Luca di Montezemolo: Raikkonen can beat Alonso
“Raikkonen’s case is almost identical to Lauda,” Montezemolo says in Gazzetta dello Sport. “Also Niki at a certain point said ‘enough’ because he couldn’t do it any more. I’m speaking of the twin brother of Kimi, because the driver who we had racing for us wasn’t the one we hired. The break has done him good, he has returned to greatness, he’s won races, he’s finished lots of races. I wanted a driver who would make me look back on Massa with regret and I’ve got one. From Raikkonen I am demanding victories, consistency, podiums. Alonso will be the main beneficiary. Returning to Lauda, when he came back remember he beat Prost (his McLaren team mate) to the world championship..”
“I know both Fernando and Kimi on and off the track and I rate them as excellent drivers, but I’m afraid they will collide when sharing the team,” said Massa in an interview with Brazilian F1 broadcaster Galvao Bueno on TV Globo. “I told the bosses to breathe as much as possible while they still can because it will be hard for them to breathe next season. I’m sure Fernando likes me, he has to. We have a nice relationship, I’m sure he sees me as a personal friend as I see him. Kimi and myself are also good friends, much more than when we were team-mates.”
“I don’t see this duo as a match. Kimi doesn’t care who is in the other car, but Fernando won’t like the fact that it’s Kimi,” Whitmarsh replied to Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat. “Drivers don’t have to love each other and these two drivers are very “slash and burn” top drivers. In some things they can be an incredibly strong team when thinking of their driving skills, but it will become a very challenging situation for the team itself. This setting doesn’t affect Kimi at all, but I predict that it affects Fernando very deeply.”
“For motor sport fans it will certainly be a blast, and make for a tough competition. It will be exciting to watch,” Michael Schumacher told Bild newspaper. “But Ferrari with Fernando and Kimi – it sounds like an explosive mixture,”
Andrea Stella (Kimi’s ex-Ferrari engineer):
“There is a very positive atmosphere in Maranello after the Kimi-news. As a matter of fact the team was very sorry four years ago when we learned Kimi was leaving Ferrari,” Andrea Stella tells Turun Sanomat. “Kimi left a really strong picture of his driving in endseason 2009. He gave us a long chain of podiums, even one victory although we knew how limited the resources of that year’s car offered him. Kimi is very much welcomed back to the team.”
“Speaking as a fan I would say it is good to have two number ones together,” Alain Prost told a French television broadcast. “I think it’s a choice born from a certain tension between Fernando and the Scuderia that has been clearly evident during the year. Now he will no longer be the undisputed number 1, at least not initially, and I’m not sure that Stefano Domenicali has the ability of a Jean Todt or a Ross Brawn to handle a situation like this. In Italy the press applies a lot of pressure, so I presume that sooner or later there will be trouble,”
Mika Hakkinen on Kimi back at Ferrari:
“I think Kimi’s driving style is such a perfect to those turbocars. Alonso is pushing too hard, so I think Kimi will beat him,” Häkkinen wrote in his column. “Everyone knows that Ferrari has a huge resources to developing car during the season. The development wont stop even if some good engineers leaves. And Kimi has not to be worried about the finance, Ferrari has it. At next year there are coming such a huge changes of rules, so its better to have a seat in a good team. And Kimi knows it.”
“I want to start by saying how important Felipe [Massa] has been to the history of our team, but I can also say that Kimi’s return is good news,” Gene admitted, “Along with Fernando, they will make a very strong and experienced pairing, the only one on the grid made up of two world champions. The team knows Kimi well and he knows the team too: I am sure he will be able to do a very good job with us as from next year.”
“I think Fernando will see it as a positive thing,” Webber told AUTOSPORT during an appearance for Red Bull sponsor Geox in London. “The positives for me are that Fernando needs to be pushed more on Saturday afternoons; which he will live for. Kimi will lift him and help him to get a bit more out of himself on Saturday afternoons. On Sundays there is no question, we know Fernando is a brilliant racer, but on Saturdays Kimi will lift him to another level. Fernando will also see it as an opportunity to do well against Kimi. He will back himself in this situation. The team will have to be careful on the technical front,” explained the Australian. “Kimi we know is a phenomenal guy, but it will be interesting to see if Fernando feels it will be even in terms of the work rate going on. It is a big, big technical challenge next year. Both drivers have to put a lot into that and I don’t think Fernando will be too happy if it is all one sided. It is going to be a tasty finish to both their careers; both Fernando and Kimi. At the end of next year they are in the twilight, it will come around pretty quick, and brilliant for both F1 and also for Ferrari.
KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN SPACE 
Never before have a new season been so awaited while the old or present season just has gone past two third. Thrilling days are to come, on and off track.
LikeLike
Agreed Lars! Looking forward to 2014.
LikeLike
Hope Ferrari will shift all their resources on next year’s car very soon, Alonso is pursuing a title Vettel has already won, it will also provide Kimi’s more chance to win another race this season, Texas should be the best opportunity personnally.
LikeLike
2 roosters in the hen house?
That can only spell BEEG trouble! Kimi is no Massa or Barrichello, and he will prove that very quickly, enough to ruffle Fernando’s feathers BEEG time.
Remember this, “Just leave me alone”? Or will that turn out to be, “Just leave me Alonso!”
It’s definitely going to be one cock-a doodle-doo of a season!
LikeLike
http://plus.autosport.com/premium/feature/5571/alesi-on-raikkonen-joining-alonso/
Whenever I tell my friends outside motor racing that I’m racing at Goodwood, I always say that I cannot explain just how incredible it actually is. It is always amazing!
I first came here in 2000 for the Festival of Speed. That is more like a big party, more a big show, but the Revival is a real racing event like no other. What makes it so special is that everyone plays their part: not just the drivers, but the public too – just look at the grandstand and the pits. It’s the most beautiful event in terms of historic racing for me.
As a driver, you need a lot of respect for the Goodwood circuit. The speeds are high, easily reached, and in these types of car the high-speed conditions makes them very interesting to drive.
You need to think about the safety of the car when you’re driving; you have to be respectful about that too. The attitude behind the wheel is not ‘drive to the maximum’ but to enjoy these wonderful moments. I think everyone would like my position to drive a car like the 250 GTO – I’m not an ex-Formula 1 driver in this car, I’m just a lucky guy!
I also really enjoyed being on the podium at Monza the week before; that was also a magic moment. I spoke with Adrian Newey and Christian Horner over the weekend at Goodwood, and I told them that all the boos were not against Vettel or Red Bull, it’s just that the public there are all Ferrari fans.
I remember when I first moved from Ferrari to Benetton, I finished second behind Michael. I didn’t get a boo, but I’m sure if I had to speak, like they have to now, I would have been booed!
Alesi enjoyed being on the podium at Monza, despite the booing © XPB
Red Bull and Vettel are doing such a great job, they deserve their success. It’s not luck or coincidence they keep winning. Sure, last year, Fernando Alonso was unlucky twice at the start, in Belgium and Japan, and he drove a super championship but he didn’t have the car or the speed to win on the track. This year, Red Bull are making perfect weekends with the car, the strategy and the pitstops.
Now Ferrari has signed Kimi Raikkonen to partner Fernando next year. Following the whole story, I think Fernando made a big mistake when he started to fight Ferrari. They had to prepare the team in case he wanted to quit.
When he was looking around there was no room for him anywhere else, at one stage it looked like he was thinking to have one year off. At Ferrari, they cannot have Massa and a young driver.
So I am sure they prepared the Kimi deal with that in mind. I know the announcement was after Monza, but I am sure they already had something signed when Fernando was upset and Kimi was available.
As I know from my time at Ferrari, when they sacked Alain Prost, you cannot criticise a team like Ferrari. All the big teams, with their huge effort and budgets, their image cannot be attacked by any driver.
How will Kimi and Fernando be as team-mates You know, it’s like the beginning of a marriage. After the wedding we will see what happens – sometimes it doesn’t last very long!
It’s going to be interesting to see how they compare. I think the role of [team principal] Stefano Domenicali is going to be more difficult. Straight away he must be clear with both of them, although Kimi is not the kind of guy who listens to rumours or reads the newspapers.
It will be easy for Domenicali from Kimi’s side, it’s Fernando who will have to understand that the cake is now cut into two parts! I think Ferrari is not just looking to compete for the drivers’ championship but also the constructors’.
Felipe Massa did eight years with Ferrari and he’s done a great job, working hard – sometimes he was like Fernando’s test driver on a grand prix Friday. Sometimes you have sacrifice someone to change the spirit in a team.
I think the comeback of Kimi with Lotus, after his years away in rallying has been amazing. He was not rallying like he drove in F1 – he was just enjoying himself with less pressure. He has been extremely into it since he came back, and Romain Grosjean is not a bad driver at all to compare his speed against. Some people don’t realise that Kimi is a sensitive guy, he’s not an animal in the way he behaves as so many people think.
I’m sure Kimi will push Fernando more next year.
LikeLike