Is Kimi Raikkonen ready for F1?

Speed Demon · 25 Nov 2000, 16:35 (Ref:49869)

The poll on whether Raikkonen should get a super licence (I think he should) interests me.

This kid is something special. I was at Donington Park this summer, and watched most of the races from the complex section. What was evident that day was that a lot of the drivers were finding it tough to find their braking points for the chicanes, locking wheels, going wide or overshooting completely. Experienced drivers such as Alain Menu spent the whole afternoon comprehensively mucking it up.

I was looking forward to the FRenault 2000 race, because I'd already heard a lot of things about Raikkonen and wanted to see for myself how good he was. All I can say is that if he made any mistakes, I didn't see them. Time after time he would enter the chicanes perfectly, without any trace of tyre smoke - and that after braking later than the rest. No one could come close and he won the race by something like 15 seconds (maybe even more, I can't recall). Remember all the cars are identical, so this was some margin.

He was a dominant winner on many other occassions in 2000, and while he may only have completed 23 races, when you're ready, you're ready. Bear in mind that Peter Sauber is naturally conservative and not one to gamble at all, so he must be utterly convinced in Raikkonen's abilities.

Personally, I hope he races in F1 next year and for many years to come. The future of F1 should then see some enthralling battles between JPM, Button and Raikkonen for the driver's crown!

crash · 25 Nov 2000, 20:27 (Ref:49885)

Tris · 25 Nov 2000, 20:51 (Ref:49893)

Quote:

Originally posted by Speed Demon
The poll on whether Raikkonen should get a super licence (I think he should) interests me.

This kid is something special.

Hi Speed Demon..

OK I remember seeing Senna in FF1600, FF2000 and F3 at Oulton Park in my youth. Senna believed he needed experience to go into Formula One. Raikkonen is not experienced enough for F1, full stop! If he gets a super license F1 will be a farce.

crash · 25 Nov 2000, 21:00 (Ref:49896)

Tris, you are probably right - Kimi is too young.

But imagine the excitement he'd bring to the sport if he was a failure, or if he kept crashing or something.

BTW, i think Rakkinen is making a bad move. In the past, no world champion has driver for a really low team before moving up.

Michael Schumacher started at Jordan
Mika Hakkinen at Lotus
David Coulthard at Williams
Jacques Villeneuve at Williams

I don't think he'll be as good as Button, but it is hard to say. Only time will tell...

Speed Demon · 25 Nov 2000, 21:12 (Ref:49901)

Hi Tris, crash!

How can you say Raikkonen doesn't deserve a super licence, when someone like Taki Inoue, Philippe Adams or Gianni Lavaggi did? What had they done collectively that marked them out as more capable in a Formula 1 car than Raikkonen?

It's not as if he won't have had plenty of testing miles under his belt by the start of the season. I don't buy this 'inexperienced drivers are more dangerous' theory. I've seen some pretty ludicrous manoeuvres pulled by a certain P. Diniz this year - and he has been in F1 for 5 years! I'd tend to agree with you if Raikkonen had a history of crashing wildly, but the fact is he doesn't.

I realise Keke Rosberg is hardly unbiased - but would he let his young charge go to F1 if he wasn't ready? Don't forget, this is the man who was willing to put Olivier Panis' career on hold in order to re-establish him in a top team, when he could have brokered a deal with a lesser outfit.

Some drivers are simply more ready than others. Yes, it would break the mould but I hardly think it would make F1 a farce (some would say it is already anyway

).

I'm not altogether sure why I feel so strongly about this, I just get a gut feeling that he really could be one of the all-time greats. Why waste his time in F3 or F3000 when he can take the plunge and learn F1 first hand?

Tris · 25 Nov 2000, 23:42 (Ref:49932)

Hmm...

OK Crash... WDC's in **** teams in there ealy carrers..

Senna... Toleman.
Prost... Tyrrell in 1980
Piquet... Ensign
Rosberg.. Theodore

I could go on..

Speed Demon.. I did not say I though the young Finn is not good enough, I said he is not ready. F3 is crucial to driver development.. Competition against others in cars that are virtually identical, blah blah..

It is not just speed it is learning how to set up a car. If you want to take the lead from Button he could learn from Ralf but who is Raikkonen going to learn from if he joins Sauber, Diniz? Even Senna was rubbish, despite his raw speed until he learn how to set-up his vehicle from other drivers. That is why he never won the Kart World championship, he was not good enough on set-up at that time.

marcus · 26 Nov 2000, 00:58 (Ref:49937)

Poll topic: Should Kimi Raikkonen be given a superlicence to compete
in F1 in 2001?

