Zitat von OlgaI'll support him always because i feel that he ( along with Alonso ) is the best driver and of course the most honest character!!!!! " title="gokimi" />
Did you just include Alonso in there as the most honest character?
Hello from Germany! " title="hug" />
Of course I meant as a driver not as a character!! " title="tap" />
Zitat von SonnyI would be a little surprised if he did go to red bull..
I was hoping all along he would go to red bull for selfish reasons.. Yes, it does offer him the best chance for a WDC. But he will really be up against a stern challenge. Vettel is arguably the best driver in F1 right now.
This will be an incredible team pairing if true
Evaluating drivers against each other and how they will perform against each other is an imperfect science. It seems like outside factors are much more important these days.
It will be very difficult for Kimi to join Red Bull and do better then Vettel. Vettel has been there for years, he knows everyone in the team inside out and they know exactly what he wants form the car. By next year he will mostly likely be Red Bull's 4xWDC, it would be obvious for the team to support him. He would be their current WDC, and he has a record of producing results for them. It would almost be daft on their part not to support Vettel.
Now in comes Kimi, they know he is good driver, but there is a lot of rule changes to also concentrate on. Kimi doesn't know the team and the team dont know what he wants from his car. Kimi would be starting out on the back foot, and they would soon end up supporting Vettel as history has shown that it has been a fruitful thing to do, old habits are hard to break. It is all well and good to think about a potential WDC but the question is, is Kimi anymore likely to become a WDC in a Red Bull with Vettel as his teammate then he would be in a Lotus? When you look at it like that, the potential could be around the same.
The situation would be the same the otherway around as well, how would Vettel do against Kimi if he was suddenly to join Lotus? How would he suddenly do if he cant qualify at the front, and if the car wasn't that fast? It would be difficult to beat Kimi in that situation. Personally I think it is more difficult to do what Kimi and Alonso has to do race after race. They have to start from the midpack in every race, that is more dangerous with much more potential to crash. And they have to apply their race craft and strategy to get out in front. I dont know for me personally it seems to be a more a difficult task, then qualifying out in front and just staying there, but that is just my opinion.
But getting back to Red Bull and Kimi, I guess it all depends on what their motives are. Mercedes are suddenly very fast and they have two fast drivers, if they where more competitive from the start they would have smoking Red Bull in the WCC. And with the rule changes next season things are very uncertain, it could be very helpful to have two WDC.
I think Red Bull might be interested in Kimi from a marketing perspective. Red Bull has done everything and more then any other team these last couple of years. And yet they are just not as popular as some other teams, one could almost say there is a certain disdain for Red Bull in general. Winning more will not make them more popular, in fact it might just alienate certain F1 fans more. Red Bull have tried to create a more maverick image for the team, but it just hasn't really been work out for them because they are trying to fake it. But with a driver like Kimi, it is easy as he has that perfect maverick attitude naturally. Kimi also has a lot of fans who will follow him around, not that I think Red Bull is concerned with Kimi's fans per say. It is more that Kimi could open up a lot of markets for Red Bull, out of all of the drivers currently on the grid Kimi is properly the one with the most global appeal. Kimi could make Red Bull a more likable team, he has done it before. Lotus was pretty much despised before Kimi landed in the team, and even Ferrari was more likable with Kimi onboard. And on top of that F1 fans enjoys rivalries, it would make Red Bull, a team who has already done everything, much more popular to have two WDC drivers competing against each other head to head. That is exactly the way in which Mclaren and Williams gained a lot of popularity. Mclaren has especially used this type of tactic very successfully with their Prost/ Senna, Kimi/ Montoya and Lewis/ Alonso rivalries. Many people in the team like Horner and Mateschitz seems to like Kimi. And from Kimi's side, many people already believe he is bound to lose against Vettel so he properly doesn't have much to lose. If he loses against Vettel it wouldn't be such a surprise, on the other hand if regularly challenge Vettel then it could also be good for him. You dont always know what will happen. When Button joined Mclaren everyone thought Lewis would annihilate him and it didn't exactly happen that way. Rosberg's stock has also increased since he has been able to match Lewis every now and again. On the other hand it could also turn out badly, like when Kimi went to Ferrari but didn't get any support. Red Bull would have to be a bit careful though, Webber has already created a suspicious atmosphere about the Red Bull team if it is seen that Kimi isn't getting similar treatment to Vettel then it will cause a backlash.
This is a very difficult choice, for Kimi. There are many pros and cons on each side. Knowing Kimi it properly depends on who can give him the contract that suits his needs the best, it will properly be in the small details.
