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Raikkonen fuels reports of career end
Topic Started: Sep 3 2008, 09:55 AM (442 Views)
u4coffee
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Sep.2 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen on Tuesday fuelled speculation that he is set to retire at the end of the season. It has long been rumoured that the reigning world champion would retire sooner rather than later, and comments in his latest blog entry on the Ferrari website make for interesting reading.

Referring to the reaction to his recent performance slump, the Finn wrote: "It's a shame to be involved in many negative stories, but these things happen: it wasn't the first time and it might not have been the last in my career."

His unusual choice of words comes at a time when speculation about his future is rife, and teams make their driver selections for the coming season.

Fascinatingly, a similar blog posted on the 28-year-old's personal website on Tuesday omitted the reference to possibly the "last" negative speculation of his career.

"It's never nice to be in the middle of all kinds of negative stories," the website entry quotes Raikkonen as saying, "but it just happens. It's not the first time in my life and you just have to live with it."

The driver market is currently at an impasse, as team managers wait essentially to see what the former double world champion Fernando Alonso does.

It is believed the Spaniard, who has been linked in recent weeks with Honda, already has an agreement with Ferrari for 2010, with an option for 2009 should Raikkonen retire.

http://www.f1complete.com/content/view/9997/900/
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John
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Well the team has announced their full support for Kimi and also stated that the Finn will be driving for the team next year...





I guess he is leaving at the end of the season... <peek>
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AndyW76
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<think>

There's nothing like a vote of confidence to guarantee your future.
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John
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This kind of distraction should help McLaren and Hamilton <think>
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Steelstallions
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If he wins a couple of races it will all pass like it did last season.

Alonso isn't having a great season but surprisingly for him, he is keeping a lower profile in the media than he has done before. This tells me that though he knows he is currently racing a dog of a car, he is calming his temper in the possible fact he already has his escape route signed and sealed for 2010 to Ferrari.

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Bear
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They are clutching at straws. You could argue that by saying this might not be the last time he will be criticised that he is in fact signalling that he'll be around for years to come so people will get plenty of opportunity to criticise him. If he'd said this IS the last time people will be able to criticise, then I think it would be a sign that it is game over.
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AndyW76
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To be fair, I think the story is pure speculation. There is very little in Kimi's words that actually indicates that he is considering retirement, unless they have other sources of information suggesting otherwise.
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Alien_SAP_Fiend
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Steelstallions,Sep 3 2008
10:46 AM
he is calming his temper in the possible fact he already has his escape route signed and sealed for 2010 to Ferrari.

Who is to say that Ferrari will be such a major force in 2010?

2009 will be pretty much a Clean Slate for all the teams, what with KERS, reduced Aero, slicks, etc. Alonso would do well to keep his powder dry by taking Honda's one year option and seeing how the land lies. The Renault engine is the weakest on the grid at the moment click and that's unlikely to change very much next year. Alonso has probably played a large role in the development of the 2009 chassis and will know if it's good enough. If anybody can make the KERS system work, it's Honda or Toyota and Honda have yet to confirm their 2009 drivers click. Going to Honda can't do Fernando any harm, especially if it's somewhere to park (hopefully not literally) for a year and see how Ferrari cope next year.
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Rob
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Alien_SAP_Fiend,Sep 3 2008
08:16 AM
Steelstallions,Sep 3 2008
10:46 AM
he is calming his temper in the possible fact he already has his escape route signed and sealed for 2010 to Ferrari.

Who is to say that Ferrari will be such a major force in 2010?

2009 will be pretty much a Clean Slate for all the teams, what with KERS, reduced Aero, slicks, etc. Alonso would do well to keep his powder dry by taking Honda's one year option and seeing how the land lies. The Renault engine is the weakest on the grid at the moment click and that's unlikely to change very much next year. Alonso has probably played a large role in the development of the 2009 chassis and will know if it's good enough. If anybody can make the KERS system work, it's Honda or Toyota and Honda have yet to confirm their 2009 drivers click. Going to Honda can't do Fernando any harm, especially if it's somewhere to park (hopefully not literally) for a year and see how Ferrari cope next year.

On the flip side of that, what if Alonso goes to Honda next year, and Ferrari are the class of the field and Massa or Kimi (or replacement) walks the title, and they tank in 2010.

