Kimi Raikkonen will line up last on the grid for the second time in three races as Alfa Romeo’s poor start to the 2020 F1 season continued at Silverstone.
The C39 has been the slowest car at every track the series has visited so far this year. It’s been a rapid reversal of fortunes for the team which had the fifth-fastest car at the end of 2018, when Raikkonen signed for them.The team’s fortunes this year are closely tied to that of power unit supplier Ferrari, whose engines appear noticeably less potent than in 2019 following various FIA rules clarifications arising from their investigation into the Scuderia.
“It’s disappointing to be so far back when we gave everything we had,” said Raikkonen, who qualified last on Saturday. “But it is what it is right now. We struggle in qualifying and getting a better or worse lap means the difference between 16th and 20th, which is not that much of a change.”
As the compressed 2020 F1 calendar leaves little time to introduce updates, Raikkonen does not expect the situation to change in the near future.
“I don’t think there’s a simple solution to our issues, nor there is much you can do in a week or two, or else we would have done it already,” he said. “All we can do is [race], try our best and see where we end up.”
Despite Pirelli bringing softer tyres to this weekend’s race, none of the teams are lapping any quicker than they did last weekend. However some differences are striking. AlphaTauri got within three-hundredths of a second of their best lap time from last week, while Ferrari are over a second slower. The hotter conditions may also be playing a role in this.
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Nitzo (@webtel)
9th August 2020, 9:48
I have this disappointing yet strong feeling that we are seeing the last few races of Kimi in F1.
Jere (@jerejj)
9th August 2020, 10:30
@webtel Same here. I’d be willing to bet in favor of him, as well as Grosjean, and even Kvyat and Seb not racing in F1 next year.
Nick T.
9th August 2020, 11:05
Agreed on Kimi, Seb and DK.
Kimi gets bored easily. He’s not going to drive a piece of junk again. I wouldn’t be surprised if he quit mid-season if Sauber (it’ll always be Sauber to me) was OK with and wanted to try someone new + get cash from the driver in what is already a lost year. Kimi is very loyal to those who have been loyal to him in the past though. So, he won’t leave mid-season if the team prefers he stay.
Seb looks like he’s already checked out. Say what you will about his racing acumen, he’s always been a level 1 qualifier. I think he’s done with racing all together.
Kyvat is a misfire machine, but without the flashes of great pace he once showed.
Hopefully Grosjean is gone. We need some new blood. Hopefully, though we’ll see some adults from other series move in rather than just more mediocre, rich F2 graduates.
StephenH
9th August 2020, 11:18
Kimi’s had a great career. If he decides to walk away now I wouldn’t blame him.
F1 in Figures (@f1infigures)
9th August 2020, 12:03
A comparison between this qualifying and last week’s qualifying is more interesting I think.
It seems the higher temperatures and higher tire pressures really had a large impact, as most drivers the best part of a second slower than last week, even despite softer tires. Interestingly, Grosjean and Hülkenberg were quicker than last week, whereas Albon and Gasly were barely slower. Gasly was especially impressive, as the other three seemed to have under-performed last week. In Hülkenberg’s case, this was likely due to unfamiliarity with the car.
Most negatively affected were Ferrari, McLaren and Alfa Romeo.
praxis (@praxis)
9th August 2020, 13:06
This is probably the 4th or 5th time I’m asking in F1Fanatic/RaceFans, in last 4 years….
Why doesn’t Kimi retire?
And nobody is going to get offended here this time, I guess.
This is coming from a long time Kimi fan. I used to have posters and desktop wallpapers of the McLarens and Ferraris he drove. Then again, I’ve turned into a cynical adult compared to the impressionable high-schooler/undergrad back them. I thought he was the driver to to admire and support after Häkkinen. And his comeback to F1 (along with Button’s famous win in Canada 2012) was one of the reasons I started following F1 again, properly.
Rodber
9th August 2020, 13:22
How about Vasseur going, and Kimi staying?
How about Kimi taking over the team and building a new ethos, with him and Seb as drivers and no GIO or Kubica?
regs (@regs)
9th August 2020, 19:40
Alfa Romeo needs to copy Ferrari car as quickly as possible to finish this season with a new car.
Dale
9th August 2020, 22:39
Once again we see the effect of the Ferrari engine penalty hurting all 3 of the teams, & the Mercedes improvement moving those teams forward.
The risks of customer teams becoming B teams like Tracing Point are too high for F1 to allow that to become common place.