Ferrari CEO indicates Raikkonen and Vettel are likely to stay for 2018

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In the round-up: Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne indicates Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel are likely to be retained by Ferrari next year.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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83 comments on “Ferrari CEO indicates Raikkonen and Vettel are likely to stay for 2018”

  1. GtisBetter (@)
    1st August 2017, 0:12

    I think there will be no driver change at Ferrari, Mercedes or RB, which means most midfield people can’t move up and will stay there. McLaren, torro Rosso and force India will most likely stay the same, haas already confirmed it. So that leaves just Renault, Williams and Sauber. I do expect Sauber to take leclerc along and with Marcus his cash I fear for wehrlein.

    1. If Sauber’s Swedish financiers stay on, the only move that could possibly happen would be replacing Ericson with Rosenqvist. I do fear for Wehrlein’s seat as well, but apart from the occasional points finish he is showing too little of note. Especially if Ferrari throws in a nice discount, there’s no reason for Sauber to say no to either Giovinazzi or Leclerc.

      That being said, while I massively respect the work done by the three true top teams of the current turbo era, it’s frustrating that they’ve all very sensibly kept their drivers on (apart from Rosberg retiring). Now, if suddenly Renault, Force India or Haas were able to pull off growth similar to Red Bull or Mercedes, the team might carry a driver to the top, but sadly it seems we’re rather gridlocked for winning drivers and winning cars..

      1. It would be really interesting to see some FE drivers back or going to F1. DiGrass/Sam Bird/Buemi/Vergne/Rosenviqst could be better that some guys on the grid.

        1. I doubt that, the quality of the current grid is incredibly high. I can only think of two drivers who I would change (they are Ericsson and Kvyat for the record), and one of those would be a very reluctant change (Kvyat, because I still think he has potential – it is easier to tame a quick driver than make a slow driver quick).

          1. @geemac Interesting you don’t put Palmer on this list.

          2. I’m a bit embarrassed to say I forgot he was on the grid @mike-dee!

          3. No Palmer?

          4. Add Stroll if you please.

      2. I think that’s slightly unfair on Werhlein, isn’t it? He doesn’t really have a car that can regularly take points. With McLaren’s showing since Austria, it’s clear Sauber have the slowest car, with year old engines no less. I think his drives at the beginning of the year to take points were great – making hay while the sun shines, and he has achieved far more in the same car than Ericsson who should be more familiar with the car and team.
        His performances in the Manor last year were pretty awesome too, to get that point in a dry race in Austria.

    2. I can see Hamilton retiring at the end of the season if he doesn’t win the championship… He doesn’t look as committed and frankly he’s not at his best this season, also he just looks fed up of press conferences, team politics and F1 in general… That would certainly shake things up a bit

      1. He will probably retire from F1 with Mercedes but he will definitely be in F1 for another 2-3 more years, or at least, as long as Mercedes is competitive.

      2. I think Lewis shall need to sleep in a formula 1 car to demonstrate commitment for some folks and prove year after that he is not retiring…..age is on his side too/

      3. he’s not at his best this season

        He’s quite far from his worst though IMHO

    3. @passingisoverrated So you’ve decided FA is staying at Mac? I think I’ll wait for an official announcement on that.

      1. GtisBetter (@)
        1st August 2017, 20:33

        Both mercedes and Ferrari have said they have no interest in Alonso, there is no room at RB, so he can’t move up. I think he will stay. I don’t see any indycar team putting up the money for him, so unless Alonso takes a big paycut he won’t move to Indy and with LMP1 virtually gone i can’t see any series that will peak his interest. Still, it will no doubt depend on what honda decides.

        1. When did Mercedes say that?

  2. Yes (@come-on-kubica)
    1st August 2017, 1:00

    As much as I love Kimi, Ferrari need someone else alongside Vettel in that car. Kimi has been unlucky this season and in some races he’s been fantastic but he still has a few weekends where he is nowhere. Plus would like to see what a fresh challenger to Vettel would look like.

    1. Marian Gri (@)
      1st August 2017, 5:57

      Agree, but we kinda know how things will look like if a younger driver (yet experienced tho; GRO for example) will replace RAI: a more balanced situation, more or less similar to what we have at Mercedes and RBR. Ferrari is just the 2nd best car all around car, I guess it’s obvious now, a faster and more consistent driver in the 2nd car would have meant (a lot) less chances to win the WDC (maybe more chances to win the WCC tho), they also avoid clashes between their drivers.

