quoteWhat difference does your new driver Kimi Raikkonen make? What do you expect from him?
SD: A lot. We know him and know what he can do. The same goes for Fernando Alonso. No, the drivers are both not a problem for me. They are fast and experienced. Our most important task is to give them a car that matches their performance standard and their class. If we succeed, we have a team with two perfectly functioning drivers.
What has spoken for Raikkonen and against Nico Hulkenberg? The Sauber driver was long considered the most promising candidate as Felipe Massa's successor.
SD: Kimi made a perfect comeback. He was fast and consistent in his performances. And he is calculable for us. This is an important point especially in view of the new engine with its properties to get used to. Kimi came in the summer suddenly and unexpectedly on the market. We had to take this unique opportunity. There was virtually no choice.
other than that he is sounding very positive for next year but that doesn't mean anything.. he also says they started during this year to change structures, mainly regarding personal
quote Familiar faces won’t rally Raikkonen 16 November 2013
Kimi Raikkonen may be following a couple of former Lotus colleagues on the road to Maranello, but previous associations won't necessarily help the Finn hit the ground running in his return to Ferrari.
That is the view of former Lotus technical director James Allison, who made the jump from Enstone earlier in the year. While the Briton's presence in the Ferrari camp was reckoned to have played a part in Raikkonen's decision to return – the Finn having also been linked to Red Bull – he plays down its significance.
“I don't think it will make much difference to Kimi at all!” he laughed, “Beautiful though I am, I don't think I have a massive impact on his life!
“Kimi's relationship with the team is predominantly with the people that are at the track, racing the car, with him, with his race engineer and with the chief race engineer and the people that campaign round the world with him. My job is mainly a factory-based one and, while I would try to lead a factory team that is sensitive to what the drivers are saying about the car, and hopefully making the most of the feedback that they give us, my day-to-day interaction with the drivers is not overly extensive.”
Allison admits that he is looking forward to playing a part in returning Ferrari to prominence next season, and sees the introduction of a new technical rules package – and the preparation work already completed before his arrival - as perfect for the rebirth.
“I've been very fortunate to arrive at Ferrari at a point in their cycle when a lot of the changes necessary to return to the front rank – I mean right at the front rank, ie winning championships –have been put in place by Pat Fry,” he said, “I think I'm particularly lucky to have arrived and been able to benefit from those investments rather than having to start them from scratch. There is much more to be done but I'm a lucky chap to be picking up where I am.”
Of course, being handed the responsibility of returning the Prancing Horse to P1 comes with no small degree of pressure, but Allison is happy to accept that in order to hold one of the most revered non-driving positions in the sport.
“I think technical director at any F1 team is a very big job, it certainly doesn't leave room for much else than the job in your life,” he explained, “Ferrari is an extremely prestigious F1 team, with a lot of resource and an extremely high level of expectation. There is really no result other than winning that is good enough at Ferrari.
“There is a lot of pressure to make sure I play my part in achieving that, but it is a wholly realistic ambition. It's a team with the kit, with the resource, with the people and with the drivers to get the job done, and I'm so looking forward to being there when it happens.”
Oh I'm pretty sure Kimi (and his fans) deserve a winning season next year.
I was a Ferrari fan before being a Kimi fan (forgive me, I was young and stupid) But after 2009, I sweared I'd never buy anything from Ferrari again in my life, I even gave away everything I already had... But if Kimi wins a Championship with them again, I promise I'll buy and wear Ferrari gear again.
i was a ferrari fan all my life stopped in 2009...never threw away the ferrari stuff, but i dont think i'll ever wear just ferrari stuff, just Kimiferrari stuff
i dont really trust them. but the fact that Allison is there makes everything better!
quoteKimi Räikkönen Fans @KimiFanPage Domenicali: Zero to be honest, zero [got asked how involved was he with Kimi's op]. We knew that he went for the operation on his spine. But we have respect for the team that he is working with now so we don't want to interfere with anything for them.
In Germany we have again a interview with Mr Lopez (maybe its the same). In this interview he said that he dont know if it was really necessary to do the surgery right now. And that he think Ferrari want Kimi to do the surgery right now.
Paper is dead without words Ink idle without a poem All the world dead without stories Without love and disarming beauty
quoteKimi Räikkönen Fans @KimiFanPage Domenicali on Kimi's back: ''Of course, we know the situation. With the specific situation of Kimi, there will be no problem at all.''
Paper is dead without words Ink idle without a poem All the world dead without stories Without love and disarming beauty
I'm glad he remembers, but this is what I don't like:
quoteI think it's also in the interest of Alonso to have in the team a driver ready to battle his own competitors, Alonso's competitors."
Ferrari always refer to Kimi as someone good for the Constructors Championship or to help Alonso race his game. But they never even think about Kimi being a WDC again...
Prove everybody wrong again Kimi, you go do that thing you do best
quote Ferrari duo say 2014 car ‘difficult to drive’ By Editor on Friday, November 22, 2013
The next generation of F1 car could be very difficult to drive, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa said on Thursday.
Insiders say the transition between the V8 era and the beginning of the turbo-powered era next year is perhaps the biggest rule change in F1′s entire history.
Spaniard Alonso said he has tried an early version of Ferrari’s 2014 car in the team’s Maranello simulator.
“When I tried it for the first time, it was really difficult to drive,” he is quoted in Brazil by the correspondent for Italy’s Autosprint.
“But each new simulation changes everything,” added Alonso, “so I am sure it will be very different by Melbourne.”
Brazilian Massa, despite the fact he is joining Williams for 2014, revealed he too has tried next year’s Ferrari in the simulator.
“It’s a different world to this year,” he said. “There is so little grip, it’s like driving in the rain.”