Honestly if Alonso had the choice of anywhere to go next year, Ferrari, BMW, or McLaren (yeah right) would be his best options.
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Nomad
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I learned in the 50s that you can never rely on anything coming out of Maranello. The Ferarri team has traditionally played mind games even though that has lessened since the passing of Enzo F. All you can say from the current info is that Kimi wants/doesn't want to retire and that Ferarri will/won't offer him a seat for next year.
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Norbert
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Please, not more dodgy stories about Ferrari and it's drivers..... I can't cope!

Waaaaah!

<sarcasm> <sarcasm> <sarcasm> <sarcasm> <sarcasm>

<peek>
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Steelstallions
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Alien_SAP_Fiend,Sep 3 2008
01:16 PM
Steelstallions,Sep 3 2008
10:46 AM
he is calming his temper in the possible fact he already has his escape route signed and sealed for 2010 to Ferrari.

Who is to say that Ferrari will be such a major force in 2010?

2009 will be pretty much a Clean Slate for all the teams, what with KERS, reduced Aero, slicks, etc. Alonso would do well to keep his powder dry by taking Honda's one year option and seeing how the land lies. The Renault engine is the weakest on the grid at the moment click and that's unlikely to change very much next year. Alonso has probably played a large role in the development of the 2009 chassis and will know if it's good enough. If anybody can make the KERS system work, it's Honda or Toyota and Honda have yet to confirm their 2009 drivers click. Going to Honda can't do Fernando any harm, especially if it's somewhere to park (hopefully not literally) for a year and see how Ferrari cope next year.

There are no guarantees next race never mind two seasons time.

That said, based on the form for the last decade and the history you become part of driving for them, if i was Alonso, i know which team i would want to drive for, and its not Renault or Honda.
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AndyW76
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Well, based on resources and technical ability, I think Ferrari will be a top team in the foresable future. Unless someone cons them into hiring Nick Fry.
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u4coffee
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Steelstallions,Sep 3 2008
06:02 PM
Alien_SAP_Fiend,Sep 3 2008
01:16 PM
Steelstallions,Sep 3 2008
10:46 AM
he is calming his temper in the possible fact he already has his escape route signed and sealed for 2010 to Ferrari.

Who is to say that Ferrari will be such a major force in 2010?

2009 will be pretty much a Clean Slate for all the teams, what with KERS, reduced Aero, slicks, etc. Alonso would do well to keep his powder dry by taking Honda's one year option and seeing how the land lies. The Renault engine is the weakest on the grid at the moment click and that's unlikely to change very much next year. Alonso has probably played a large role in the development of the 2009 chassis and will know if it's good enough. If anybody can make the KERS system work, it's Honda or Toyota and Honda have yet to confirm their 2009 drivers click. Going to Honda can't do Fernando any harm, especially if it's somewhere to park (hopefully not literally) for a year and see how Ferrari cope next year.

There are no guarantees next race never mind two seasons time.

That said, based on the form for the last decade and the history you become part of driving for them, if i was Alonso, i know which team i would want to drive for, and its not Renault or Honda.

STR? <peek>
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Red Andy
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Alien_SAP_Fiend,Sep 3 2008
02:16 PM
Who is to say that Ferrari will be such a major force in 2010?

2009 will be pretty much a Clean Slate for all the teams, what with KERS, reduced Aero, slicks, etc.  Alonso would do well to keep his powder dry by taking Honda's one year option and seeing how the land lies.  The Renault engine is the weakest on the grid at the moment click and that's unlikely to change very much next year.  Alonso has probably played a large role in the development of the 2009 chassis and will know if it's good enough.  If anybody can make the KERS system work, it's Honda or Toyota and Honda have yet to confirm their 2009 drivers click.  Going to Honda can't do Fernando any harm, especially if it's somewhere to park (hopefully not literally) for a year and see how Ferrari cope next year.

The "clean slate" for 2009 isn't quite as simple as all that. When the regulations are shaken up so radically, it tends to be the teams with the biggest budgets that have the immediate advantage. With that in mind, one would expect Honda and Toyota to move up the grid and teams like Williams to fall back. However, Ferrari have lots of resources, too, and furthermore they know how to spend them wisely - compare Ferrari's success in the last few years to Honda and Toyota, who have bigger budgets but less F1 expertise.

Furthermore, how much will KERS contribute to the overall performance of the car? I would be surprised if it was all that significant, as the FIA has already decided to artificially cap the amount of power a KERS system can produce. This will negate the advantage of Honda and Toyota, who reportedly have actually developed KERS systems in their road cars that are more advanced than those permitted in F1 next year.

Overall I wouldn't expect the pecking order to change too much next year, except that Honda might move ahead of Williams, Red Bull and STR.
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