But I ve been seeing that Button is now suddenly rumoured to join Red Bull, it sounds more like British wishful thinking, but again you never know, and Steve Roberson also had talks with Mclaren. I ve always thought that besides Red Bull and Lotus Mclaren could be an interesting choice, they are struggling this season but they have a large budget and good people. They could be better next season, and someone like Kimi could just give them the needed direction and focus.
Zitat von WHATEVERI got worried after reading this post from another Kimi fan
ZitatIt's very tempting to go to Red Bull. Not only the car is fast, also the team works very well. They had fastest pit stops last race. If he feels like he can beat Vettel, he should go ahead and take the chance. Problem is that he hates politics and, with Marko there, Red Bull is a very political team, tilted towards Vettel. Red Bull is not so light in terms of PR either, since there are a lot of promotional events.
It's also a very dangerous move since the rules are changing drastically next year and there's no guarantee Red Bull will be the fastest car, although they do have the best pit crew and the technical staff is competent. If they get it wrong, Vettel might jump ship and take Newey with him (maybe not Horner), leaving Kimi facing the same situation as in 2009 with Ferrari, a team that completely lost power after the new regs. Newey not always reacts to rule changes in a good way, an example is 1994 when the Williams was only able to compete with the illegal Benetton car thanks to Senna's talent. That year, Senna did the same as Kimi, he moved to what was the best team after becoming tired of wasting time at McLaren, but the 1994 rules meant the tech gizmos from the super 1993 car were removed and the car was erratic at the beginning, which may have even caused his death.
No one can deny that Vettel has done an extraordinary job. But Newey has been there before Vettel came along and he won championships before Vettel was there. Newey is basically the most in demand person in F1 right now. He can decide to do whatever he wants, he has many championships to his name. I just dont see him moving around after Vettel, this isn't anything against Vettel, but Newey just doesn't need Vettel to win. Technical directors are much more in demand and much more important then drivers. There has been rumours for ages that he is thinking of retirement next. But who knows with technical directors, he might think that he needs a new challenge, and he might even join a lower team. He would have different targets then a driver.
The technical changes could really turn the whole grid around. In the past Enstone has at times done well with big rule changes. But just think back to the last rule chamges in 2009, Ferrari and Mclaren where completely lost, but they quickly picked up the pace again. Money helps a lot, and nothing is more true then that in F1. A big team with a lot of money like Red Bull has much more opportunity to get it right, even if they dont do it immediately. But who knows? As I said Enstone has at times done well in these conditions because they are a very innovative team, and they would properly try to design their car more to Kimi's liking if he stays there.
It seems like James Allison is joining Ferrari. Damn Ferrari has to steal Kimi's designer! " title="annoyed" /> I hope Kimi joins " title="rb" /> next year & fight with F-team. " title="sissy" /> " title="yes" />
Hmm...the praising of Grosjean has started..Boullier says he is unrare talent and their future champion..On the other hand he says they dont support him for years if he doesnt get himself in order. Boullier admits his weakness is on the mental side . Does this indicate Lotus is unsure about Kimi?
Oh yeah. And if Kimi leaves, they're in for a harsh reality check if they think they can continue what Kimi has built (by himself) with Grosjean as their "star".
If James Allison is really going to the "F" team h" title="hih" /> ... I say: go for it Kimi! join Vettel and kick some "F" team as*es " title="sissy" />
I personally think if Raikkonen moved to Red Bull, then Vettel would beat him. Vettel's younger nearing his prime, and it's his team. Raikkonen on the other hand is coming towards retirement age soon enough, wasted his best F1 years in rally, and he's going to the unknown.
But then, he might do what Button did to Hamilton.
Kimi Raikkonen is determined to live up to his 'Iceman' persona when it comes to speculation surrounding the Red Bull vacancy.
A week on since Mark Webber announced he was quitting Formula One at the end of this year to join Porsche's sportscar programme, and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner confirmed Raikkonen was in the frame for the seat, the Finn is refusing to let all the talk get to him.
Raikkonen, who is vying for the place alongside Toro Rosso duo Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne, initially gave short shrift to a member of the media who dared to ask the 33-year-old about his future.
"It's four days ago since you probably asked last time, and nothing has changed," said the Lotus driver, speaking ahead of Sunday's German Grand Prix.
Pushed as to whether he was at least thinking about it, Raikkonen said: "You always think about what can happen.
"But I'm not in a hurry. Things will happen at some point. There are good things and bad things (about moving). You are never going to get things perfect.
