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Old 19th November 2011, 18:11   #31
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Re: Raikkonen to return to F1 in 2012?

Assuming Kimi were to sign for Williams, it is clear that neither Kimi nor Williams are going to win a championship for the next couple of years at least. In order to do that, Frank Williams would need a substantial financial & technical investment in his team. There were rumours of a middle eastern interest, but nothing concrete yet.

Kimi found it hard to get going in his last season at Ferrari once he realised he did not have a car capable of delivering the title. As to whether he can motivate himself to run around in a midfield car, only he has the answer. Then there is a question of him getting used to the 2012 car and crucially, the pirelli tyres.

If Kubica was to be deemed unfit to driver next year, maybe Renault could pursue him. They might be able to give him a more competitive car. Force India too might not be a bad option, depending on his salary expectations.

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I have a problem with him using the name "India" & then trying to sell it to us.
Respect your opinion, nevertheless, when you say "sell it to us", do you mean he is trying to attract Indian sponsors or that he is trying to entice us, the Indian fans? If you meant the former, almost all Force India sponsors are his UB brands and/also Kingfisher airlines.

As regards using the 'Force India' name, yes - not so subtle. Infact, there is a whole thread dedicated to that. But, no harm in his intentions. F1 does not pretend to be a non-profit organization. Every team needs to attract sponsors and a solid fan base. There is huge potential in India, so why not? Other teams do the same, but in a more subtle way - the all German/British driver lineups in Mercedes/McLaren, that appeal to their respective national audience.
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Old 21st November 2011, 15:16   #32
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Re: Raikkonen to return to F1 in 2012?

Williams will announce 2012 lineup this week according to this Dubai based site (which has also been posting lot of Raikkonen related stuff of late).

Williams to announce 2012 lineup this week | YallaF1.com

Another interesting bit of news is that Kimi has started following Williams twitter account few weeks back.
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Old 21st November 2011, 16:08   #33
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Re: Raikkonen to return to F1 in 2012?

I am not sure if Sir Frank Williams will sign him for a year deal only but we will never know the conditions so. Plus why is it being assumed that MS will retire by end of 2012? Will Ferrari take him back if they don't sign Massa again? Then there's the Kubica factor.

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Respect your opinion, nevertheless, when you say "sell it to us", do you mean he is trying to attract Indian sponsors or that he is trying to entice us, the Indian fans? If you meant the former, almost all Force India sponsors are his UB brands and/also Kingfisher airlines.

As regards using the 'Force India' name, yes - not so subtle. In fact, there is a whole thread dedicated to that. But, no harm in his intentions. F1 does not pretend to be a non-profit organization. Every team needs to attract sponsors and a solid fan base. There is huge potential in India, so why not? Other teams do the same, but in a more subtle way - the all German/British driver lineups in Mercedes/McLaren, that appeal to their respective national audience.
I think you said it all for me. He lacks subtlety and no Indian drivers to appeal to the Indian market and yet the team is Indian because? Probably lot of Indian engineers in his team? No. Team based in India - No. Oh wait - because the owners are Indian. Not good enough for me. BTW, he doesn't seem to have a very positive image in the paddock for the way he does his business (source - F1 sites, blogs).
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Old 21st November 2011, 16:44   #34
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Re: Raikkonen to return to F1 in 2012?

In 2013 there may be few openings in top teams resulting in possible driver shuffle. So it is understandable if Kimi wants a one year deal. At the moment it's anybody's guess on what is going to happen. But I doubt if Kimi wants to go back to Ferrari after what they did to him.
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Old 23rd November 2011, 17:39   #35
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Re: Raikkonen to return to F1 in 2012?

Rumors are emerging on various F1 sites that Raikkonen won't be seen in a Williams after all (bad news for Williams supporters like me). Other options at this time Lotus Renault? Will they want him for a year now? Apparently Kubica wont be ready to race from the start of 2012 (Official: Kubica to miss start of 2012 season - GPUpdate.net). Can Force India afford him especially if there's a Mercedes link involved?
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Old 23rd November 2011, 18:30   #36
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Re: Raikkonen to return to F1 in 2012?

Quote:
Originally Posted by asr245 View Post
I think you said it all for me. He lacks subtlety and no Indian drivers to appeal to the Indian market and yet the team is Indian because? Probably lot of Indian engineers in his team? No. Team based in India - No. Oh wait - because the owners are Indian. Not good enough for me. BTW, he doesn't seem to have a very positive image in the paddock for the way he does his business (source - F1 sites, blogs).
From our point of view (Indians). It is a team called "Force India". Implying India in general is paying for it in some way, or owned by Indians. Secondly it literally carries our National Flag all over it.

Though we have had Indian drivers in F1 we (most of us) do tend to follow the fortunes of Force India rather than the Indian Drivers (Generally in the last couple of teams in the line up.)

Yes the situation would have been different if we had a really fast Indian driver who managed to get himself into one of the top few leading teams.

And yes we do feel a sense of pride that TATA (a company based originally out of India) owns Jag and LR in UK, nope their plants are at least as yet not in India but we still feel a bit of pride in that. It is a similar deal with UB and Sahara - Indian cos owning the F1 Team is in a lot of ways similar.

And in the long run this might just be the first step in something more comprehensive. We already have an Indian F1 Track, things are on the move.
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Old 23rd November 2011, 20:04   #37
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Re: Raikkonen to return to F1 in 2012?

