Kimi Raikkonen and his driving style
Discussion
Semi-random thought time...
Kimi seems to have problems when the car is not exactly to his taste.
Maybe it's due to being put in a f1 car too soon,not enough experience in other single seat catagorys? He was brought into f1 after driving only formula renault for one year, ok he's been in f1 since 2001 but the cars are mostly evolutionary and therefore quite similar in design. We all know how restricted f1 design regs are.
And,yes I do know he had a few years in wrc, but obviously that is not a single seat formula.
As young verstappen enters the catagory next year,with even less experience,will be interesting to see his progress.
Kimi seems to have problems when the car is not exactly to his taste.
Maybe it's due to being put in a f1 car too soon,not enough experience in other single seat catagorys? He was brought into f1 after driving only formula renault for one year, ok he's been in f1 since 2001 but the cars are mostly evolutionary and therefore quite similar in design. We all know how restricted f1 design regs are.
And,yes I do know he had a few years in wrc, but obviously that is not a single seat formula.
As young verstappen enters the catagory next year,with even less experience,will be interesting to see his progress.
He won a championship in arguably not the best car and has won plenty of races. I don't think there's any real question about his raw ability. I'd more question his motivation at the moment. After a promising 2012 and then a frustrating 2013 with Lotus he looks like he's just there to pick up a pay cheque at the moment.
AJS- said:
He won a championship in arguably not the best car and has won plenty of races. I don't think there's any real question about his raw ability. I'd more question his motivation at the moment. After a promising 2012 and then a frustrating 2013 with Lotus he looks like he's just there to pick up a pay cheque at the moment.
yawn, this motivation bull is always spouted without any evidence. I highly doubt he needs the pay check give he has been one of the highest paid F1 drivers for many years. I think part of the issue is the car, Kimi wants a strong front end on the car so he can turn it in and use the rear to steer it. The current Ferrari is understeer city and Alonso is better at dealing with it (years of bad cars from Ferrari gives him the edge in experience too).
The other issue is Kimi doesn't seem to deliver in qualifying these days. He used to be great over 1 lap but these days he seems to struggle and only comes alive in the race. The problem is how can you get great results if you start every race in the mid field traffic. Last few races he has been pretty decent in the race itself.
Edited by VolvoT5 on Sunday 7th September 14:57
Well evidence of anything like that is pretty intangible. Just going off his demeanour in interviews (I know...) his driving and his relatively tame defence against faster cars, and above all his results as compared with his team mate.
We know he can make the most of an uncompetitive car and dice with the best of them but so far this season he doesn't appear to have done so to the level he has in the past.
We know he can make the most of an uncompetitive car and dice with the best of them but so far this season he doesn't appear to have done so to the level he has in the past.
I don't think it's a motivation issue with Kimi, I think it's simply that his driving style doesn't suit the car under the new regs.
As far as I see it, Kimi has (had) quite a delicate, smooth driving style. He steers with his fingertips/loose grip, and clearly prefers a high revving car with gentle torque growth. This is why he was very good when he came back to Lotus, because that style was best for the car and was kinder on the tyres, which has been key for the last few years. It's very similar to Vettel's style, and for me it's no surprise to see that both of them are struggling this year.
The current style of driving the car is more 'physical'. You have reduced aero, so need to be more vigourous with the steering, along with a much more torquey car at lower speeds, so therefore in the corners.
As far as I see it, Kimi has (had) quite a delicate, smooth driving style. He steers with his fingertips/loose grip, and clearly prefers a high revving car with gentle torque growth. This is why he was very good when he came back to Lotus, because that style was best for the car and was kinder on the tyres, which has been key for the last few years. It's very similar to Vettel's style, and for me it's no surprise to see that both of them are struggling this year.
The current style of driving the car is more 'physical'. You have reduced aero, so need to be more vigourous with the steering, along with a much more torquey car at lower speeds, so therefore in the corners.
The Vambo said:
The single most over rated and fawned over driver on the grid, rude, arrogant and nothing better than decent.
But apart from that....
Have to agree, along with the rumoured £20 Million a year salary. It has to be one of the biggest errors in Ferrari's recent history in bringing Kimi back to Ferrari. I assume they believed all the "Driving God" posts that he could drive anything and everything.But apart from that....
AJS- said:
Well evidence of anything like that is pretty intangible. Just going off his demeanor in interviews (I know...) his driving and his relatively tame defence against faster cars, and above all his results as compared with his team mate.
We know he can make the most of an uncompetitive car and dice with the best of them but so far this season he doesn't appear to have done so to the level he has in the past.
I think his demeanor has become more relaxed now, OK I understand he is still not that keen on the PR side, but take a look at this 'race' and the chat with Martin Brundle, he opens up (a bit) We know he can make the most of an uncompetitive car and dice with the best of them but so far this season he doesn't appear to have done so to the level he has in the past.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ4f-hlZGK4
Wanta996Gotta said:
The Vambo said:
The single most over rated and fawned over driver on the grid, rude, arrogant and nothing better than decent.
But apart from that....
Have to agree, along with the rumoured £20 Million a year salary. It has to be one of the biggest errors in Ferrari's recent history in bringing Kimi back to Ferrari. I assume they believed all the "Driving God" posts that he could drive anything and everything.But apart from that....
But you went into hiding when Kimi had a great come back with Renault - all of your statements contradicted...
And here we go again, same words...
Any case, Adrian Newey said Kimi was one of the fastest drivers he ever worked with - but what does he know?
