Was Kimi failing last year or was it the Mclaren?

Mpower · 19th April 2007, 03:07

Massa had some technical problem during qualifying in Melbourne. Otherwise he was fastest on Friday and would have taken 3 out of 3 poles this year. Kimster's complaining of handling but not able to match the flying Brazilian when it comes to raw speed.

merve_extreme · 19th April 2007, 20:38

To all those who think that Kimi needs time to adjust to the new car at Ferrari,i have one thing to say

"There are good drivers and there are brilliant drivers,the good ones get over the problem eventually,the brilliant ones driver around it."

If kimi is as good as he was made out to be,he'd be on the pace right now.Its nearly been 2000 Km since he has started driving the Ferrari.

danlalan · 19th April 2007, 20:59

During the starting of the year all these teams show reliability...the true show starts mid season...that is when we will really know..how these teams and drivers perform...

manson · 21st April 2007, 11:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aditya

Can't help remembering a scene from the past.
Michael Schumacher was hot on the heels of Kimi Raikkonen and KR just blew it under pressure.

2002 season, Kimi messed up over some oil spill, MS got crowned Champion for that season post that race.

manson.

merve_extreme · 22nd April 2007, 10:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by manson

2002 season, Kimi messed up over some oil spill, MS got crowned Champion for that season post that race.

manson.

that would be 2003 at the European GP and a repeat show at the 2006 Canadian GP.

manson · 22nd April 2007, 11:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by merve_extreme

that would be 2003 at the European GP

2003 indeed, i stand corrected. just to clear up, 2003 was the season when renault and mclaren had a great start to the season and ferrari had to catch up later in the season, right?

manson.

TheDoctor · 22nd April 2007, 13:31

I though Kimi was the Iceman of F1 and I am sure that there must be some reason behind that. The previous season his team mate for most of the season was montoya, 2 drivers messing up a good car seems highly improbable. Guess the car sucked !!

merve_extreme · 22nd April 2007, 23:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by manson

2003 indeed, i stand corrected. just to clear up, 2003 was the season when renault and mclaren had a great start to the season and ferrari had to catch up later in the season, right?

manson.

no
Ferrari had a good start and then a string of bad performances in the middle that allowed mclaren to catch up and the championship fight went all the way upto the final,kimi's chances were blown due to bad intermediate Michelins during the wet US GP as a result Michael needed only one point at Suzuka which he eventually got after tripping over Sato,the race was won by Barrichello.

manson · 23rd April 2007, 01:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by merve_extreme

no
Ferrari had a good start and then a string of bad performances in the middle that allowed mclaren to catch up and the championship fight went all the way upto the final,kimi's chances were blown due to bad intermediate Michelins during the wet US GP as a result Michael needed only one point at Suzuka which he eventually got after tripping over Sato,the race was won by Barrichello.

i think it was mclaren and renault who started off really well in that season, and MS caught up with the championship sometime later in the season in 2003.
anyways back to kimi now

manson.

anachronix · 23rd April 2007, 10:37

Kimi is one of the greatest drivers! The Criticism from the F1 world says that he pushes the car to its limits during the race weekend which causes reliability problems. I have a feeling that he is trying to stay away from leading the critics in Ferrari.

In the Australian GP the speed traps he hit had a difference of over an second from the 2nd fastest, but it did lead to a water leak problem on his engine. I beleive that could be one reason for Kimi's conserved driving.

Rocky_Balboa · 23rd April 2007, 13:35

Last week read in an interview the following comments from Kimi,
"The car wasnt feeling very good today, We are looking good over one lap but over the course of the race, it doesnt seem so"

When Massa can win from Pole on a similar Ferrari, I dont find a reason why Kimi should be complaining!

I am Kimi fan as well but fail to understand his statement.!!

RacingForIndia · 30th April 2007, 12:14

In F1 its car first then the driver. If a car is quick enough, any of the top 8 driver in F1 at the moment can win a race in it.
Kimi, although being quick is not a motivator and doesn’t contribute to the development of the car, and that’s what the industry insiders say, including his former boss, Peter Sauber.
Alonso on the other hand is a team player, and knows how to build the teams morale and give good development insights into the development of the car.
Somehow I am feeling that Kimi might not have his way at Ferrari the way he could at McLaren. The Italians are emotional people and appreciate drivers who acknowledge their effort, notice how Shoemaker used to lap his team during his post race conferences. Kimi doesn’t do that, in fact if he is slow he says the car needs to be improved, and that does not reflect well on the team.

If I were Kimi I’d be more worried about Massa than Alonso.

nkapoor777 · 4th May 2007, 01:27

Well as far as Kimi is concerned, I can only say one thing. He only knows one way to drive, and that is flat out. May be the Mclaren car was not able to cope with that kind of brutal handling. He is not an artist like Schumi who knows exactly when to push hard and when to conserve his car.