"But that's nothing new, it's always like that, and there are always compromises on everything - in life and in work.
"But like I say, nothing has changed since the last race. Once I know then I can say more, but I don't know, so there's nothing to add.
"We can only guess if it's going to be a day, a week, or never."
As to whether the speculation is a distraction, Raikkonen said: "It has been like that for years, so it's not going to change now.
"I do my thing, you guys (the media) do your stuff. It doesn't matter to me. I've never had to worry about those things.
"I've good people looking after me and they've always done good things for me. I've no doubt they will do so again."
ZitatRaikkonen unfazed by Lauda’s ‘wimp’ jibe By Editor on Friday, July 5, 2013
Kimi Raikkonen declined to hit back at Niki Lauda on Friday, despite the F1 legend calling him a “wimp”.
Told that triple world champion and Mercedes chairman Lauda has been talking about him, Raikkonen said at the Nurburgring: “Huh? To me? He (Lauda) hasn’t spoken to me.”
The 2007 world champion was then told by the interviewer for Tagesspiegel newspaper that Lauda had said ignoring Red Bull’s offer of a 2014 seat would make him a “wimp”.
“I don’t care what he says,” said the Finn. “He likes to talk a lot and that doesn’t concern me.
“He’s not being nasty, I know him well enough to know what he’s thinking,” added Raikkonen.
The 33-year-old insisted he only returned to F1 in 2012 to win again, so the interviewer is curious as to why he would apparently hesitate to join Red Bull — the dominant team of the past few seasons.
“There are many reasons,” answered Raikkonen. “Nothing is as clear as it seems.
“At the moment I have nothing for next year. If there is a decision, I will tell everyone,” he added.
Asked if a great car, lots of money, or lots of free time are most important to him, Raikkonen admitted: “Everything. The whole package.
“I’ve been in a lot of teams and so I know what I want.
“I’ll make the best choice for myself, and if it’s wrong and I regret it, at least I made the decision for myself.”
Asked if the likely friendly pairing with Sebastian Vettel next year could sway things in Red Bull’s favour, Raikkonen insisted: “That doesn’t matter.
“I know what you mean, but having jokes and laughs with friends is not why I’m here.”
ZitatAGREEMENT WITH FINN ALMOST REACHED Red Bull could announce Räikkönen signing before Belgium
MARCO CANSECO. NÜRBURGRING 07/06/2013
It's one of the most eagerly awaited stories with regards to the market for next season. Räikkönen has all but joined Red Bull as a direct replacement for Mark Webber. Although he has yet to sign the contract, only the final details need to be ironed out before he can be officially named as Vettel's new teammate. In Finland there is already speculation that the move might be announced prior to the race at Belgium's Spa track, during the summer break.
And the story seems to be getting 'The Iceman' a bit hot under the collar, given that on Thursday he told a TV journalist: "It's four days ago since you probably asked last time, and nothing has changed".
Kimi said that he wouldn't stop "if the rest decide to stop because a tyre blows out. It's something that happened to me here in 2005 and nobody stopped", said the Lotus driver. He seems to have a poor memory though, because what actually happened was that the car skidded a couple of times causing a malfunction with his McLaren's suspension when he was chasing down Fernando Alonso. There was no actual problem with his wheel that day. It was a case of driver error, and not tyre safety.
On a different subject, the upgrading of young-driver tests to main drivers could leave Carlos Sainz Jr. without being able to test for Red Bull. It now seems certain that Sebastian Vettel will be in charge of the car next Friday, a day that the youngster from Madrid was pencilled in for.
Hm..have to wonder where in Finland they are speculating this..as there hasnt been anything. On MTV3 they just asked Boullier are the negotiations with Kimi gone forward? He answered "yes". Then they tried to get some more out of him by saying Kimi has talked more this weekend. He said he has to balance things and be like Kimi now.
ZitatAbdi Hussein @Rooatov 2h Kimi will sign a 2 year deal with Red Bull contrary to reports, but both parties have inserted a clause where they can stop after 1 year
ZitatAbdi Hussein @Rooatov 2h Kimi Raikkonen's deal with Red Bull was done last week, all it needs is for Kimi and Mateschitz to sign the contract, 1/3
Zitat3/3 Deal could be announced before the next race, but will almost certainly be announced during the summer break. Kimi vs Vettel
ZitatHorner guaranteed Kimi his media work would be limited and he'd be given a fair opportunity against Vettel, Newey recommended Kimi 2/3