    2. I am actually starting to admire how he can keep at least somewhat motivated with being Vettels tool and the team using him to test strategies, block other cars so that Vettel can have a better chance and keep rear guard despite being faster on track at times. It is almost a wonder he sometimes does find the motivation to bother and be fast @corrado-dub, @come-on-kubica.

      By now, I think that unless a Verstappen or Hamilton comes in and forces Ferrari to have 2 drivers instead of the 1+helper model, a driver who does go to Ferrari will end up rather like Rubens did, or Irvine etc.

      1. Ferrari choose their lead driver before the start of the season, only in exceptional cases do they alter that mid season. But Ferrari don’t like loud mouths, the expect loyalty even if the team forgets to bring 3 wheels for your tyre change. Max cannot drive for them and expect he can complain about anything.

        1. The thing with Max would be that before he would be anywhere near closing a deal, he would get them to promise either equal status in the team (at least) or to make HIM the no. 1 driver (same would go for Hamilton) OOliver.

          There complainging would not be needed. Although Vettel would probably not like that a bit.

        2. I’m sorry, but where’s the proof Ferrari elected Vettel as a team leader before the season started? he put himself in the number position by being plain faster than Raikkonen on a consistent basis. Had the positions been reversed, I don’t think Ferrari would hesitate to throw their support at Raikkonen if there was a big points gap between them in Raikkonen’s favour. Vettel is the natural team leader because of moments like China, or Monaco where he was a second a lap faster. As a team boss, you’d be mad to give support to anyone else other than Vettel.
          Over in Merc, the situation is a lot closer between the drivers. I think Hamilton is all round quicker than Bottas but Bottas does just enough to keep himself in the game. That hasn’t stopped Merc from favouring Hamilton though, even though they have a less clear indicator to do so.

          1. Well, proof is hard to come by. It is however very noticable Vettel hs nearly double points of Kimi, while both can win it, it makes a pragmatic choice not to have their second drivet impede #1 driver in any way.

          2. Proof is the wide gap in pay, and Vettel saying he would like Kimi to be his team mate.
            And since the first race, Kimi has been more or less forgotten by the team during the races.

          3. OOliver

            Proof is the wide gap in pay

            which explains ROS winning the WDC last year?

          4. Mercedes is not Ferrari.

          5. OOliver and the proof that the difference between the two teams is such that the pay gap is sufficient as proof that one team treats their drivers one way but not the other team is….?

          6. Michael Brown (@)
            1st August 2017, 15:18

            SkyF1 is all the proof you need

      2. Marian Gri (@)
        1st August 2017, 10:16

        Yeah, but unfortunately things are not very rose for RAI in F1 anymore, let’s be honest. He may be a tool, but it’s a “worthy tool”. I mean, who would hire him anymore given his performances since 2014?!? The other top teams (Mercedes, RBR) 200% won’t hire him even he drives for free. Pretty sure most other teams won’t be hiring him anymore either for various reasons. He’s the oldest driver from the field, only ALO and MAS coming close to his age, rest of the drivers being at least 5 years younger. So, for RAI, having Ferrari at his door with a contract is the best thing that can happen to RAI in F1 anymore. His salary is 7mil + bonuses, max 10mil. Only VET, ALO, VET and BOT earn more than RAI in 2017. So, it’s a compromise for him (play it 2nd from time to time, but cash in the bank and decent results overall), he knows if he’s out of Ferrari… could be his last F1 entry.

        1. Ferrari will always be one rooster driver team…..they can’t afford the complications of having two roosters taking each others out for driver championship, it has worked well for them for years, so why change the winning formula….

        2. The question is not if other teams want Raikkonen, but if Raikkonen wants another team.

          He doesn’t.

  3. Disagree with the calls to cull Kimi. For who? An up and coming driver who will try and rattle Vettel and have his own agenda? A dedicated number two who is better than Kimi?

    Unfortunately Kimi is not the driver we all knew in the halcyon days of 2005. He is fast and solid but no longer a magician relative to everyone else. However he and Seb get on, when his car is reliable he is a solid back up, and he causes no problems for the team. Plus if the conditions are right he will win races in the Ferrari from time to time. Unless Seb leaves, I’d keep the pair together. They remind me of Mansell and Patrese at Williams.

