Kimi Raikonenn - What A Man

[Giblet]

If he actually doesn't care, should he pretend to, or just be himself?

Kimi is a better interviewer than he gets credit for. He never personalizes anything about himself, or the car. Never says "He did this" or "I could have done this...", no speculation, just "Wait and see".

It's very hard to back him into a corner and pull teeth of info out of him. All he has to do, is get in the car and be quick Kimi, and meet his contractual sponsorship/team requirements outside of the car.

He doesn't care that all these people like us speculate about how he interviews, or anything else like that, and he probably wonders why we care about him when he is not in the car. He probably thinks all this speculation in between races is a huge waste of time.

Each to his own

[noname]

He never personalizes anything about himself, or the car. Never says "He did this" or "I could have done this...", no speculation, just "Wait and see".

I would add one thing. as far as I remember in most cases he says "we" - "we won", "we made decision" (even if his involvement was marginal), "we have to work hard and be patient", etc. except when he made mistake, but he is usually the first who admits that. other exception I recall was this year, somewhere around Monaco, when he praised the team for the job they had done. he did not say "we've done", just clearly admitted people in factory did amazing job to bring the car closer to the front of the grid.

[tarzoon]

The other day I was reading about Clay Regazzoni, Graham Hill, François Cevert, and their likings. I know they are different guys from another era of F1, but still it made me wonder... from these clean-shaving-milk-drinking-all-sporty-no-fun-small-balls-whole-load-of-nonsense pilots could get even close to their lifestyle and attitude?

My first thought went to Kimi, and immediately I remembered this

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emYvs3D-2q4[/youtube]

[TheMinister]

I kinda get the feeling that Kimi has been warned off speaking to the media- he seems like an outrageously fun guy, but he probably knows he can't speak his mind to the press. And he can't be bothered to repeat the same crap the rest of the drivers parrot, so we just get a bunch of don't know/don't care answers.

And it is surprising he's never won a WDC- best driver never to win one perhaps (or do we have to wait till he retires to start that debate)? Especially that season with the mclarens that exploded every race (2005?) where only the track marshals got close to him....

But yes, Kimi Raikonnen- What A Man indeed.

[wesley123]

[quote="TheMinister"]
And it is surprising he's never won a WDC- best driver never to win one perhaps (or do we have to wait till he retires to start that debate)? [quote]

Forgot 2007? im sure he became the champion then.

[noname]

(...) My first thought went to Kimi, and immediately I remembered this

I have not seen this on-board film (thx Tarzoon !) but I remember someone from McLaren saying they were amazed watching the telemetry, as he did not lift the throttle even slightly.

I also remember Peter Sauber saying Kimi is king of guy who, when faced with the problems, is just going trough them without even realizing they were there. this film is, I think, the best illustration of that.

[TheMinister]

And it is surprising he's never won a WDC- best driver never to win one perhaps (or do we have to wait till he retires to start that debate)?

Forgot 2007? im sure he became the champion then.

What has just occured!?!?!?!? I seem to have gone slightly mad!

Remind me to take my medication next time chaps

[Giblet]

Can I have some?

I'd like to forget a big chunk of 2007.

I'm sure Kimi forgets sometimes, he was kind of surprised when he bagged the title.

[ISLAMATRON]

Surprised he beat Massa in Brazil? Free points from your teammate is always a surprising thing.

[Giblet]

Surprised he beat Massa in Brazil? Free points from your teammate is always a surprising thing.

You saw the post race conference? He wasn't expecting to win, and Peter Windsor practically had to remind him that he is now WDC.

You are either agreeing with me or just being sarcastic for the sake of doing so. I don't know which one.

[ISLAMATRON]

Watch a post race press conference with Kimi as the winner? I am not into self torture... I'll take your word that he wasnt expecting to win, how often do teammates hand over wins at their home race? Im not surprised that he didnt realize he was WDC either. I dont think of KIMI as one of those guys that considers points permutations... he's a win every race kinda guy... nothing bad about that.

[siskue2005]

I dont think of KIMI as one of those guys that considers points permutations... he's a win every race kinda guy... nothing bad about that.

no, he is actually a points points guy, in 2007 , 2008 after each and every race he used to say that every point is important important etc
and also this year he said somethin like this "last yr my teammate lost by 1 point and I won by 1 point the previous year, so every single point is important"

[Ray]

I'm pretty sure that Kimi knew when he crossed start/finish he knew he won the WDC. You could see how he was pumping his fist. It wasn't the way he normally does it.

[Giblet]

y'all taking things too literally.

_looked_ surprised, as if he had not prepared mentally for the outside chance he would win the WDC.

There is not a lot of time to process outside info when driving a racing car, so his surprised look was a result of his not having everything soak in at that point.

[ds.raikkonen]

Well, my profile name says for itself that im a huge fan of Kimi. and he s bored of F1 allright...said it hinself on tv many times "F1 is not what it used to be." But, in the cockpit, i cant find any other driver as good as him in recent years. Outrageously cool. He never whines about his car or the setup or the mechanics as some other very good drivers do pretty regularly, wont say their name...you all know their antics very well. And, finns are excellent rally drivers... they have to do a 360 deg controlled spin on a skid pad just to get their driving license!! Even Mika Hakkinen displayed his skills at rallying on Top Gear.