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And yes we do feel a sense of pride that TATA (a company based originally out of India) owns Jag and LR in UK, nope their plants are at least as yet not in India but we still feel a bit of pride in that. It is a similar deal with UB and Sahara - Indian cos owning the F1 Team is in a lot of ways similar.
This is getting way so my last response to this.
It's like this - BCCI fields a bunch of cricket players and calls it team India and we accept it. Why? Because there are Indians playing for them. Tomorrow if they were to buy players all over the world and create this new "Indian" cricket team, will people still support it as they do now? Hell No! Board may be controlled by Indians and owned by Indians but players represent the country. As far as I am concerned they can get foreigners to run and own the board but if playing 11 are Indians it's still team India. Same logic for this so called "Indian" F1 team. Likewise if TATA were to shutdown JLR plants in UK and open up here and do all the R&D here, the brand would start being more & more Indian for me.

BTW, I would love to know if FIF1 were to win a race would they play the Indian national anthem for constructors? Is the team registered as an Indian team?

Anyway, I still don't buy this Indian F1 team thing. For me the only people who have nationality there are the drivers.

PS: BTW, middle-eastern countries did actually pay many sports-persons (mainly of African origin) millions to accept their citizenship and represent them in Asian games/Olympics. Told as heard from commentators.

Last edited by asr245 : 23rd November 2011 at 20:07.
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Old 23rd November 2011, 20:31   #38
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Re: Raikkonen to return to F1 in 2012?

^^ Not exactly practical for Mallya or for that matter any F1 team to relocate its operations and factories to India overnight, nor can he hire a whole team of novice Indian engineers and hope to remain competitive. The whole F1 circus is still largely centered around Europe and I am not talking races here.

Mallya has gone on record saying that he has been hiring automotive engineers from India who have the relevant experience and he is committed to finding and grooming future Indian drivers. These things take time. For now, an Indian owner/investor will have to suffice, like it or not.

And yes, they would play the Indian National Anthem should Force India win a race. Imagine Mallya standing next to the podium with 'God save the queen...' playing in the background!

Coming back to the topic, Williams are to announce their driver lineup in a few days time. And in slightly related news, Kubica will not be fit to drive in the early part of next season. Renault have confirmed that Kimi's management have been in talks with them as well. I guess we shall know sooner rather than later.
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Old 24th November 2011, 07:55   #39
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Re: Raikkonen to return to F1 in 2012?

^^ Dont be surprised if Kubica makes a late entry into the season with a Ferrari

There are confirmed talks going on between Kubica & Ferrari for 2013! Thats another reason why Renault is looking for a new lead driver for their team.
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Old 29th November 2011, 13:12   #40
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Renault confirms Kimi Raikkonen will return to Formula 1 in 2012

Renault confirms Kimi Raikkonen will return to Formula 1 in 2012

Source : Renault confirms Kimi Raikkonen will return to Formula 1 in 2012 - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com

Renault has confirmed Kimi Raikkonen will return to Formula 1 racing next year, after having secured a deal to compete with the squad.

Raikkonen, who had left Formula 1 at the end of the 2009 season, had been in talks with the Williams team about a possible return next year, but the deal feel through and he was immediately linked with Renault, which will be called Lotus from 2012.

Raikkonen, 32, moved from Formula 1 to the World Rally Championship, where he spent the last two seasons while also competing in one race of the NASCAR Truck series and one Nationwide event.

The Finn won the Formula 1 world championship in 2007 with Ferrari, having scored a total of 18 wins since he made his grand prix debut in 2001.

Renault was forced to search for another driver after Robert Kubica confirmed last week that he would not be ready to start the 2012 season following his dramatic accident in February.

Raikkonen has signed a two-year deal with the team.

"I'm delighted to be coming back to Formula 1 after a two-year break, and I'm grateful to Lotus Renault GP for offering me this opportunity," said Raikkonen. "My time in the World Rally Championship has been a useful stage in my career as a driver, but I can't deny the fact that my hunger for F1 has recently become overwhelming.

"It was an easy choice to return with Lotus Renault GP as I have been impressed by the scope of the team's ambition. Now I'm looking forward to playing an important role in pushing the team to the very front of the grid."

Team owner Gerard Lopez added: "All year long, we kept saying that our team was at the start of a brand new cycle. Backstage we've been working hard to build the foundations of a successful structure and to ensure that we would soon be able to fight at the highest level.

"Kimi's decision to come back to Formula 1 with us is the first step of several announcements which should turn us into an even more serious contender in the future. Of course, we are all looking forward to working with a world champion. On behalf of our staff, I'd like to welcome Kimi to Enstone, a setting that has always been known for its human approach to Formula 1."

Cheers!

Vinu
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Old 29th November 2011, 13:16   #41
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Re: Raikkonen to return to F1 in 2012?

Wonderful news. I am looking forward to seeing the Iceman in action.
Hopefully Lotus Renault GP team provide Kimi with a car to take on the front runners.
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Old 29th November 2011, 13:23   #42
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Re: Renault confirms Kimi Raikkonen will return to Formula 1 in 2012

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Renault confirms Kimi Raikkonen will return to Formula 1 in 2012.......

Cheers!

Vinu
That's wonderful news myavu. Can't wait for the 2012 season to start. But how good is he going to be in the Renault car is what i am worried about. Anyways fingers crossed.
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Old 29th November 2011, 13:24   #43
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Re: Raikkonen to return to F1 in 2012?

Disappointed that it won't be in a Williams but still excited enough to see him back. Let's see what he can do in that team in his comeback year.
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Old 29th November 2011, 14:19   #44
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Re: Raikkonen to return to F1 in 2012?

Great News! So Renault win the bid for the ICEMAN

Now the hope is for Renault to build a decent car with less complex stuff!
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Old 29th November 2011, 14:19   #45
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Re: Raikkonen to return to F1 in 2012?

Rubens Barrichello is probably the happiest after this decision.
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