*Yes 45.6% (26 votes)
*No 43.8% (25 votes)
*Unsure 10.5% (6 votes)

these are the results from that poll question and it seems visitors to this site are pretty even on whether or not Kimi should be in F1..I have not seen him race at all so I dont know..but just on the facts presented on paper it would seem that he should not be given a superlicence.

crash · 26 Nov 2000, 04:26 (Ref:49939)

Good Point Tris regarding champions who started in **** cars - BUT, these all occurred back in the early 1980's or there abouts, didn't they?

But now, F1 is maybe 70% the car, where as in 1980, it was, let's say, 50%. So it would have been easier then for a driver to be discovered.

Now it is hard to know who is a good driver and who isn't. I doubt that Kimi would be much faster than heidfeld or whoever will have the second seat at Sauber. Simply because it is mainly the car that makes a team win or lose these days.

If TGF were in a Minardi, he'd proabably only be marginally faster than Mazzacane.

You never know, Marc Gene could be faster than Mika Hakkinen ;-)

:-)Have a mega day :-)

Tris · 26 Nov 2000, 07:33 (Ref:49948)

Crash....

There is more to driving in F1 driving. I keep banging on about it but set-up had a massive effect on performance and F1 cars are harder to set up well than any lower formulea. Drivers have to learn set-up. (Lets face if heildfeld is no F1 veteran!)

To take an example form recent(ish) history when Alesi joined Benettin at the end of 1995 he thought the B195 was amazing. He loved the feel of the car when he used Schumacher's setting but he thought the car was terrible wen he tried to find his own settings.

Gt_R · 26 Nov 2000, 11:07 (Ref:49957)

he is good enough in terms of speed....but one more year in F3000 surely would do his race-craft no harm.

F1 is more than just speed in a lap or two. It needs stamina to be at your best for an hour half, its about the details of setup, it is about to squeeze that extra half a second out of the car, it is the pressure of competition and of media.

F1 is not the top of motor-racing for nothing.

The current F1 car seems to be so-called "easy" to get up to speed. I am sure many drivers could put in so-called competitive times. You can drive it fast, but can you drive the maximum of the car?

Drivers like Michael and Mika can squeeze the absolute out of a car, at the maximum for 50laps..but drivers like Diniz could not...yes..he is fast...but not THAT FAST to win a championship. We want the best in F1, not the mere good drivers.

EERO · 27 Nov 2000, 18:42 (Ref:50035)

I'm willing to bet that Button's first year success may prove to be an anomoly. Raikkonen's cannot be set back by a year in F3 or F3000. If he is as good as Keke thinks he is,, he'll shine on then next step on the ladder and in 2002 of 2003, while still young, he can move up.

Speed Demon · 27 Nov 2000, 18:50 (Ref:50041)

I'll eat my hat if I'm wrong (I say this safe in the knowledge that I don't wear them

) but...

If Kimi does get to F1 next year, I'd wager he'd be anything but a failure. Perhaps not as impressive as Button, but then, unless Sauber pulls something stunning out of the bag, he won't have the same quality of car.

However, I do seem to be a lone voice in the wilderness here. Perhaps it's because I've seen him race. Anyone else out there also seen him race? What do you think of him?

Dan Friel · 27 Nov 2000, 19:55 (Ref:50061)

Seen him race.. he came fourth.

However, he is good.. but remeber that moving up too quick can ruin a career.. I bet Jan Magnusson would agree, the most successful F3 driver of all time (better than Senna), where is he now??

Marshal · 28 Nov 2000, 09:32 (Ref:50141)

Seen him race, he won. He didn't impress me as much as Button did when he was in F3.

I think Kimi should race F3 or F3000 next year. If he's good enough he'll make it.

Dino IV · 28 Nov 2000, 11:45 (Ref:50148)

I am with Speed Demon on this one; he has shown he's ready, so let Sauber have him going. No doubt he'll be fine.

Dan Friel> Jan Magnussen's problem was the opposite of your statement. He didn't move up too quick, he actually ruined his career by moving up too slow.

Speed Demon · 4 Mar 2001, 15:24 (Ref:68140)

Quote:

Originally posted by Speed Demon
I'll eat my hat if I'm wrong (I say this safe in the knowledge that I don't wear them ) but...