Edited by coetzeeh on Monday 8th September 20:19
The Vambo said:
The single most over rated and fawned over driver on the grid, rude, arrogant and nothing better than decent.
But apart from that....
I agree with this.But apart from that....
Essentially, ask yourself this question. If you owned your own team, all things being equal, as a purely business driven decision, would you employ KR? I would guess no.
20 million plus a year, really? And for what?
Yes, last year he was class on occasion in the Lotus. But those that are true class translate it into any environment i.e. Alonso.
Utter waste of time and money. Give a cheaper/younger driver a chance.
You are all discussing the merits,or otherwise of Kimi. Fair enough.
The point of this topic though,was to ask if his young entry age in f1,and lack of experience in single seat formula,other than formula renault,is the culmination of his current problems.
The other opinion is,given the talent you can drive anything. Ayrton Senna could have made an awesome rallydriver. Seems I might have answered my own question
The point of this topic though,was to ask if his young entry age in f1,and lack of experience in single seat formula,other than formula renault,is the culmination of his current problems.
The other opinion is,given the talent you can drive anything. Ayrton Senna could have made an awesome rallydriver. Seems I might have answered my own question
sideways man said:
The point of this topic though,was to ask if his young entry age in f1,and lack of experience in single seat formula,other than formula renault,is the culmination of his current problems.
Not at all. If this was his debut year then you may have a point, but he's one of the most experienced drivers on the grid. Driving the current cars is very, very different to driving the high-downforce, grooved tyre, high-revving V10s.As I understand it, one of the biggest issues he has is trying to make the car work with his driving style. Alonso bullies the car into submission, while KR is much smoother and is really struggling to switch the tyres on properly and keep them there.
One of the commentators over here in the US mentioned some time ago that Kimi is a very late braker and that was one big problem given that the ERS uses steady braking to get the most charge. I refuse to believe the likes of Kimi, Vettel, etc. all of a sudden become crap at exactly the same time the cars are significantly altered.
Anyone who doesn't think the rule changes impacted on the driving should watch interviews by guys who race the Le Mans hybrid cars. Its taken most of them years to get to grips with the different style of torque management.
Anyone who doesn't think the rule changes impacted on the driving should watch interviews by guys who race the Le Mans hybrid cars. Its taken most of them years to get to grips with the different style of torque management.
Kimi Räikkönen, THE FASTEST Ferrari powered car in qualifying.
TODAY, surely everybody, even his doubters, can now see what an enormous talent, the great F1 driver Kimi, Räikkönen is...
Well done Kimi Räikkönen.
1 18 Lance Stroll Racing Point BWT Mercedes 2:07.467 1:53.372 1:47.765 22
2 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing Honda 1:57.485 1:50.293 1:48.055 26
3 11 Sergio Perez Racing Point BWT Mercedes 2:07.614 1:54.097 1:49.321 21
4 23 Alexander Albon Red Bull Racing Honda 1:59.431 1:52.282 1:50.448 26
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 2:05.598 1:54.278 1:51.595 26
6 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 2:07.599 1:52.709 1:52.560 23
7 31 Esteban Ocon Renault 2:06.115 1:53.657 1:52.622 26
8 7 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari 2:01.249 1:53.793 1:52.745 27
9 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 2:07.001 1:53.767 1:53.258 23
10 99 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari 2:07.341 1:53.431 1:57.226 26
11 4 Lando Norris McLaren Renault 2:07.167 1:54.945 18
12 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 2:03.356 1:55.169 18
13 55 Carlos Sainz McLaren Renault 2:07.489 1:55.410 18
14 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 2:04.464 1:56.696 18
15 10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri Honda 2:05.579 1:58.556 17
16 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 2:08.007 10
17 26 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri Honda 2:09.070 8
18 63 George Russell Williams Mercedes 2:10.017 9
19 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 2:12.909 7
20 6 Nicholas Latifi Williams Mercedes 2:21.611 9
https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2020/race...
TODAY, surely everybody, even his doubters, can now see what an enormous talent, the great F1 driver Kimi, Räikkönen is...
Well done Kimi Räikkönen.
1 18 Lance Stroll Racing Point BWT Mercedes 2:07.467 1:53.372 1:47.765 22
2 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing Honda 1:57.485 1:50.293 1:48.055 26
3 11 Sergio Perez Racing Point BWT Mercedes 2:07.614 1:54.097 1:49.321 21
4 23 Alexander Albon Red Bull Racing Honda 1:59.431 1:52.282 1:50.448 26
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 2:05.598 1:54.278 1:51.595 26
6 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 2:07.599 1:52.709 1:52.560 23
7 31 Esteban Ocon Renault 2:06.115 1:53.657 1:52.622 26
8 7 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari 2:01.249 1:53.793 1:52.745 27
9 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 2:07.001 1:53.767 1:53.258 23
10 99 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari 2:07.341 1:53.431 1:57.226 26
11 4 Lando Norris McLaren Renault 2:07.167 1:54.945 18
12 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 2:03.356 1:55.169 18
13 55 Carlos Sainz McLaren Renault 2:07.489 1:55.410 18
14 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 2:04.464 1:56.696 18
15 10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri Honda 2:05.579 1:58.556 17
16 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 2:08.007 10
17 26 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri Honda 2:09.070 8
18 63 George Russell Williams Mercedes 2:10.017 9
19 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 2:12.909 7
20 6 Nicholas Latifi Williams Mercedes 2:21.611 9
https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2020/race...
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