Q. A question to you all. What are your reactions to seeing the
Yas Island Circuit for the first time. The facilities? The circuit?
Adrian, would you like to start?
Kimi RAIKKONEN: I have only seen the paddock area
so far. I haven’t been around the circuit yet. It looks all new and you
can see a bit that it is last minute but, overall, it is a very big,
massive thing and it will be one of the nicest when everything is ready.
Q. Kimi, what are your thoughts on leaving Ferrari?
KR: Well, it is not any different than a few races ago. I
don’t have a contract anymore with them. It is the last race and we try
to make a good result and we will see what happens in the future.
Q. Is your focus totally on Formula One or would you like to pursue your rallying career?
KR: Basically I have a few different options and we will see what is the best one overall and then make my decision.
Q. Would rallying be a consideration?
KR: It is definitely one of them, but I mean it is not just
Formula One and rallying. There are other things I could do and we will
see what happens.
Q. Just looking back at the second part of the season. You have
only scored two points less than the person who has scored the most
points. Considering that development has stopped on the car it is a
pretty remarkable record, isn’t it?
KR: Yeah, I think we had a good second half. The car is
definitely not the fastest but we found a pretty good way of working
with the car and getting the best out of. It has been more normal to
drive than for a long time before. Once you get something that you have
a good feeling with, then usually you get good results. The bigger
teams or the better teams who have been faster this year should have
done better; better cars, better results and better points overall in
the last part but they haven’t and I think we did pretty well.
Q. It seems almost unfair that the focus has been on your
team-mates and how fast they have been going whereas you have been
racking up points all the time.
KR: It makes no difference for me really. I don’t think they
have been going very fast and they can talk to them as much as they
want. We just try to score points and get good results. That has been
our aim and is still our aim in the last race and hopefully we can get
a bit more than McLaren.
Q. (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) If I can ask
all of you. Jean Todt is the new President of the FIA. What would you
like to see him achieve and accomplish for Formula One? Q. Jarno, would
you like to start?
KR: I think he is going to do good work. I think he
is a good guy for this work and he is very straightforward and not too
much politics. But I know from working with him that he is going to be
the right guy.
Q. (Chris Lines – Associated Press) Question for you all about
the late start: starting in the afternoon, going into the evening. We
had a situation in Australia, first race of the year, with a similar
kind of timing. Towards the end of the race there were complaints from
the drivers about the sun getting in their eyes, complaints about the
track cooling down, so the grip wasn’t as good. Do you have concerns
here for the same reasons?
KR: I don’t think there will be any problems. Of course, it
might look a little bit different at some point when the sun disappears
but the lights, at least in Singapore, were so good that you hardly see
the difference between day and night. Here, it will be quite hot
anyhow, so it should be OK.
Q. (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Question to Jarno and
Adrian: I’m just wondering if you two guys have settled your
differences after your exchange of words following your first lap
accident in Brazil?
[…]
FA: (to KR) Shall we go?
[…]
Q. (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, you
were behind these two guys. Could you give us your point of view and
Kimi, we heard something about you taking a sabbatical next year in
2010. Is that true, it’s an option or not?
KR: I can if I want. I can do whatever I want, but like I said before, I haven’t made my decision what I want to do yet.
Q. (Joris Fioriti – AFP) Do you think, the four of you, that Jenson
Button is a good champion for the sport, or just that he had the best
car this year?
KR: Yeah, he had the most points, also at the end
of the season but whoever gets the most points deserves it, so he’s
definitely the right man for that.
Q. (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere dello Sport) Kimi, what would like to tell Fernando as he’s joining Ferrari to replace you?
KR: I don’t think I need to tell him anything; for sure he
will find out. He’s been in Formula One a long time and he’s not going
to have any issues there. I think he’s probably been there before and
met the people already, so there’s not much to say.
Q. (Jonathan Legard – BBC Sport) Question for Kimi: you talk
about your options. I just wondered how important it would be if you
decided to stay in Formula One, if you found another team, that you
could do some rallying as well, like you did with Ferrari or whether
that’s something of a stumbling block, wanting to do another form of
motor sport as well as doing Formula One?
KR: It’s definitely going to be Formula One, it’s going to be
in the contract that I’m allowed to do it (rallying). It’s not going to
hurt you. Any kind of driving is always going to give you some
experience, so I don’t see what’s the issue. It’s been working well
this year, so as long as it doesn’t disturb what you’re doing in
Formula One or whatever you do, I don’t see that there’s any problem.
Q. (Joris Fioriti – AFP) Both championships have been settled. Will
this race be the last opportunity to show yourselves, the ones that
don’t have a team for next year?
KR: You always try to do your best – at least, I try
and it’s the same story in the last race: we try to get back third
place in the championship for the team. I think it’s a bit late if you
only try to do your best in the last race to try to prove yourself to
some other team, then you shouldn’t be there. It’s the same story as
any race this year: we try to do the maximum.
Di Montezemolo: Special Thanks For Raikkonen
From Ferrari.com
The first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is also the last GP in red for Kimi
Raikkonen, who will leave the Scuderia after three successful years.
Before the race Chairman Montezemolo wanted to thank the Finnish driver
for his contribution during his stay at the team.
“Kimi entered the
history of the Scuderia, winning one World Title in his first year with
Ferrari and he contributed decisively to conquer two World Titles in
the Constructors’ Championship in 2008 and 2009,” Montezemolo said. “He
has always been an honest boy, transparent and loyal and we will always
remember him with joy. I’m glad that I can be here with him and the
team on the occasion of his last GP in this particularly difficult
year. Let’s hope we can gain a good result.”