    1. Very well said

    2. I remember Lotus praising Kimi for his technical feedback and often that kind of story comes from Maranello too. I think that the biggest ‘problem’ with replacing Kimi might be that there’s nobody out there performing well enough to justify replacing a driver that A. his teammate likes B. the team likes C. provides good feedback D. is good enough to do what Kimi did at Monaco and Hungary.

      While I’m biased, as Kimi is the only driver that comes close to my adoration of Michael Schumacher, I am hopeful the likes of Hulkenberg, Grosjean and Perez will descend upon a top team seat sooner or later, as Bottas is showing teams wouldn’t be taking a gamble with that kind of driver. But again, I don’t seen any of those 3 being as complete a driver for Ferrari as Kimi is right now.

      (Also, thanks Keith for the COTD, though I must humbly admit again that I read it elsewhere first, but for the life of me can’t find where.)

    3. Again…there were no team orders again, in Hungary. Kimi however played a great role as team player because he didn’t make a fuss about whether Ferrari should have forced Vettel to yield or have pitted Kimi first.

    4. Honestly, he’s way past his ‘Championship days’ . He might win a race or two a season if he gets a little lucky. To be brutally honest, he’s a mediocre #2 driver. Bottas is a way better #2 driver, and I could think of at least 2 or 3 more drivers (Hulk, Sainz and Perez) who would be better #2 drivers than Kimi.

      The only reason Kimi is being retained is because Vettel wants him around. Vettel knows Kimi is no championship threat, and he will obey team orders when thrown at him. After the whooping Vettel received at the hands of Ricciardo, I think Seb’s primary objective is to have a weak teammate who will simply support his title chances without complaining about it.

      Ferrari seem keen to retain Vettel, and from what I’ve been reading, re signing Kimi seems part of the deal as well. It’s quite a shame that Ferrari doesn’t care about the WCC, because they’re going to lose it to Mercedes purely because of Kimi this year.

      1. Agreed. Shame on Vettel for not wanting competition that would push him further.
        Taking the easy way out and I have tons of respect for Vettel.

        I think it was Prost who told Ron Dennis that he wanted Senna as his teammate. For that Prost will always be a fearless F1 Legend in my eyes.

        1. To be fair Prost did later leave for Ferrari (which isn’t to say Mansell’s a slouch though)

        2. Hmmm…well I don’t know if SV is to ‘blame’ for KR not being more competitive, or for insisting his teammate be a driver that is not too close to him, but if that is the case, and that is shameful, then I’d like to see LH ask that TW hire FA for next year. Any chance of that? No is the answer. LH will even back off by 9 seconds to show TW that he and VB get along and that he should therefore retain VB. Hopefully TW thinks as you wish SV would…have the two best possible drivers on the team being gladiators out there on the track, thrilling the fans. ie. TW should hire FA.

        3. Shame on Vettel for not wanting competition that would push him further.

          @todfod The myth kept alive by fans,…

          I said it a couple of days earlier but do you really think any driver would welcome a Vettel, Hamilton or Alonso with open arms into ‘his’ team? These are ruthless racers who have but one goal per season.

          1. I agree that Kimi seems a more mediocre performer than in his WDC winning days. I have never really warmed to him that much to be honest but that is just personal preference. I am surprised that he seems so compliant to play number 2 to Vettel. He is a former World Champion! What’s he going to achieve by sticking around unless he is lucky enough to get maybe one more race win.

            From Ferrari’s point of view though and Vettel’s, I can see why they would want him to stay. He is good enough to get a few podiums and he is a team player. They might not get this to such an extent with a less experienced and younger driver. However I would love to see one of the midfield drivers who have been around a while, given a chance in a top car e.g. Perez, Grosjean or Sainz instead.

          2. Phil Norman Grosjean is a bit of a complainer for my taste. Sainz is neither here nor there at times. Perez on the other hand in my opinion is a special talent. Before Perez moved to the McLaren decline era he was told Ferrari did not want him because of Alonso and now it is happening again with Vettel.

            The Mexicans will probably hate me for this but I think Perez is on the level of their beloved Rodriguez brothers if not better. Its funny because Enzo adored the Rodriquez brothers and he did not like anyone. I guess for Perez there is always Renault.

          3. @xtwl

            It’s obvious that no driver would welcome an Alonso, Hamilton or Vettel with open arms, but I didn’t expect any driver to be a coward enough to say he’s going to extend his contract only if a rubbish #2 driver is re-signed as well.

