< Check out Kimi’s comments further below
Hero or Zero
It is a rough series of races ahead. There are three GP in next four weeks’ time. In addition to that we have also a test at Silverstone between the second and the third race.
Because of this busy time it felt great, for a while, to drop by back at home in Finland. I trained hard and spent some time at sea, too. The weather was just fine, a real summer. I’ve got a good feeling before leaving for America.
Monaco is just a distant memory. Now everything is charged for Canada.
Before Monaco we tested in Le Castellet with the car set up for Montreal. Felipe took care of the work of Monaco and I tested the car in a circuit configured for Canada style. The car felt very good, but you never know how it goes. When you don’t test in the same circuit where you race, it’s different. We’ll have to wait and see just how competitive we are, when we arrive in Montreal.
If there is something I know, it’s that I can take the best out of the car. That gave a very good feeling during the test and also in practice in Monaco.
I have never driven for Ferrari in Montreal or Indianapolis, so I can’t say how the car goes in those circuits. In any case, the team has had good results in both places. That is very encouraging, indeed. We can expect interesting races.
One thing is for sure. McLaren will not be one minute ahead of us, like they were in Monaco. The nature of Montreal is so different compared to Monaco, although we speak about two street circuits.
I won in Canada two years ago. Like every circuit you need to get the set up exactly right. You need a well balanced car in low downforce configuration and a car that is not too hard on brakes.
I have always liked the weekend of Montreal. It is one of the nices places to visit and I enjoy the stop and go style of the circuit. Qualifying is important, but it is not essential to get a good result. There are one or two places to overtake.
We are now fourth in the championship and 15 point behind the leaders. The gap is not that big and my position is not that miserable, not at all. A couple of good races for us and a couple of bad ones for the competitors and the whole situation would look totally different.
Like the team boss Mr. Todt said, if we would be 15 points behind and it would be only two races to go, my fight for the championship would be over. But it’s still 12 races to go, so a 15 points gap is not that big.
The last two results have not been good for me. However I feel I’m still very much in with a chance of fighting for the championship. I will do my best to finish and win as many races as possible and we will see at the end of the year where we end up in the championship.
In F1 you go from hero to zero very quickly. That is the nature of the sport. I just get on with my job and do the best I can.
That’s the spirit Kimi, nevermind what people say; just continue with what they can’t see: you working hard in your own way. One thing though, it’s best to never underestimate your rivals. Aim for Number 1 no matter what.
News:
Q & A with Kimi Raikkonen
The Finn was drafted in by Bridgestone for a special appearance at
the Coronation School in Montreal – where he was put up in front of 400
eager children keen to meet a real sporting hero for the first time.
Raikkonen relished the attention and interest, and even dared take
some questions from the children themselves about his career, the life
of an F1 driver and the sport. But the best question of all came from a
kindergarten child who asked simply: How do you drive so fast? (That’s a good question actually! Wonder what Kimi replied with…)
After the event, autosport.com heard from Raikkonen about
how he found the experience, his confidence levels for the weekend
ahead and what he thought about some slightly controversial comments
from local hero Jacques Villeneuve about Lewis Hamilton’s driving.
Q. How was it?
Kimi Raikkonen: It is nice to be here at least. It is nice to
see the happy kids. I think it is nice to do this kind of thing. It is
much more relaxed and they appreciate it much more than many other
people, so you get more out of it.
Q. Have you met children at events like this before?
KR: It is up to the team what we do. I don’t know really what
will happen when we go there. It is nice, the kids get much more out of
it and appreciate it much more than some other places where we go.
Q. Did you get to meet sport stars like this when you were at school?
KR: I never had any heroes, but I don’t even remember because
it is too long ago. But usually sometimes in some schools the kids can
meet some people, but I cannot remember too far back
Q. But your presence here can have an impact on their future can’t it?
KR: Yeah for sure, and it is nice to see the kids are so excited.
Q. Did the kids’ questions surprise you?
KR: Not really. You never know what the kids come up with. I
think they always come up with the best questions usually, so I am not
surprised.
