Raikkonen on course for 2016 Ferrari contract extension

If Kimi continues as he has, he will stay at Ferrari in 2016. I know that even Marchionne jumped on the chair, watching the first lap ‘made in China’.

In Maranello, they are seriously thinking of proposing to the blond an extension of the contract, which expires at the end of this season. They’re just awaiting little confirmations.

The Holy Drinker, as seen on the slopes of Melbourne, Sepang and Shanghai, is very determined. He’s also very fast, at least in the race (in qualifying, honestly, a little less). And it is a shame that you can not know the full extent of dialogues via radio during the races. I assure you that they are not only fun, but also very instructive.

Raikkonen wants to stay and you realize that, given the events of 2014, the results now are the best … it’s a deposit. If he can still let the stopwatches talk for him, he will get what he wants: to end his career with the team that he so very strongly wanted to win back, recreating what in modern times had been accomplished only by Clay Regazzoni and Gerardone Berger.

It would do a favor to Maurizio Arrivabene, who would have more time to think about the medium-term prospects, notwithstanding the undeniable presence of Seb Vettel.

Ok, everything is in the hands (and feet) of the last world champion with the Red Army.

Give to Kimi what makes him

by Leo Turrini | Translation courtesy of Claudio Acquista

When I was a boy, Diego Armando Maradona came to play in Italy. A colleague, after having seen him for the first time playing with a Napoli jersey (shirt), wrote a sentence that went something like this: a dribble of Pibe is worth the ticket price.

Now, I don’t proclaim that Raikkonen is the Maradona of Formula One: I have the sense of proportion. However, considering just the first round of the blonde in Shanghai, it was worth, in fact, the price of the ticket. The rapid double overtake on Williams was a bit of a way to respond: to himself, after the uncertainty of Saturday.

When I say that Kimi should give more in qualifying, I say an obvious thing. Because, in the races, even in the disaster of a season ago, who wanted to know and could understand that talent had not gone away…. that talent still lives in the head and lay at the feet of the Holy Drinker. Of course, Vettel finished third and I am very happy. The key thing is that we have two great drivers in Ferrari.

Two. After that … The Mercedes was ahead and remained ahead. Hamilton is in a state of grace. But for Ferrari, there are now three podiums in three races. Last year there were two throughout the whole season. I also add (in my considerations) the final gap: having Rosberg not so far away, it’s not that The Black (Ham) has led with his elbow outside. So, the Red is not far away and there is still space for development (for all, eh: even for the Silver Arrows).

In short: dreaming, they can do it. Dreaming. Do not forget that early in the season the first goal of Ferrari was to climb over the Williams. In China, it was clear that this mission is accomplished. I do not know what Alonso thought when Ferrari lapped him. But I know that it would be in the interest of Fernando to simply stop commenting on the current performance of the Red Army. It’s not useful to him. McLaren Honda, in fact, is embarrassing. And here I stop.

Too bad for Verstappen, who has been really good. But in general the situation of Team Renault is disastrous. This still does not justify the rise of the bibitari (*Leo would say that they speak with no brain). And as I always write, you have to know how to lose. I would like to reassure my friend Luisa. I would love to interact with you during the Grand Prix, I did it only twice in my life (Belgium 2010 and Brazil in 2012) and I enjoyed it very much. But I just do not have time.