          4. @todfod Whenever has Vettel specifically stated that? Also we might not think much of Kimi but I’m fairly sure half of the young talents on the grid wouldn’t fare that much better against Vettel. Bottas isn’t really hounding Hamilton either.

        4. OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
          1st August 2017, 15:39

          No Nigel. Prost made Williams not to sign Senna in 1993 so he could win the championship. Such a tragedy that this was one of the main reasons why Senna decided to go to Williams in 1994.

  4. The Autoweek quote of Marchionne was live on SkyTV to Ted Kravitz.
    Maserati announced electric cars as of 2019 today.

    Petrol-based racing may decline, but will still be around for many years if horse racing is anything to go by.

    1. Petrol based racing will still be at the forefront in the near to medium term. Racing is a marketing exercise as much as it is an engineering endeavour.

      As things stand, the marquee offerings by the big manufacturers with sports car heritage are petrol hybrid. This will be the case until electrified versions can match or out-perform the petrol-hybrids. If memory serves me right, we’ve seen the R8 e-tron and SLS Electric drive, both of which were short lived. In years to come, we will certainly see a bona fide electric sports car, and the racing-marketing relationship will or would have evolved to suit.

      The current crop of manufacturers who have Petrol-Hybrid sport-cars/super-cars are all involved in top tier motor racing. Mercedes, Mclaren, Honda, Ferrari, Porsche and Toyota (watch out for the FT-1) are all represented, and this serves their marketing purposes while testing their engineering capabilities. Porsche are pulling out of WEC, that could be down to cost (see dieselgate), but I suspect, for the aforementioned reasons, it could be down to their interest in becoming a PU supplier to F1 in 2021.

      FE is currently cheap and cheerful, bang for buck, its a brilliant marketing exercise for every manufacturer.

  5. I think Vettel will sign a 2 or even 3 year contract with Ferrari IF he wins the 2017 WDC convincingly. Otherwise, he’ll talk to Mercedes.

    If Vettel remains at Ferrari there will be little point in Raikkonen staying because he is not likely to change anything. My feeling is that Kimi himself will realise this and retire after the 2017 season. If Ferrari lose the 2017 WCC to Mercedes ( a highly likely scenario), I think Maranello will look at replacing Raikkonen with Alonso.

    One way or another, methinks that Alonso is a certainty with Ferrari for 2018 on a 2-year contract.

    1. Vettel and Raikonnen remain with Ferrari, Alonso with McLaren Renault.

      1. I want to see FA at Mercedes next year, so this possibility of Mac dumping Honda for Renault makes me worried that might be enough to cause FA to stay there. However, I do wonder if FA considers he has enough time for a Mac/Renault relationship to gel, and would be much better off offering to drive for free at Mercedes if that is what it takes. A car that is already competitive while he is 36 years old. I still think the biggest best news for F1 and for Mercedes would be to take on FA. This would garner massive marketing impact and attention on the team, and maximize their chances of shutting out Ferrari next year.

        1. FA is an old man now. Let’s face it he is NO Fangio who was probably just getting started at that age.

          I think his best years are behind and what about LH and VB they are doing a fantastic job.

          1. FA is not too old for F1 and is burning with desire to end his career in Championship contention. A comparison to Fangio is irrelevant.

            Mercedes ‘spirit’ as Wolff has recently described should see them wanting the two best drivers they can get their hands on. Last year they couldn’t get their hands on FA, but this year they can. Sure LH/VB would be a safe and easy option, but that would not put the two best drivers they can get their hands on, on the team.

            If Mercedes want to get back to their 1-2 grid lockout ways race in race out, they’ll need more than LH/VB to go up against resurgent Ferrari.

            Mercedes could have massive attention, massive excitement, massive marketing impact, for months ahead of next season let alone during next season, by hiring FA for next year, or they could keep the ho hum thing going with VB and watch FA race elsewhere, his talent squandered at McHonda, or McRenault in it’s first few years of teething issues before they might maybe possibly be able to compete for podiums but not likely Championships.

          2. FA is not too old for F1

            Ridiculous. He is 2 years younger than Raikkonen and certainly looks fitter. Nigel Mansell, with whom a few extra kilos were always a problem, won his WDC aged 39.
            If Ferrari took Raikkonen back into the team, there is no reason why they will not consider Alonso. Ferrari value the WCC title more than any other team and to beat Merc for that they need two great drivers. They have them at present yes, but Raikkonen seems a bit past his sell-by date.

