Was Kimi a farce?

[Sianellen]

Yea he really wasn't great during his time at Ferrari. Even in 2007 he wasn't really out performing Massa.

That said in 2008 both Ferrari drivers were pretty poor in my opinion and threw away the drivers championship in a car that was easily the class of the field. (Massa did have some great drives that year, but some really terrible ones too)

I wouldn't say our car was class of the field that year. There were issues with tyres and quite a few reliability problems with engines for both drivers.

[OldskoolF1]

Ferrari paid Kimi in the region of $40 million dollars a year and he would have had a lot of input in the development of the car. Massa was the one getting better results though so clearly Kimi was not the driver Ferrari was hoping he would be and he was replaced. It's bad business to spend that much money for very little return. I would not call him a farce just an expensive mistake by Ferrari

[OldskoolF1]

Yeah he made a few mistakes, but the engine going 3 laps from the end at Hungary and Singapore were pretty hard to take I would not say the car was clearly the best car either, the McLaren was a very good car for Lewis

Didn't Massa's engine blow up in Valencia as well a few laps before the end or was that 2007?

[Suzie]

Didn't Massa's engine blow up in Valencia as well a few laps before the end or was that 2007?

Hmm, no he won Valencia in 2008 and that was the inaugural race there.
He retired from Monza 2007 with a suspension failure IIRC but that was pretty near the start.

[Sianellen]

Didn't Massa's engine blow up in Valencia as well a few laps before the end or was that 2007?

Kimi's engine blew in the 08 race.

[OldskoolF1]

Hmm, no he won Valencia in 2008 and that was the inaugural race there.
He retired from Monza 2007 with a suspension failure IIRC but that was pretty near the start.

I must be thinking of Hungary then when his engine blew up. Thanks anyway

[sagi58]

Why are we hating the Kimster now ?

Beats me!!
Since Ferrari and Kimi seem to have
nothing to add, I think I'll follow suit.

[Agron]

Ferrari paid Kimi in the region of $40 million dollars a year and he would have had a lot of input in the development of the car. Massa was the one getting better results though so clearly Kimi was not the driver Ferrari was hoping he would be and he was replaced. It's bad business to spend that much money for very little return. I would not call him a farce just an expensive mistake by Ferrari

Agreed. I believe he was very fast (maybe not as fast as some wanted us to believe), but it feels like he didn't put the effort/didn't care to get his car the way he liked it, so Massa outperformed him consistently and that was his undoing. Maybe McLaren and Ferrari had different philosophies concerning driver input on car development, too, and he couldn't adapt to the way Ferrari did it.

[justjesper]

Agreed. I believe he was very fast (maybe not as fast as some wanted us to believe), but it feels like he didn't put the effort/didn't care to get his car the way he liked it, so Massa outperformed him consistently and that was his undoing. Maybe McLaren and Ferrari had different philosophies concerning driver input on car development, too, and he couldn't adapt to the way Ferrari did it.

Ferrari paid Kimi $40 mil. and it was a lot, but nothing compare to Michael. It was not bad at all. Then the whole crises happened and it was way to much.
I know Kimi him self said that he could be a bit lazy, but to say that he didn't do his job is a bit harsh. We don't have any proof of anything.

[Stormsearcher]

I think Kimi was a very very fast driver. And given a consistently fast car, was able to deliver. But i never saw him as someone who will lead a team. Massa was/is a very fast driver too but he too lacks leadership ability (IMO). But he is a much better team player than kimi was. Leadership; It was this (and not his driving prowess) that i feel made Ferrari switch to nando.

Actually very few drivers have that in them. Schumi and Alonso are prbly the best at this. They are able to get more out of a car/team than their counterparts. Hamilton will also get there, he is another person who can punch above his weight.

[racingbradley]

I think that Ferrari was a big culture shock for Kimi. He didn't speak the language (I admit neither did Michael) For some reason Kimi just didn't fit in even though he had the backing of LDM who seemed to be always encouraging him.

[Ferrarichamp]

I think it was Hakkinen who said Ferrari was the wrong choice for Kimi. Yet Kimi won his only WDC with Ferrari, not Mclaren.

[scuderiafan]

One things for sure. Kimi always brightened my day.

[Corey]

I think this is even more hilarious

[Corey]

The best part is how we hear the child yell : Waaaaaahhaaaaaahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!

[sagi58]

Unique! Different! Apolitical!
The man is a maverick!!

[scuderiafan]

I think this is even more hilarious

[F2007]

Kimi gets a lot of flak around here and I simply don't understand why.... the guy raced for the team, won the last WDC for Ferrari and never said anything bad about them.... There were tons of rumours coming out of Italy that Massa was being favoured within the team and even after all that, the guy still wanted to stay at Ferrari for the balance of his contract.... he really doesn't get the appreciation he deserves IMHO....

Kimi had his moments thats for sure

I agree with Tony.

[Nova]

Well its good to see that everyone here are Ferrari the team fans, n not
driver fans.

[Anni]

Well its good to see that everyone here are Ferrari the team fans, n not
driver fans.

The drivers, the engineers, the mechanics, the cook, the cleaning-staff, they are all Ferrari-the-team. The people in a team gave a team its spirit. As long as someone respects members of the team he does not have to like them all. In my opinion it doesn´t matter if you are a Enzo Ferrari-fan, a Gilles Villeneuve-fan, a Kimi Raikkonen-fan, a S. Domenicali fan, or just a fan of the teamcook, they are or have been all once FERRARI!

[Nova]

Correcto..so lets stop with da bashin...whether I like Kimi, or Lauda, or Gilles, makes no difference..there are or were
part of Ferrari. Threads like these make for interesting discussion, but they do tend to bring about some nasty remarks.
N I heard that Ferrari hasa soma de besta cooksa...

[Ferrarichamp]

N I heard that Ferrari hasa soma de besta cooksa...

Yes, they build de fast scaglietti, and cook de best spaghetti (sorry, couldn't resist).

[sv_godspeed]

Had we signed up Alonso in 2007 we would probably have:

2007 WDC
2008 WDC
2010 WDC (due to him knowing already the team, him having less pressure as it wouldn't be his 1st year at Ferrari)

That's my view anyway.

...and maybe, if we had signed Kimi in 2005, we would probably have:
2004 WDC
2005 WDC
and 8 consecutive years at the top?

[Tifosi]

...and maybe, if we had signed Kimi in 2005, we would probably have:
2004 WDC
2005 WDC
and 8 consecutive years at the top?

I doubt Kimi would have been allowed to bring his Macca Michelins with him. That would have been the only way he'd have beaten MS in the F2005.

[Benjamin Tuhero]

Kimi is still going strong http://finallapradio.com/2011/04/06/...-truck-series/

[Tommy_F]

Kimi is still going strong http://finallapradio.com/2011/04/06/...-truck-series/

Yep, sponsored by Perky Jerky