Kimi Raikkonen’s return to Ferrari has sparked quite a debate, largely over the fact that he will join Fernando Alonso and shake up the usual philosophy at the Scuderia. The Finn will re-join Formula 1’s most successful team, Felipe Massa handing over the company car keys at the end of the season.
Helpful hint Kimi, insuring that beast of a company car with a reliable provider will be vital: Express Insurance is the one that I would recommend. Over the past four years Ferrari have fielded clear number one and number two drivers, with Alonso always having the back-up of team-mate Felipe Massa.
However, that is all set to change with Raikkonen’s arrival. There will be two world champions at Ferrari for the first time since 1953, when Alberto Ascari and Guiseppe Farina were partnered, and personally I think this will be great for the sport.
There has been a lot of discussion recently about whether the move by Ferrari will create fireworks. Alain Prost believes that the pairing will work but Jenson Button and a handful of others feel the complete opposite.
Me on the other hand, I can see both sides but I don’t think the predicted off-track fireworks will materialise. There will, however, definitely be some dramatic on-track action and I can’t wait to see them in action.
For one, Alonso hasn’t had a team-mate capable of beating him since 2007, when he was partnered with rookie Lewis Hamilton at McLaren. Now that didn’t end very well and he eventually left the Woking based squad to return to Renault for the following season.
However, I don’t think Alonso is like that now. I can’t say 100% that he will be happy if Raikkonen is consistently ahead of him, but I don’t think he will handle it like he did back in 2007. He has matured a lot more in recent years and he himself doesn’t think it will be an issue.
Kimi, on the other hand, is a completely different character. He is an enigma, so everyone is curious to see how he will handle being partnered with Alonso. I don’t think he will care if he is beating Alonso, or if he is being beaten for that matter. He just loves to race and loves to win, that is his goal.
However that attitude could backfire if he does feel that Alonso is getting special treatment or if he isn’t winning. We know he is a man of few words so it is unlikely that he will kick up too much of a fuss, but he is very honest and I think that if he isn’t happy, we will know.
The signing of Kimi Raikkonen is a gamble, that is for sure, but I don’t think the ‘fireworks’ that are being predicted will happen. However nothing is certain and I can’t wait to see how they will fare in the same team. I agree with Lewis Hamilton when he said that Ferrari now have the strongest line-up for the 2014 season, now it is up to the guys at Maranello to produce a car worthy of challenging for both titles as that is their main aim.
And there is no doubt that having Raikkonen on board will help that. It will be a huge boost for them to have two drivers capable of consistently winning and scoring. I’m not saying Massa is ever incapable of winning but if you look at the evidence from past championship standings, as well as the current points table, he isn’t bringing in the points for Ferrari to even get a sniff at the constructors.
I also feel that Ferrari’s 2014 line-up will help both drivers to push themselves more and get more out of each other. That will help push the team forward as a result. If Alonso is being beaten by Raikkonen, he will definitely want to get ahead and vice-versa in his new team-mates case.
But what intrigues me about Raikkonen's signing is the short nature of his contract. He has only signed a two year deal and those two years could be his last in F1. The aggressive move could be to open up a seat in 2015 for Sebastian Vettel.
One thing is for sure; all eyes will be on Ferrari when the 2014 season kicks off next March in Australia and I cannot wait.
What are your thoughts on this? Have Ferrari made a mistake in fielding two number one drivers, can it work? Leave me a comment below or share your thoughts with me on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
This article is sponsored by Express Insurance.
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
Helpful hint Kimi, insuring that beast of a company car with a reliable provider will be vital: Express Insurance is the one that I would recommend. Over the past four years Ferrari have fielded clear number one and number two drivers, with Alonso always having the back-up of team-mate Felipe Massa.
However, that is all set to change with Raikkonen’s arrival. There will be two world champions at Ferrari for the first time since 1953, when Alberto Ascari and Guiseppe Farina were partnered, and personally I think this will be great for the sport.
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
Me on the other hand, I can see both sides but I don’t think the predicted off-track fireworks will materialise. There will, however, definitely be some dramatic on-track action and I can’t wait to see them in action.
For one, Alonso hasn’t had a team-mate capable of beating him since 2007, when he was partnered with rookie Lewis Hamilton at McLaren. Now that didn’t end very well and he eventually left the Woking based squad to return to Renault for the following season.
However, I don’t think Alonso is like that now. I can’t say 100% that he will be happy if Raikkonen is consistently ahead of him, but I don’t think he will handle it like he did back in 2007. He has matured a lot more in recent years and he himself doesn’t think it will be an issue.
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
However that attitude could backfire if he does feel that Alonso is getting special treatment or if he isn’t winning. We know he is a man of few words so it is unlikely that he will kick up too much of a fuss, but he is very honest and I think that if he isn’t happy, we will know.
The signing of Kimi Raikkonen is a gamble, that is for sure, but I don’t think the ‘fireworks’ that are being predicted will happen. However nothing is certain and I can’t wait to see how they will fare in the same team. I agree with Lewis Hamilton when he said that Ferrari now have the strongest line-up for the 2014 season, now it is up to the guys at Maranello to produce a car worthy of challenging for both titles as that is their main aim.
And there is no doubt that having Raikkonen on board will help that. It will be a huge boost for them to have two drivers capable of consistently winning and scoring. I’m not saying Massa is ever incapable of winning but if you look at the evidence from past championship standings, as well as the current points table, he isn’t bringing in the points for Ferrari to even get a sniff at the constructors.
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
I also feel that Ferrari’s 2014 line-up will help both drivers to push themselves more and get more out of each other. That will help push the team forward as a result. If Alonso is being beaten by Raikkonen, he will definitely want to get ahead and vice-versa in his new team-mates case.
But what intrigues me about Raikkonen's signing is the short nature of his contract. He has only signed a two year deal and those two years could be his last in F1. The aggressive move could be to open up a seat in 2015 for Sebastian Vettel.
One thing is for sure; all eyes will be on Ferrari when the 2014 season kicks off next March in Australia and I cannot wait.
What are your thoughts on this? Have Ferrari made a mistake in fielding two number one drivers, can it work? Leave me a comment below or share your thoughts with me on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
This article is sponsored by Express Insurance.
No comments:
Post a Comment