    2. I think Kimi has long known that he is a support driver and that only in a situation like that witnessed in Silverstone, will he finish ahead or win.

    1. Thanks for the tip @bascb, makes for an interesting read indeed. I personally think that while yes, the three points might cost, the real problem for Mercedes was that they weren’t fast enough to fight for the pole in Hungary, and more generally that they didn’t have their car perfectly sorted in too many races in the 1st half of the season.

      If they go well out of the holiday period, there are however still a lot of points to win (225 max), enough that any driver could theoretically still win it, so let’s not forget that Bottas is a firm outside 3rd WDC contestant – that’s why Mercedes is winning the WCC.

      Notably, If they were to be 1-2, splitting the wins of all remaining races but Silverstone (Red Bull?) between them, they can make up those 14 and 33 points to Vettel and have races to spare in the WCC. I don’t hope for that, nor quite expect it, but they will surely be working on improving their car for it.

      As you say above, we should perhaps admire Kimi for how motivated he often manages to be, looking at Irvine, Barrichello at the end of their Schumacher period, or Massa before he moved to Williams. Mercedes won’t have that issue.

      1. Irvine and Barrichello were under contract to not compete. FM, while not under contract, had a role he understood. Kimi had a shot in the first half of the season and knows it and just lagged behind SV from the start. KR is motivated because his destiny was in his own hands and he has simply on average been outperformed to a greater degree vs SV than VB has by LH, which makes Ferrari’s decision easier, but not because KR is a contracted bootlicker like MS’s teammates were. Kimi will be happy to stay in F1 at Ferrari and have another shot next year and enjoy what he is doing and make huge bucks at the same time.

        Mercedes is in the tougher spot because out of the box VB has been very good as the newbie on the team having never had a winning package under him in F1. That combined with the amount KR has become a mathematical number two already, will force Merc’s hand…it already has…they ordered VB to cede the spot to LH and if not for LH failing to pass KR, and the resultant handing back of VB’s points, VB would have become known as the team’s number two to LH. LH desperately wants VB as a teammate next year as that would make his life a hundred times easier than if they hire FA, which is my hope. So LH may have given back the points that rightfully belonged to VB, and is being applauded as gentlemanly for it, but is now saying how hard it was to give back those 3 points, which were actually VB’s. Shows how badly he wants Mercedes to note what a smooth relationship he has with VB, in an effort to stave off Mercedes hiring FA, who LH has already tried to plant a seed that hiring him would be ‘toxic’. Of course he would far prefer a compliant VB over a superior (in many people’s opinion) FA, and so will even back off by 9 seconds for VB in order to keep the peace. Him regretting the 3 points though, reveals that he does indeed feel entitled to them, but considered it more important to not make Mercedes into a 1-2 team, at least not blatantly, and not yet.

        1. Sorry @robbie but if you really think Kimi ever “had a shot” in the first half of the year, you must have not been watching much of those races, or forgotten quite a bit of the details already.

          Kimi might not have it explicitly in his contract that he is the driver to support Vettel, but this is not the first time he has shown some frustration at being in that role but also having the team tell him to get better results. Just look back at Austria (for a recent example) – surely that strategy was only targetted at hindering Bottas, not at giving Kimi the best result possible.

          Just look at the combination – Kimi shows that he knows where his place is, making a bit of a show of it too, and immediately we read how he has done a good job for the contract negotiations. He is a usefull, fast enough driver who knows his place. And Vettel and Ferrari are happy to have him there.

          1. @bascb Nothing prevented KR from outperforming SV starting with race 1. Kimi had the same opportunity SV did at the beginning of the season. KR is no stooge, but is respectful enough of the situation that once odds are stacked enough against him he doesn’t need to be told not to take points away from SV.

    2. Mercedes, on the other hand, is following what you might call the Williams Rule of allowing their drivers to have an identical chance to win and go racing among themselves – within reason.