Q. Can you win the race this weekend?
KR: We try definitely. It is never going to be easy. I think
we have a good chance. It all depends how well everything goes through
the weekend but we have a good strong package and we have every chance
to win.
Q. Are you feeling confident? Do you like the track?
KR: It is a nice circuit, a nice place, but a lot of things
can happen here usually. I have had some good races and not so good
races here. But the last two races were okay. I won in 2005 and I was
third here last year, so I think it is a good place usually for me. I
think we have a good package and have all the chances to win the race.
That is what we are going to try to do.
Q. Do you feel that Felipe Massa has an advantage in the team because he has won more races since the beginning of the year?
KR: I think he had an easier time with the car. We have
improved the car and it seems to be better now for me. We had a good
weekend in the last race before I hit the wall, so it didn’t help. I
think the car seems now to be quite good and I am much easier able to
drive it.
Q. So there is no number one driver at Ferrari?
KR: No. As long as I have been there, there has never been a number one. We will see what happens.
Q. What do you think about the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve?
KR: It is a nice circuit. It is quite challenging, quite hard
for the car. The long straights are hard for the engines and the
bouncing over the kerbs does not give the easiest time for the cars. I
think the only question mark is the surface of the circuit. Last year
it broke up during the race, so it was like driving on sand at some
corners. Hopefully they have done something about that?
Q. Are you still learning the Ferrari?
KR: I think you are always learning every time you go out. We
had a good first race, but I still wasn’t happy with the car. We start
to get more happy with the car now, so hopefully we will get the
results.
Q. Do you think you have to win this weekend after what happened in Monaco?
KR: I think the last two races have been difficult, although
at least we got one point out of Monaco. That could make a big
difference in the end. So for sure it helps if we can win and that is
what we will try.
Q. Are you surprised by speed of McLaren drivers?
KR: No, not really. I think when I was there, when we had a
good car I was quick. But last year that wasn’t the case and there
haven’t been many years like that. This year they have a good package
and they are strong everywhere. So I am not surprised.
Q. Do you think your Monaco form, and the fact that McLaren were
so dominant, was a one-off because of the nature of the circuit?
KR: When I was at McLaren we were always quick there. Even
last year when the car wasn’t quick anywhere else, it was good there.
So I wasn’t surprised that they were strong because they have a good
car. We will see what happens here.
Q. Fernando Alonso has said that he reckons you are just one bad
result away from dropping out of the championship fight. Is there
pressure on you to get a good result here?
KR: For sure we want the close the gap rather than fall
further behind, but I made only one mistake in the last weekend (at
Monaco) and it cost a lot.
I think anywhere else that mistake would not have made such a big
difference. It is so difficult to overtake there, but at least we got
one point. We have had two bad races in a row and without those we
could be right up there. But we will try and win and see where we end
up.
It is hard to think that every other driver will manage to go
through the whole year without any problems, so as long as we don’t
have any problems any more I think we have a good chance to get back.
We are still fighting.
Q. Jacques Villeneuve has said that Lewis Hamilton is a driver
who is dangerous on the track and some of the ways he drives warrants a
black flag. What do you think?
KR: I don’t want to get involved in that…
Q. How do you think Lewis is driving?
KR: He has been doing a good job. I haven’t been so close to
him in the races to see what he has done, but I don’t want to get
involved in that situation.
He is a good driver. Everyone knew he was good even before he came
to F1 and he has a good team behind him. So he is doing good this year
but we are trying to beat him.
If there are any photos of Kimi with the children at the school, they will be up here exclusively, so don’t miss them! He looks like a big kid himself with the children below… 🙂 Check the photo album for bigger pictures.
Photos! (screen caps from Italian TV)
Rai207-06-2007.jpg
Rai207-06-20071.jpg
Rai207-06-20072.jpg
Rai207-06-20073.jpg
Rai207-06-20074.jpg
Rai207-06-20075.jpg
Rai207-06-20076.jpg
Rai207-06-20077.jpg
Rai207-06-20078.jpg
Rai207-06-20079.jpg
Rai207-06-200710.jpg
Rai207-06-200711.jpg
Rai207-06-200712.jpg
Rai207-06-200713.jpg
Rai207-06-200714.jpg
Rai207-06-200715.jpg
News:
Count Kimi out
…Unless Kimi Raikkonen comes good in Canada this weekend, and way beyond, he is out of this year’s title chase.
