Ferrari re-signs Kimi Raikkonen
Discussion
RichB said:
OI why is that unfortunate?
If Kimi had retired from F1 it could have made way for one of the midfield drivers to move up. I feel if an experienced driver is clearly outperformed by his team-mate(s) year on year then he should make way for someone else, it's maybe a bit harsh but I feel that's how it works. f
k1_6 said:
k1_6 said:RichB said:
OI why is that unfortunate?
If Kimi had retired from F1 it could have made way for one of the midfield drivers to move up. I feel if an experienced driver is clearly outperformed by his team-mate(s) year on year then he should make way for someone else, it's maybe a bit harsh but I feel that's how it works. hairyben said:
Wonder how much of a wage cut he's taken.
He doesn't seem to be able to offer more than a safe no 2 these days which may suit fez down to the ground but not when they're paying him star driver salary
Didn't Jenson have to go from about 12 mill to 5 this year? I imagine Raikkonen will be on similar figure in 2016 really, some gossip on another forum suggesting he will be on a very modest basic salary but with huge bonuses available for good results. Not that any of these older former champions actually need the money do they? He doesn't seem to be able to offer more than a safe no 2 these days which may suit fez down to the ground but not when they're paying him star driver salary
VolvoT5 said:
hairyben said:
Wonder how much of a wage cut he's taken.
He doesn't seem to be able to offer more than a safe no 2 these days which may suit fez down to the ground but not when they're paying him star driver salary
Didn't Jenson have to go from about 12 mill to 5 this year? I imagine Raikkonen will be on similar figure in 2016 really, some gossip on another forum suggesting he will be on a very modest basic salary but with huge bonuses available for good results. Not that any of these older former champions actually need the money do they? He doesn't seem to be able to offer more than a safe no 2 these days which may suit fez down to the ground but not when they're paying him star driver salary
The again, as a recent article showed he is hardly strapped for cash as the third highest earning F1 driver of all time behind Schumacher and Alonso.
He's had some good drives this season but, in essence, he's fast Eddie, there to fill the other side of the pits. There are faster drivers out there, but perhaps not as consistent. Ferrari probably feel they have a fast car and want to go with the best chance of a driver's championship with a chance at the constructors.
Kimi's in it for the money I think.
Kimi's in it for the money I think.
fk1_6 said:
k1_6 said: If Kimi had retired from F1 it could have made way for one of the midfield drivers to move up. I feel if an experienced driver is clearly outperformed by his team-mate(s) year on year then he should make way for someone else, it's maybe a bit harsh but I feel that's how it works.
The up and comers aren't too convincing. This is what I said to a prelude thread of this thread a month ago:"Not sure what to make of Bottas. He seems overrated as a great driver - more in-the-making of a great driver.
Alonso destroyed Massa at Ferrari and Bottas is struggling to replicate that kind of feat. Both are about near equal, Massa has the habit of out qualifying Bottas yet when Bottas comes through the pack - and this is where I have a problem - those sorts of drives get elevated yet he should be doing are boring, solid drives that Massa doesn't get recognition for even though Massa has finished ahead of Bottas.
Same could be said of Hulkenberg. Last year when both FI's finished one driver could not usurp the other over a period of time; one race it was Hulk ahead of Checo, next race its Checo ahead of Hulk and so forth but recently Hulk is on a roll. Certainly these harder Pirelli construction/compound of tyres help Hulk with his tyre wear problems."
Based on that logic would those drivers be a step up on Kimi?
Saying that I'm as excited as anyone to see how Hulk/Bottas matches up with Vettel and if I'm proven wrong then all the better.
VolvoT5 said:
Sweet! I hope Kimi can restore his reputation over the next year... 2016 will surely be his last year.
I think this is a compromise decision by Ferrari - they can't be in love with Kimi but he is a known quantity, gets on well with Seb and the alternatives are either unavailable or don't look amazing anyway. I'm assuming this is a 1 year deal with Ferrari hoping that by 2017 Bottas will have matured further or other driver options will be available without massive buy outs required.
I agree and suspect the only reason Bottas isn't there is because Williams will have demanded a big payout to release him from the contract, thus costing Ferrari a lot of money plus his salary for a still up and coming driving that has yet to iron out his inconsistencies. Keep the current driver, reduce his wages to below what it would cost to get Bottas, knowing that Kimi CAN iron out his inconsistencies when he needs to. Reduced outgoings AND reduced risk. Holding pattern.I think this is a compromise decision by Ferrari - they can't be in love with Kimi but he is a known quantity, gets on well with Seb and the alternatives are either unavailable or don't look amazing anyway. I'm assuming this is a 1 year deal with Ferrari hoping that by 2017 Bottas will have matured further or other driver options will be available without massive buy outs required.
Edited by VolvoT5 on Wednesday 19th August 16:28
My two penneths worth... hope Hulk gets it in 2017. Just personal choice and the kudos of the Le Mans win, no reflection on Bottas.
coetzeeh said:
I suppose it is pay back time after Ferrari paid him £20m to take a year out when they parted company previously.
The again, as a recent article showed he is hardly strapped for cash as the third highest earning F1 driver of all time behind Schumacher and Alonso.
Is he really the third highest paid driver on the grid? If that is true, I really can't understand why. His manager must be pretty talented. The again, as a recent article showed he is hardly strapped for cash as the third highest earning F1 driver of all time behind Schumacher and Alonso.
I can understand why MS is up there and to some extent Alonso, Kimi won one world title. Same as Jenson Button, but I think JB is on much less than Kimi.
bakerstreet said:
Is he really the third highest paid driver on the grid? If that is true, I really can't understand why. His manager must be pretty talented.
I can understand why MS is up there and to some extent Alonso, Kimi won one world title. Same as Jenson Button, but I think JB is on much less than Kimi.
I think the article was saying he is the third highest earning of all time. The doesn't necessarily mean he is the highest paid at the moment, although probably still one of them. I think his performances of late have made people forget about some of the performances in the distance past...a kind of reverse rose tinted glasses if that makes sense? I'm not saying he was ever in the same league as Alonso or MS but he has always been rated more highly than Button by most. I can understand why MS is up there and to some extent Alonso, Kimi won one world title. Same as Jenson Button, but I think JB is on much less than Kimi.
Teams have lots of smart technical and business people to analyse these decisions, so I can only assume that he must be bringing more to the team than what we can see in terms of on track results at the moment?
Schermerhorn said:
Pressure is off his shoulders now. He can relax now and deliver better results and help the team as much as possible in the WCC and steal points off the Mercs.
Good move.
Eh? He'll have the get past his team mate first. Best we are looking at is 4ths and 5ths unless LH, Niko or Vetel retire. Good move.
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