      Yes, there were instructions,

      No need to go any further reading it

    3. @bascb Ferrari has been using the tactic to have one driver with a clear #2 for ages, however Vettel has been on no occasion this season slower than Kimi. Hence they have never had to ask Kimi to let Vettel past. What strikes me is the amount of times Mercedes has been using teamorders in favour of Hamilton yet just because Bottas is a faster driver than Kimi and scores more points it is not seen as the same so called tactic used at Ferrari. I’m smelling a bit of bias here,…

      1. Sorry @xtwl, I fail to see your point. Are you saying you want to accuse me of a bias against someone? Or the writer? Please explain against whom.

        Kimi has been faster than Vettel this year on occasion in qualifying and even some times in the races. But as you say, since Ferrari kept to their strategy of having a first driver (they sort of got away from that only a few times in their history), it was never a big surprise that Kimi got used as a tool to enhance Sebs chances of winning. Since Kimi showed the world that he does not like it (as he has done one or two times), they rather rely on strategy to avoid them meeting on track and having to do it over the radio (also because that radio is quite likely to get out on the world feed).

        For Mercedes this year, there was now once where they got Bottas to let Hamilton by to try his luck at the Ferraris. And there was one occasion (as far as I remember) where he was told to let Hamilton go becuase he was too slow. But then Bottas has always had a strategy with the focus of maximizing where HE would finish, especially if he was ahead and fast/faster.

        It means Bottas can have a chance at winning if he is good enough, regardless of whether Hamilton is still in the race, whereas Kimi would only be allowed that oppertunity if Vettel would be out of the race at that point. That is a pretty clear difference in approach. One that helps Mercedes get the WCC, but probably presents a slight advantage in the WDC for Ferrari/Vettel.

      2. OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
        1st August 2017, 15:53

        @bascb I think @xtwl refers to writer’s bias, as the writer doesn’t take into account episodes as Barhain or Hungary, because Bottas has been more consistent (and less unlucky) than Kimi.

      3. @bascb As @omarr-pepper points out I’m talking about the writer. It’s all Ferrari/teamorders/advantage Vettel yet it has been Mercedes by a country mile who have been ordering Bottas to move over in several races, to the extent Hamilton even found it acceptable to ask Bottas to slow Vettel down in Baku. What Ferrari did in Hungary is all the more logical with the title hun in mind, however Bottas has been asked to move over in Bahrein and Hungary and I think there’s been once more. He was also absolutely sacrificed in Barcelona to aid Hamilton his chances.

        I agree Ferrari maintain their focus on Vettel but they don’t simply sacrifice Kimi to enhance Vettel his position. If anything this season it has been Hamilton being the beneficiary of teamorders, not Vettel. That however has more to do with Hamilton being out of place and having the pace to get by Bottas (however never actually by an overtake). The reason Bottas is still in place is because Hamilton has had a couple of terrible races, and because Bottas has been consistent, but not consistently faster than Hamilton.

        What I’m trying to say is that it’s rather unfortunate media represents Ferrari as the one rooster team all the while Mercedes have been doing the exact same. They’re just lucky Bottas is a regular top 3 finisher behind Hamilton whereas Kimi is rather a regular top 5 finisher behind Vettel, Bottas and Hamilton.

        1. Well @xtwl, I disagree about your assertion about Bottas having suffered a lot from Teamorders (certianly compared to Kimi who has been used as a tool, or just completely neglected in probably most races so far this year) at all.

          And Hamilton having a go at it in Baku was just him trying, especially after the upset with the headrest caused by the team. They made it clear to Lewis that was not on the table at all. It has nothing to do with Luck that Bottas has been faster, because he knows that the team will let him win, so he is motivated. Kimi however knows since a long time, that the team will not give him a shot at all, unless Vettel is out of the race completely. So why bother really.

          1. Did you watch the last race a WDC contender let a fellow WDC contender (a direct rival) through to attack, call me crazy but I doubt Bottas is going to ever win a championship, he does not have the mettle and only flattered by the pace of the Mercedes.

  6. McLaren set engine deadline amid Renault speculation

    The interesting thing about a hybrid power unit is the engine is a major part of the equation, but not the whole equation. I heard on the F1 TV commentary that Red Bull Racing add their own hybrid system to the Renault engine, so that could be a route McLaren could follow as well, but I don’t know if they have the ability to build a better hybrid system than Renault can.

    1. Fukobayashi (@)
      1st August 2017, 10:58

      That sounds pretty dubious. The hybrid element is the most complex and expensive part of the power unit and the main reason why only manufacturers with manufacturer money are making PU’s.