I am a life-long Ferrari fan, and I must admit I enjoy watching him drive the wheels off that car. I can bet that even if he would be winning a race by a country mile, you won't catch Kimi taking it easy, he would still be going flat out.

GTO · 4th May 2007, 10:41

Quote:

. He only knows one way to drive, and that is flat out. May be the Mclaren car was not able to cope with that kind of brutal handling. He is not an artist like Schumi who knows exactly when to push hard and when to conserve his car.

1. He does drive flat out but only when its for victory. He will never give it his best when say.......he going to end up 5th and get some points. Thats not what a champion makes.

2. Yup, the Mclaren was not reliable and he yet pushed it to the limit. A champion has to know how to preserve his car too.

I like Kimi and think that he is super-cool! But he needs to get more consistency into the picture.

suman · 4th May 2007, 11:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkapoor777

I can bet that even if he would be winning a race by a country mile, you won't catch Kimi taking it easy, he would still be going flat out.

Yeah, its only when he's behind someone that he naps

.....case in point being Bahrain when he was catching 40 winks behind Alonso when the safety car went in!

I like the lad but am worried about the lack of killer instinct this season......

19th April 2007, 03:07	#31
Mpower Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 10,409 Thanked: 1,730 Times View My Garage	Massa had some technical problem during qualifying in Melbourne. Otherwise he was fastest on Friday and would have taken 3 out of 3 poles this year. Kimster's complaining of handling but not able to match the flying Brazilian when it comes to raw speed.
	() Thanks

19th April 2007, 20:38	#32
merve_extreme Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,359 Thanked: 18 Times View My Garage	To all those who think that Kimi needs time to adjust to the new car at Ferrari,i have one thing to say "There are good drivers and there are brilliant drivers,the good ones get over the problem eventually,the brilliant ones driver around it." If kimi is as good as he was made out to be,he'd be on the pace right now.Its nearly been 2000 Km since he has started driving the Ferrari. Last edited by merve_extreme : 19th April 2007 at 20:41.
	() Thanks

19th April 2007, 20:59	#33
danlalan Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: mumbai,JUHU Posts: 1,636 Thanked: 263 Times View My Garage	During the starting of the year all these teams show reliability...the true show starts mid season...that is when we will really know..how these teams and drivers perform...
	() Thanks

22nd April 2007, 13:31	#37
TheDoctor BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 61 Thanked: 18 Times	I though Kimi was the Iceman of F1 and I am sure that there must be some reason behind that. The previous season his team mate for most of the season was montoya, 2 drivers messing up a good car seems highly improbable. Guess the car sucked !!
	() Thanks

23rd April 2007, 10:37	#40
anachronix Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Madras Posts: 3,286 Thanked: 1,336 Times View My Garage	Kimi is one of the greatest drivers! The Criticism from the F1 world says that he pushes the car to its limits during the race weekend which causes reliability problems. I have a feeling that he is trying to stay away from leading the critics in Ferrari. In the Australian GP the speed traps he hit had a difference of over an second from the 2nd fastest, but it did lead to a water leak problem on his engine. I beleive that could be one reason for Kimi's conserved driving.
	() Thanks

23rd April 2007, 13:35	#41
Rocky_Balboa BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Namma Bengalooru Posts: 676 Thanked: 358 Times View My Garage	Last week read in an interview the following comments from Kimi, "The car wasnt feeling very good today, We are looking good over one lap but over the course of the race, it doesnt seem so" When Massa can win from Pole on a similar Ferrari, I dont find a reason why Kimi should be complaining! I am Kimi fan as well but fail to understand his statement.!!
	() Thanks

30th April 2007, 12:14	#42
RacingForIndia BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 482 Thanked: 36 Times View My Garage	In F1 its car first then the driver. If a car is quick enough, any of the top 8 driver in F1 at the moment can win a race in it. Kimi, although being quick is not a motivator and doesn’t contribute to the development of the car, and that’s what the industry insiders say, including his former boss, Peter Sauber. Alonso on the other hand is a team player, and knows how to build the teams morale and give good development insights into the development of the car. Somehow I am feeling that Kimi might not have his way at Ferrari the way he could at McLaren. The Italians are emotional people and appreciate drivers who acknowledge their effort, notice how Shoemaker used to lap his team during his post race conferences. Kimi doesn’t do that, in fact if he is slow he says the car needs to be improved, and that does not reflect well on the team. If I were Kimi I’d be more worried about Massa than Alonso.
	() Thanks

4th May 2007, 01:27	#43
nkapoor777 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: New Delhi Posts: 608 Thanked: 143 Times	Well as far as Kimi is concerned, I can only say one thing. He only knows one way to drive, and that is flat out. May be the Mclaren car was not able to cope with that kind of brutal handling. He is not an artist like Schumi who knows exactly when to push hard and when to conserve his car. I am a life-long Ferrari fan, and I must admit I enjoy watching him drive the wheels off that car. I can bet that even if he would be winning a race by a country mile, you won't catch Kimi taking it easy, he would still be going flat out.
	() Thanks