I think Kimi was lucky to have Vettel out of his way. Otherwise he should've taken Vettel down, but wouldn't have any time to take Rosberg. Of course in ideal world (of Ferrari dreams) Vettel should've been in front of Rosberg and taken easy 2nd with Kimi overtaking Rosberg for 3rd. But initial mistake by Vettel put him into 3rd and this could've been a problem for Kimi.
I am very glad with the outcome of the race.
Nomad, you're the rider so mysterious Nomad, you're the spirit that men fear in us
one must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star - it's a satanic drug thing you wouldn't understand...
Yes, good luck played a part in Kimi's race and it was about time
quoteKimi's back It’s good to have an Italian-Finnis axis that provides the Scuderia with its fourth podium finish in as many races. It’s good that when Seb Vettel hits one of those days, finishing fifth after an extra pit-call for replacing a damaged front wing, we can count on Kimi giving chase to both Mercedes, catching up at a pace worth some 20 secs over fifteen laps, and finally jumping Rosberg who was struggling with his brakes. Fireworks burst out outside the garage, our mechanics roar Kimi is back. Inside, while Robin’s mom, Minttu, floats around in her long dress between spare tires and jacks. The loving daddy who lulls his fourt-month old son can turn into a beast, a ‘race animal’ (courtesy of Maurizio) when he can smell a prey. Kimi is back. At last.
Kimi looks more like someone who’s just come out of a Manga magazine. A reluctant star in a world of fake celebrities. Yep, when you see him leaving the paddock at night in his black knee pants, white socks, backpack on his shoulder, and the regular level-peak cap, bouncing a rubber ball up and down, he looks more like someone who’s just come out of a Manga magazine. But after all, that’s what makes Kimi so special.
quoteKimi got a reprimand from dangerous driving during free practise, as according to the judges he drove too close from few people and one of them was Josef Leberler from Sauber (Kimi´s old physio) . Leberler only laughed to the situation :
-" In the past cars used to go much faster on the pitlane, but now they only go 60 kilometers/hour. I saw from far, that Kimi was approaching, so I jumped few steps back. I definately was not scared and didn´t care about the situation at all."
Leberler didn´t know Kimi got reprimand about that.
Mika Salo, who was one of the judges, said it came very close that they gave Kimi a 5 grid penalty.
To add to that Salo said also they were a bit amused seeing this guy jumping in different angles. But the fact he jumped made judges think it was dangerous, so phew, luck was on Kimis side this time.
Vettel must have had some issues with the set up..he drove quite often wide..or then he was focused more on qualifying . But he said after the race he must focuse on the development of the car. There might be the answer. He wants something from the car that suits him better. Overall I think Ferrari wasnt quite prepared to fight with Kimi for the win. Two laps too late into the pits with mediums. It would have ment 19 laps with softs but he drove like a shark 17 laps with them.
Quote: Appletree wrote in post #52To add to that Salo said also they were a bit amused seeing this guy jumping in different angles. But the fact he jumped made judges think it was dangerous, so phew, luck was on Kimis side this time.
Finally the is on this side... I would love to see a video with the jumping people
quoteKimi Raikkonen: It’s great to be back on the podium
Kimi Raikkonen: “After a difficult year last year and a beginning of the season that was a bit unlucky, it’s great to be back on the podium. I have mixed emotions, it’s a great feeling to be back, but we want to be on the top. The start was really good , I managed to pass Nico, but then I lost the position and there I lost a bit of time. The strategy was perfect, we did the right calls and the right tyre choice , I was happy with the car , we kept up a good speed through the whole race. In the last laps I was getting closer and closer and could see Hamilton, but the race was at its end, we would have needed more laps to try to do something. I think we are still a little bit behind the Mercedes but in some circuits and some conditions we can be very competitive, especially in the race. Today we did our best , we have to be happy with the result , we did the maximum and took some good points for the team. We keep improving step by step, we just have to keep working doing the same things in the same direction,and I’m sure we’ll get there.”
Maurizio Arrivabene: Strategy and discipline
Maurizio Arrivabene: “I am really happy for Kimi: today I can officially state that he’s back. He showed what a race animal he is, and if he had had a few more laps perhaps… Also, I am happy for the team, because they worked really well. Sebastian made a couple of mistakes today, one at the beginning, which forced us to change his race strategy, whereas in the case of Kimi we followed our plans. He was not totally convinced about it at a point, but showed a great deal of discipline in following instructions from the pit-wall. As for Seb, he actually made something wrong, otherwise we could have had two drivers on the podium; but he’s a human being as we all are. He’s a fantastic driver and let’s not forget now what he has already achieved so far. I wish to thank everybody back at Maranello, because they were able to work on the engine development, but also on every single component, achieving over three months what normally would have required twice as much. I can’t tell if we are going to catch the Mercedes, but I do like the idea of putting some pressure on them. Today we were aware of the gap between them and ourselves, and that required an aggressive strategy. Having said that, with regard to the Friday long runs where we had showed a good pace, the temperature was much lower today, and we had to react accordingly.”
Uffe Tagström has made earmuffs painted in Kimis helmet colours for little Robin. He was in Bahrain with his parents but not yet on the paddock. Its not long until he pulls uncle Arrivabeness hair.
Quote: Appletree wrote in post #56Uffe Tagström has made earmuffs painted in Kimis helmet colours for little Robin. He was in Bahrain with his parents but not yet on the paddock. Its not long until he pulls uncle Arrivabeness hair.
Oi! Bet they look more than cute!
"Walk on, through the wind, Walk on, through the rain, Though your dreams be tossed and blown. Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart, And you'll never walk alone, YOU`LL NEVER WALK ALONE!!!"
quote"What happened to my gap?" Lewis Hamilton emerges from his first stop to find his lead has been suddenly slashed
"Why do you think that the option is better? I can go faster on the prime than these options..." Raikkonen smells a podium at two-thirds distance, and wants to make sure Ferrari call their tyre strategy right.
"So, gap to Kimi is now 8.5..." (Tony Ross, Rosberg's race engineer) "Just don't tell me the gap anymore..." (Nico Rosberg) Rosberg, usually keen to know as much information as possible, decides he'd rather not hear how close Raikkonen is to his gearbox in the closing stages of the race...
"Come on, blue flags! They just don't want to move, these people!" Kimi Raikkonen does his best impression of a commuter stuck in rush hour traffic as his late-race pursuit of Nico Rosberg is slowed by backmarkers.
"Sorry about the brakes Nico. It happened at the worst time." Mercedes feel the need to apologise to Rosberg after brakes issues prevent him from defending second place to Raikkonen.
"BBW fault! BBW fault!" (Lewis Hamilton) "Just caution on the brakes. One lap remaining, we have plenty of space." (Peter Bonnington, Hamilton's race engineer) Mercedes do their best to reassure a concerned Hamilton after the world champion reports a last lap brake-by-wire problem.
"Hey Iceman, you were great, I'm proud of you. Grande Kimi." Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene leaves Raikkonen in no doubt as to how pleased he is with the Finn's second place finish.
This Dutch Commentator Couldn’t Hide His Love For Kimi Raikkonen BY TOMMY · APRIL 22, 2015
I don’t know how it’s happened but Ferrari have somehow become Formula One’s underdogs by taking the fight to Mercedes this year. During the Bahrain Grand Prix, just about everyone was cheering on Kimi Raikkonen as he closed the gap on Hamilton and Rosberg in pursuit of his first win in over two years.
Now commentators are meant to stay impartial, but this Dutch commentator couldn’t help himself from giving Kimi some words of encouragement. “Come on Kimi, nail the bastards!”