      Furthermore, all the press coming from RB has focussed on waiting for Renault’s upgrades, I think it would be a pretty big story if they were designing half of those upgrades themselves.

  7. So I was reading the FIA has quietly increased the minimum car extraction time bc of the halo. So what happen to them saying the halo would not effect this? Have they also told fire to slow its burn speed to make up for the halo?

    1. @racerdude7730
      When was the last cockpit fire ?
      Modern self sealing fuel cells and the refuelling ban have dramatically reduced the risk of fires reaching the cockpit, and most fires involve fluids getting onto the exhaust or the brakes catching fire, neither present much of a risk to the driver and give them plenty of time to get out before the fire gets near them.
      As such, I don’t see the addition of a few seconds to the evacuation procedure as a significant risk.

      1. Well my brain sucks but just to pull from my mind Kmag had the huge fire in practice and Kimi had a pretty large fire above him at the one race when the motor left go. The Kimi fire is not a big deal but it is when the fire is blowing out the air intake and you have someone climbing over monkey bars right in front of this outlet. Look fire is rare but less rare then the things they say this protects from

        1. @racerdude7730 Raikkonen himself said he the Halo wouldn’t have been a problem in that case.

          fire is rare but less rare then the things they say this protects from

          I don’t necessarily agree that’s true and besides which you’re overlooking an important detail. As Wurz pointed out regarding Magnussen’s fire, the drivers already have a working line of protection against that risk. They don’t have one for taking a wheel assembly to the head at 200kph.

    2. @racerdude7730

      So what happen to them saying the halo would not effect this?

      They said it wouldn’t affect a driver getting out of a car that was on its side (In fact the Halo may actually make that easier as it prevents the car rolling over as far), They have been fairly open in saying that it would take an extra 1-2 seconds for a driver to climb out.

      Them increasing the minimum extraction has also not been done quietly, They mentioned it on Sky over the weekend & it was apparently openly discussed in the the FIA briefing on the Halo that the media got on Thursday in which they were shown various images & video of impact & extraction test’s.

      I actually think the FIA should put that briefing online so that fans could see all of that data as everyone in/around F1 already has.

  8. Great another borefest year from Ferrari with Kimi. Damn shame Enzo is not there to spice things up for the fans. I think Kimi hurts the Ferrari brand. Mercedes should capitalize on this weakness and take the constructors championship.

  9. Not once this year has Raikkonen been told to give position to Vettel. Vettel had to overtake him in a hard way on China. Ig some try and bring Monaco up then Ricciardo is the number 1 and favoured at Red Bull, which is not the case.

    Bottas has given up position to Hamilton in Bahrain, in Spain his strategy was compromised for the good of the team to block Vettel and aloow Hamilton to catch up faster. Last race he gave position to Hamilton to give him every chance to overtake Ferrari whos pace was issue limited but he was not capable so Bortas got his position back. He is 19 points off Hamilton so very much in it. Without Vettel this would be a reasonably close title battle amongst Mercs. Raikkonen is 80 something points behind now but still a lot of spin going on in peoples minds, Merc have messed about with team tactics far more this year.

  10. Decisions like this to keep pensioner Kimi is one of the main reasons F1 is becoming increasingly boring. Love the sport always will but it’s becoming stagnant.

    1. So Mercedes need to hire FA to ignite things for F1 overall. They are the only team in a position to honour FA’s talent in his remaining years in F1 with a competitive ride, which would thus honour we the viewing audience with some massive intensity next year and onward.

  11. If I was McLaren, I’d defer choosing next years engine until 2018 testing, evaluating the two options on track before purchasing the better option.

  12. I find kimi spending his twilight F1 years as a #2 driver painful to watch, ive no idea what’s motivating him to stay on, money, the fact no other team would have him or just unable to move on in life, I don’t like to watch my heroes fade out like this.

  13. The problem with Raikkonen is that while he is undoubtedly a great driver, he lacks the “hunger” to win that the likes of Alonso, Vettel or Hamilton have. Those other drivers are willing to continue to try their hardest even when the situation is against them and eke out the best possible result in a given race. Raikkonen seems to lack that edge and seems to quickly turn into an ‘also ran’ if things are going against him. IMO, he could have won the 2005 WDC if he had that edge. That deficiency seems to have increased with passing years.

  14. Until VET clinches this year’s WDC, the so-called laggard and definite team player RAI is still the Scuderia’s most recent champion.

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