FUCK ISRAEL 
Nice to see Ferrari appreciating Kimi’s contributions and also to see Kimi joking with Fernando. =]
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Hi just read on autosport.com that Kimi only wants to stay in F1 if he’s able to drive for McLaren! Norbert Haug said earlier this week that he didn’t accept Kimi’s salary but perhaps was that just manipulating the media. Kimi back in silver come on!! Gotta get my old teamwear 🙂
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Hey Roger! Yeah it felt so good to hear Kimi say that LOL he also said he hadn’t talked to Toyota even if they claimed so (according to AzShadow’s translation from the Finnish MTV3 tv report this evening).
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And Kimi said he’ll know in the next few days!! 🙂 I hope so – I haven’t updated my facebook status ("waiting…") since 30 Sept, so come on Kimi, we’re all tenterhooks for good news! No sabbatical please!!
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kimi on silver next year!!!!luca wors was a shame!!!! sell the team a bank!!!! and kick off kimi by the team!!! 2nd november i’m a 1st anti-ferrari fan!!!!
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Just wondering, do you think Kimi will cut his hair next year? You know, a new look – in silver with a new hairstyle… He’d look real good. 😀
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Probably Kathryn :)This is a really good interview that you guys must read! Actually, it’s the answers from Kimi that make it oh so satisfying:Translation courtesy of Wolfie———————————————ONLY A CONTRACT THAT PLEASES KIMI WILL GUARANTEE HIS CONTINUANCE IN F1Turun Sanomat 30.10 2009 00:39:50In the latest exclusive interview Turun Sanomat had with Kimi Räikkönen he doesn’t draw too big lines but let’s understand that his will to continue in F1 is as hard as it was when he signed with the now terminated contract with the Italian team for 2010.At what point are the negotiations with McLaren?– The contract depends on so many factors. It will be made if I get a contract that pleases me. There are many small things, Räikkönen said.Are you prepared to make compromises in these negotiations?– Of course some compromises can be made but it makes no sense to do something you don’t have to do. It leads nowhere.Do these negotiations have some time schedule?– I don’t have any time schedule but of course all the teams have their own time schedule. I am not in a hurry here. There is no shortage of time before something should happen.You said a while ago in the international press conference that it’s McLaren or nothing?– Yup. It makes no sense to go to another F1-team. I have nothing going on with Toyota even though they say that we negotiate. We haven’t talked with them. It’s completely their own story.What about Lewis Hamilton? They say that McLaren has grown around him after your departure?– Hamilton doesn’t have any meaning in this case. These open things have nothing to do with Lewis. For me it’s all the same who drives the other car there.How important part in the negotiations is the freedom to drive rally on your free time?– I will get that freedom. It’s not up to that.David and Steve Robertson are your managers. How much do they decide for you?– Whatever I do next year is completely my own decision. Nobody has any influence in it. The Robertson’s do what they have to do. In the final games it’s me who makes the decision. It just has to be a contract that pleases me. Nothing else matters.I’m sure you will move on to rally someday. What kind of car would you get from rally for next season?– I don’t know. Of course I would have to learn it but it’s good if you have immediately the best car. It’s not cool to drive bad cars. The truth still is that wherever I go it takes time before I learn it completely.– At the moment there are a few top cars in WRC. Two factory teams and they have their own number two cars in the private teams. In principle it’s going to change a lot after a year when the 2000’s along with a lot of new teams are coming.What about the talks from Ferrari that you would consider keeping a year off?– I am going to do something next year for sure. Whatever happens. I have all kinds of options of what I can do. I just don’t have the energy to go through them with you until I know what is going to happen here.What kind of feelings do you have towards Ferrari when the co-operation doesn’t end in the way you would have wanted it to end?– I really don’t have any feelings towards them. And I haven’t got anything against Ferrari. This just has been a time that I’m sure is great to look back to when I’m old.What is your relationship with Jean Todt?– We have a good relationship. He has got nothing to do with me leaving. It was with him I made the contract back in the time. Jean is a great guy – just like most of the others at Ferrari.The endseason’s results have surprised even Ferrari. How much of will to show has there been?– Well it most certainly has nothing to do with a will to show. We just got the car changed in the way I wanted. We were quite good earlier but the car just wasn’t good enough. When it was improved it started to go better.Your race engineer Andrea Stella said that the car was as competitive in Interlagos as it was in Monaco in the spring.– Yup. If we would have had more luck we could have even fought for the victory. I don’t know if I could have matched Red Bull’s speed but we would have come in 2nd at least.Mark Webber torpeded you off the track on the first lap in Brazil and claimed that you would have done the same in a similar situtation. Would you have drove in front of a competitor in the same way?– I don’t have the energy to argue with anyone. It leads nowhere.What about the fire on the pitlane? How close was it that you would have jumped out of the car and retired?- At first I thought to do so but then the fire went out and I saw from the mirrors that it wasn’t on fire anymore. It wouldn’t have made any sense to stop there. I got some gas in my eyes and it burned for a long time but it didn’t matter.Turun Sanomat, Abu DhabiHEIKKI KULTA(source: http://www.ts.fi/f1/uutiset/84608.html)———————————————————–
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Lol, was about to post the same interview here. He`s just so relaxed and committed. I`m sure Robertson will give him a winning car. I`m sure Haug and Whitmarsh will take him for 2010.
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eh eh, I like to read how Kimi answers at any questions about team’s way of considering his team mates and not him. I hope that he’ll not finish his f1 career now, he has all to say to them all. go KIMI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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