Formula 1 - 2009 Season
- Thread starter Dave Baumann
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DuckThor Evil
Legend
In case this all rolls out so Kimi will be at McLaren, I can't wait to see what the british media will write in case Kimi downright dominates Lewis and wins championship right away
Also, what Coulthard said:
I think Lewis is already so close to the maximum driving ability, that it's pretty much impossible to dominate him, and I don't think Hamilton has difficulties handling the situation mentally, I think the season with Alonso proved that, because Alonso is very good also and it was Hamiltons first season. Kimi will definitely do MUCH better than what Heikki has done, and Of couse I hope too that he will be able to be ahead of Hamilton, I just don't think it will be any easier than being in front of Massa, maybe harder. Very interesting nevertheless!
In case this all rolls out so Kimi will be at McLaren, I can't wait to see what the british media will write in case Kimi downright dominates Lewis and wins championship right away
Also, what Coulthard said:
To be honest, I don't think Lewis will have any trouble at all. In his rockie year, he already matched Alonso. Lewis is also one of the hungriest drivers currently in F1 with his agressive racing style - something Kimi hasn't had to that extent. Of course, having an agressive and hungry racing style can go both ways, as Hamilton has demonstrated (crashing at the end in Monza, although to be fair, he's not competing for the championship this year so to some extend, nothing to lose).
If Kimi does level up his game, I see them being head-to-head, but nothing that would sugest that one is dominating the other. I actually wouldn't be surprised if Kimi goes around his usual way - showing some brilliance in few races and sleeping in most of them. I also doubt that Kimi will enjoy any advantageous situation at McLaren - he's effectively being payed to drive there by Ferrari, he left under what some may call betrayel under Ron and Lewis is their loyal longterm investment that not only already has the world-champion title, but is british and is also good at PR as well.
One also begs the question, how much motivational issues one could find in a team like Ferrari and driving against what was a highly critized driver earlier. How times change.
DuckThor Evil
Legend
IMO the only betrayal that happened was the Mercedes engine betraying Kimi in way too many occasions, costing him the championship atleast once, maybe twice. Kimi did what he signed and after the contract was done he signed a new one with Ferrari, thinking that He'll have a better chance of winning the WC, which he of course did, although MacLaren was strong during that season also.
I don't think the failures are any form of betrayal, unless you want to provide some heads-up that these failures had anything to do with informed and purposely screwing up - which to be honest, would be amusing to hear, since Kimi was their number 1 driver and in their interest to give him the best they could (Montoya / De La Rosa were hardly number 1 candidates).
There's no denying that there was some bad luck involved - defect heatshield, issues with electronics and the screwed up pitstop etc. As we all know though, F1 is a team-sport. You rise and fall as a team and obviously, there were various factors coming together. Also can't blame Kimi for going to Ferrari - who wouldn't (well except probably Lewis
), but it certainly didn't do him any favours with the team. It'll be interesting to see him go back, but I wouldn't count on him getting more support than Lewis.
There's no denying that there was some bad luck involved - defect heatshield, issues with electronics and the screwed up pitstop etc. As we all know though, F1 is a team-sport. You rise and fall as a team and obviously, there were various factors coming together. Also can't blame Kimi for going to Ferrari - who wouldn't (well except probably Lewis
), but it certainly didn't do him any favours with the team. It'll be interesting to see him go back, but I wouldn't count on him getting more support than Lewis.
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Well, next season will certainly be fun on here at least. If Lewis manages to "dominate" Kimi I wonder what people will say then.
Lets speculate, Lewis is getting preferential treatment? Lewis is "Forcing" McLaren to slow Kimi down...
Or maybe they will just realise that Hamilton is just that good.
Lets speculate, Lewis is getting preferential treatment? Lewis is "Forcing" McLaren to slow Kimi down...
Or maybe they will just realise that Hamilton is just that good.
I still think when Kimi is on it, he is the fastest driver in the field. Lewis is more aggressive than Kimi, though.
I think it will be an interesting pairing, just as Fernando and Lewis were interesting together though that partnership got a bit too interesting by Hungary.