Trailing championship leaders Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton by 15 points, he needs to win the next eight races to get ahead of them and going on current form that is highly unlikely.
In fact, it is fair to say the Finn has been the disappointment of the season….
Raikkonen is not performing because there’s a conspiracy between Jean
Todt, whose son, Nicolas, manages Felipe Massa, and Schumacher to
upstage the Finn in favour of the Brazilian. Todt, you see, is not
happy that Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo personally negotiated
Kimi’s $55-million per annum salary while Todt would have liked
Schumacher to remain in the team or, alternatively, to get Valentino
Rossi on board.
Now — so the conspiracy theory goes — Schumacher, as ‘adviser’
to the team, is isolating Raikkonen in favour of his protégé, Massa,
and the Kimster is left in the cold.
How much sense is there in that?…
I’ve been following this particular columnist for a while now, and I really like the way he looks at situations from more than one perspective. I have to agree with that, even though Kimi hasn’t performed to his potential after Australia, there’s a lot more than what’s shown on the surface. Kimi needs to keep his head together and not let the team get him down, pyschologically or even with his teammates results. Come on Kimi, show everyone that you are no number 2 driver, show them on track! Time is running out. I know there’s no point in saying he shouldn’t have even gone to Ferrari in the first place, but now that he’s there he must stand his ground, for his own sake, not for the sake of being praised by these F1 journalists and entertainers. And it’s safe to say that Kimi never really has cared about what others think, but in this case, inside Ferrari, he has to make them re-think what a spectacular driver they really have and that this dark patch is just that, a dark patch. It won’t last forever. Believe me!
Andretti surprised Massa leads Raikkonen
…"He knows the car, and he knows the people – he’s part of the team. And I think Kimi, coming in, probably felt that.
"I don’t know Kimi that well, but I always think he looks somewhat … passive. I don’t know if it’s that way inside or not. Maybe he doesn’t have the team rallying around him as much as you might expect.
"I’m on the outside, looking in, and this is just conjecture, but I was sure that Kimi would immediately take charge, and it doesn’t seem to be the case at the moment.
"I’d imagine his character is stronger than Massa’s, and I think that ultimately he might endure a high-pressure situation better. My feeling is that it will unfold that way, and it’ll be interesting to see if it does."…
Andretti has voiced the opinions of many Kimi fans here, I think. Going into Ferrari, we knew Massa had an advantage being there a year before. But we thought Kimi’s out right speed and talent would crush him. We were mistaken, it’s not as easy as we may have thought. But Kimi being passive is certainly influenced after his disappointing results after Australia. Remember though, the way Massa was sulking like a baby when he saw Kimi take pole position at Australia? Wow, is that really the ‘team comaderey’ Ferrari have? At least Kimi gets over his faults and problems, and doesn’t behave like that around people, let alone your team. Kimi does handle pressure better in that way. However at Monaco, Kimi reportedly got angry with his qualifying so much that he raised his voice to his mechanics to get the car fixed quickly. But that’s a completely different thin from how Massa coped with his misfortune at Australia. Why? Because Massa was NOT happy for Kimi getting pole, and hanged his head down. I’d rather have our Kimi leave a track before his teammate wins a race, than show a face like that, wouldn’t you agree? I also feel that Ferrari have not done enough in welcoming this new driver to their team. I seriously believe they haven’t done their part well, just as Kimi has not done what we all expected. Kimi isn’t the only party to be criticised and blamed here. It’s a team effort, and as far as Michael Schumacher is concerned, it’s still his team…isn’t it? An advisor for WHAT? Telling the team how they should rally around Massa when Kimi isn’t doing well? Wow, that’s brilliant team work, shun out the loser. Why cant he just get lost for good and let Kimi be at peace with his new team? I get furious each time I think about it so I better stop writing now.
Meanwhile:
Ferrari bullish on Canada chances
FUCK ISRAEL 