of the crew will have worked with Raikkonen from his
first spell with the team which saw him claim his one and only world
championship back in 2007.
What started
as perhaps a settling in period has turned into a crisis of confidence.
Raikkonen is trailing Alonso 7-2 in qualifying, has not started higher than
fifth this season, not outraced Alonso at any event in 2014 and has picked up a
sobering tally of 19 points, compared to Alonso’s 87. This is in the same car
too.
Look at the
results; Fernando achieved a brilliant podium in China, finished fourth in
Australia, Malaysia and Monaco and fought through from mid-grid to sixth last weekend at Silverstone.
On the other
hand, Kimi’s best result is seventh place in the season opener in Australia and
he matched that in Spain. A podium was possible in Monaco before he picked up a
puncture behind the Safety Car and then pulled off a ridiculous overtaking
attempt on young rookie Kevin Magnussen that ended with both clumsily failing
to get round the 30mph Lowes hairpin.
Bad luck can’t
really be laid at Raikkonen’s door, certainly in comparison to reigning
champion Sebastian Vettel, whose regular reliability problems have seen him
struggle to register results compared to his hotshot new teammate, Daniel
Ricciardo.
On
conclusion, the verdict on Raikkonen’s season is; ‘Not good enough, could try
harder.’
Will he change?
If you’ve
followed the career of Kimi Raikkonen, he is a frustrating enigma and an
absolute nightmare to get any words out of him. The media will be lucky to get
a shrug of the shoulders, and perhaps a murmur of ‘yeah okay,’ or ‘it’s good
but it isn’t the win.’
He doesn’t
work hard enough. Ferrari knows that and that’s why they binned him in the
first place at the end of 2009 for Alonso. If he ever wrote an autobiography, it probably would be the shortest read in
history – saying ‘I was born, I drove a car, I won a championship, I retired, the
end…it’s a Kimi adventure!’
He will turn
up, drive the car, give minimal feedback to the team and then disappear back to
his home. His attitude is lazy but that’s the characteristics of the man. He won’t
change, that’s just who he is.
For all of
that, he can be hilariously funny too. This is the man who uses team radio to
get the point across bluntly but in a way which his fans enjoy. The ‘Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing’ message in Abu Dhabi 2012 was one of the best responses heard on a team radio. He is a character and
motorsport needs people like him to cancel out the hard work of Vettel, the
drama of Hamilton and the sheer persistence of Alonso.
What happens now?
With 10 races
left in 2014, Ferrari might as well write this season off and throw it into the
scrapheap. 1993 was the last year they failed to win a Grand Prix and unless
something freakish happens, that stat will be changed when the chequered flag flies in Abu Dhabi in November. The team
have not given their well-paid and respected drivers the machinery to deliver
the goods.
Whilst Alonso
though shouldn’t be criticised, Raikkonen must. He needs to be at least within
a few tenths of Fernando and beating him occasionally. That is not
happening and it is unlikely to change for the remainder of this campaign.
When Ferrari
resigned Kimi last September, it was for fear that they might lose a slightly
unsettled Alonso to a rival team. At the time, it was an understandable move
but now, it looks perplexing..
With the
likes of Jules Bianchi and Nico Hulkenberg continuing to perform, not
forgetting Romain Grosjean’s talent which has been masked this year in a poor
Lotus and Maranello’s hierarchy should look to the future.
Raikkonen has
already indicated he will stop racing after 2015. Maybe Ferrari should look at
ending this relationship earlier than his contract because it isn’t working. It
has as much life as a dying marriage where the love has gone and you stay
together for convenience purposes.
The curious
tale of Kimi Raikkonen will continue in 2014 but time is running out for him in
Formula One. He is Ferrari’s past, not present and if his performances continue
to drop, he could soon find himself to be an ex-Ferrari driver again very soon.
It is time for him to stand up and be counted!
It is time for him to stand up and be counted!
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