If Kimi does get to F1 next year, I'd wager he'd be anything but a failure. Perhaps not as impressive as Button, but then, unless Sauber pulls something stunning out of the bag, he won't have the same quality of car.

Forgive me from dragging up an old post - but then I'm feeling rather vindicated at the moment.

Raikkonen is now the 50th driver to score a point on his debut and made precious few mistakes over the weekend. If memory serves, last year Button stuffed the car in the wall in qualifying and lined up at the back of grid. Admittedly he made great progress in the race and could have - but didn't - finish in the points. Afterwards there weren't many after Melbourne 2000 who thought Button wasn't ready for F1. So I rather hope the Kimi isn't ready brigade will shut up now.

Either way, it seems my hat eating days are behind me. Well done Kimi!

Carla O · 4 Mar 2001, 15:36 (Ref:68145)

Quote:

Originally posted by Speed Demon

Either way, it seems my hat eating days are behind me. Well done Kimi!

I can lend you some old hats to eat, if you really want to keep your promise!

EERO · 4 Mar 2001, 15:40 (Ref:68147)

Well, on the basis of yesterday's performance, he was polished, fast and very professional-GO KIMI!!!!!!

**Bononi** · 4 Mar 2001, 15:49 (Ref:68151)

Kimi was fine.
Hope he keeps developing his skills. That's the only fear I have, if he doesn't focus in his development, he might be lost for F1.

R · 4 Mar 2001, 16:10 (Ref:68159)

Definitely a good debut by Kimi, and it would have been even if he hadn't scored that point (which happened through inheriting 6th after Panis was penalised for overtaking under yellow and demoted to 7th, but they all count). Question is: Will the Sauber be equally competitive as the season progresses??

Liz · 5 Mar 2001, 00:04 (Ref:68331)

Zonta was vouchered into 6th place at Melbourne last year too, after a pretty decent drive. I don't think we can judge him on the basis of one race, but I certainly liked what I saw yesterday.

If he doesn't make the cut, he is young enough to go back to F3000 and get a year and then come back up. Tora Tagaki did that in Champ Cars and it seems to have revitalized him (at least in testing). But it could be that he is simply that good. Time will tell.

Valve Bounce · 5 Mar 2001, 00:53 (Ref:68346)

He did well, no silly mistakes and I got the impression that he is definitely here to stay. He also qualified very well.

EERO · 5 Mar 2001, 02:56 (Ref:68358)

Looking at past form during recent seasons, Sauber start well and don't seem to be able to develop their car as the season progresses. If Heidfeld and Raikkonen can make strong enough impressions, they may save their careers yet-but it Sauber scores more than 10 points this season, I'll eat my 10/Tenth's hat.

What made Raikkonen's drive so impressive is that I suspect many believed he would trigger a start-line or first corner shunt or fold under the pressure of qualifying-the fact is, the kid drove a seasoned race. He was remarkably mature for such a young and inexperienced driver. If he had finished 11th and qualified 19th, no one would have thought the less of him. Given how well he did, it is worthy of note.

Dino IV · 5 Mar 2001, 03:05 (Ref:68362)

Uha that's gonna be a though bite, EERO

For starters send one hat to Mosley for his grand feeling for talent. That should give us a nice splash-screen.

Sauber can develop to a higher level during the season. Their weakest point is the amount of downforce they can get from the car and that can be developed sufficiently during the season. Brunner already showed all the teams the way for an extra rear wing element and with some developement of the rear of the car they can grow even stronger.

It's all hard to predict anyway becaus of the RC-game that replaces F1 from Spain onwards unfortunately. But 25 points should be achievable if Michelin takes a while to get to the Bridgestone level.

Wrex · 5 Mar 2001, 04:52 (Ref:68378)

I must admit to being a (temporary) Kimmi convert. He drove an excellent race and was deserving of his 7th (now 6th) position.

However, I am still concerned at the precedent being set. Surely there must be a minimum standard ALL drivers must attain. If he is trully brilliant, he would have made it to F1 anyway.

But the bucket load's of $$$$ seem to force out more experienced drivers (Webber for example) that just don't have that saught of money.

Call me old fasioned, but I like to think that (most

) of the 22 drivers on the grid should be the best drivers in the world.

In the mean time Kimmi, keep up those brilliant performances.

PS : Where can I get a Ten-Tenths cap to eat?

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