I think it will be an interesting pairing, just as Fernando and Lewis were interesting together though that partnership got a bit too interesting by Hungary.
It is confirmed. Alonso will join Ferrari for 3 years starting in 2010, Räikkönen will leave the team and Ferrari thinks Massa will make a full recovery.
Next year will be titanic, if both the McLarens and Ferraris are fast. Alonso and Massa vs. Hamilton and Räikkönen.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79061
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2009/09/alonso-joins-ferrari-nine-months-after-the-story-first-broke/
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2009/09/alonso-speaks-about-his-ferrari-move/
Next year will be titanic, if both the McLarens and Ferraris are fast. Alonso and Massa vs. Hamilton and Räikkönen.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79061
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2009/09/alonso-joins-ferrari-nine-months-after-the-story-first-broke/
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2009/09/alonso-speaks-about-his-ferrari-move/
Alonso better be a real miracle maker next year, since Ferrari is paying Kimi 45 million euros (full salary + 15 million from breaking the contract), not to mention Alonsos own salary
Based on what I've now read about it, it seems still more and more like it was Kimi who wanted more out than Ferrari wanting Alonso in, since the original plan was to get Alonso in for season 2011, not next season, but since there was an opportunity (Kimi wanting out) to do it now, they did it even though it's expensive as hell
Based on what I've now read about it, it seems still more and more like it was Kimi who wanted more out than Ferrari wanting Alonso in, since the original plan was to get Alonso in for season 2011, not next season, but since there was an opportunity (Kimi wanting out) to do it now, they did it even though it's expensive as hell
Seems to me, the new Spanish sponsor Santander had a lot of say in this matter. If Santander wasn't on board, I don't think Alonso would be driving for the red team in 2010.
Maybe, despite what Ferrari are saying, Massa's return is more in doubt than we all think and while they're not happy with Kimi's on/off performance, they might find a highly motivated driver in Alonso who has shown in the past that he can deliver results.
Maybe Kimi is just too lazy for Ferrari.
Or maybe he just wants to drive a rally car?
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79082
Or maybe he just wants to drive a rally car?
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79082
Well according to all the sources Santander was fine with Alonso coming in 2011 too
edit:
According to Kimi, Ferrari has put words to his mouth in the official press releases, he says that he has never said that he was sad, nor has he ever felt sad for how this turned out
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DuckThor Evil
Legend
It was Ferrari who made the decision to replace Kimi early, not Kimi, Ferrari even had to pay a fine for getting rid of him. They replaced him, because they weren't satisfied with his performance and/or feels Alonso and Massa will do better, because if it was only about the money Santander brings in, Ferrari could have dropped Massa and keep Kimi with Alonso. Considering Massa's injury and the question mark it puts on top of him, it adds to the apparent unsatisfaction of Ferrari towards Kimi.
It seems Santander was the key in making this happen, due to their deep pockets. Ferrari on their own would not have paid Kimi's salaly + fine + Alonso's salary, but with the help of Santander this whole thing was possible. Imo Kimi's performance was not inline with his salary, especially compared to Massa and even the champioship he won was due to catastrophic mistakes by Hamilton and McLaren in the last two races. Kimi underperformed and Ferrari ousted him. I hope Kimi goes to MacLaren and with full of motivation challenging Hamilton head on.
DuckThor Evil
Legend
Well imo that's only true for this season, and Felipe has been pretty good during his time with Ferrari with much lesser salary.
I actually think the matchup between Massa and Alonso will be far more interesting. Ferrari have already stated that there will not be any prefered treatment for either driver. I'm still a bit in doubt if Massa will make a full return (surely, there's a big risk for him if he suffers another injury, plus he's about to be father too), but even if he does, I have a feeling he might be feeling more pressure than Alonso. We've already seen how Massa struggles under pressure, also from the media, so it'll be interesting to see how he will fear with an agressive and hungry driver as Alonso as his teammate. I also don't doubt that Alonso will be able to deliver results if the car is any good.
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