Is it just me, or is Raikonnen starting to wind people up? I have massive respect for the guy as a driving talent, but I am starting to wonder how long he'll stay in F1. This weekend especially he seems to be displaying a real lack of commitment, saying that he doesn't want to leave Ferrari but he wont stay in F1 if he isn't in a front running car.

He saw himself slip to 16th in Q1 as well, saying "I wasn't too keen to go out for another run, I thought we had done enough". Wasn't too keen? And there was me thinking he was a racing driver... Going back to Malaysia as well where his first instinct was to jump out the car and grab an ice cream, his lack of form in 2008 and generally average drives this year as well, its starting to look more and more likely that Alonso will have a free spot next year.

What do you guys think? It seems to me he's lost his passion, and I don't see him as the sort of guy to bounce back very easily.

I do agree with you that Kimi seems to have lost his will to race. His great days were at McLaren definately. Even when he won the championship I do believe he wasn't at his best anymore. Personally I see Kimi as a much more talented driver than Felipe, but Felipe has much more passion for what he does and is more determined, and that's shadowing Kimi. I do believe current drivers lack a bit in terms of personality. They're all pretty much the same. Some people may hate me but I miss the Jacques Villeneuves and Juan Pablo Montoyas of ten years ago.

I think Kimi has been winding people up.
Especially the staff and etc of Ferrari.

He says there was no point if he wasn't in a front running car?

It's not gonna happen this year, and with the rumours of Alonso taking his place next year. Then he won't be for a while.
So he must push as much as possible in the car he's got at the moment really.
Otherwise, if his lack of commitment keeps going then he won't be in a car good enough any time soon...

And that's a shame because I see him as a very good driver in F1, but since he became world champion anyway, I haven't seen him as the same Kimi.

No driver is immune to sacking, regardless of their position and achivements, Ferrari were of course the team that fired Alain Prost in 1991. If kimi does get sacked I don't think it would be met with too much annoyance and anger from Ferrari fans, especially the Italian ones. The Tifosi have only ever supported the team and the cars, if the cars are not doing well, the Tifosi generally blame the drivers for not doing the job, Kimi ceratinly won't be winning any more fans back in Italy.

Yeah, I get the impression that Kimi's thinking 'Well, I've got the title, I'm financially set for life....I'm not sure I need this.' He's not the most vocal of people, so it's hard to read anything into his mindset but as Kati said above, Massa has more passion and fire about being a driver.

That would be something, though, wouldn't it, if he was sacked.....he may well be out before Piquet and Bourdais!!

Cheers, everybody,
SmashTV

I think he is still motivated to drive and succeed in F1, and it if he didn't want to race anymore I really do think that he'd just drop it, in the same way James Hunt and Niki Lauda did (Niki Lauda the first time he retired) But again, just confuse the situatuion more, Kimi makes it clear and likes to give the impression that he doesn't care for the other dealings of F1, briefings, press conferences etc, yet Ferrari have stated that in his time at Ferrari, he has never been late to a press junket, and always stays over his alloted time, every time.

If he doesn't make progress later in the year, Ferrari will lose absolutley nothing regarding the constructors or drivers championships by sacking Kimi and putting Luca Badoer or Marc Gene in his seat.

Well i can't see him in F1 next year , he doesn't gives much important to F1 in the present .

he has a Nice Job with $50 Million/ year this is why he still in F1 I think just for the Money , he got a title and its enough for him

I don't think any of the drivers are in it for the money, if that was the case then they would only race for a year or two then leave. Personally I think it would have been better if Kimi had quit when he won the title, gone out on the top. The only person who knows whether he cares about F1 anymore is Kimi himself, and he turns up at every race, so that should say something shouldn't it. I really belivethat if he didn't want to do it, then he wouldn't, regardless of money or contracts, like people have said, he's earned a hell of a lot of money, so would it really dent his bank balance if Ferrari sued him for breaking his contract.

Not really. Two years in Formula One do not compensate the investment you've made to get into the series (with the previous series). nor do guarantee you a safe lifeplan Also, once you're in a series like F1, where you can always achieve more (better salaries in a top team, more bonus for points and for championship position) it's quite difficult just to go two years and quit. You have to be a real determinated person that does not change mind with bigger goals. I'm also not saying Kimi's there for the money. I do think he wanted to race at some point but it seems he's just not that interested anymore (maybe cus of everything involving F1 in the background).

About Badoer and Gene. I do not see them driving a Ferrari neither I do see Ferrari replacing Kimi in middle season, this means it'd give them time to hire an actual driver for the second spot. Nothing personal, it's just that they've spend too long in the background, and Ferrari does not need a support driver, they are in the position requiring a drastical change.

Let's just wait and see as Kimi only does his talking on track!

I can see Kimi going into Rallying when he leaves F1 which I don't think is too far away if I am honest

well after watching the FIA Review 2008 I believe Kimi did the best

In Australia , Monaco , Silverstone , France , Valencia, Canada , Japan he was very unlucky he could score at least 42 points .

Anyway kimi still one of the best drivers out there and i hope to see him next year challenging in a competitive and a decent cars .

I'm a huge fan of Kimi and I put him up there as one of the top drivers in F1 today, but I don't think he helps himself at times.

As previously pointed out, at Malaysia he seemed to want to give up right away, or was he intelligent enough to realise there is no way the race would have continued? Spain was another matter. His laid back, lazy side showed through there.

Has he lost his will to race? I don't think so. I think Belgium last year proved that, sure he ended up putting it in the wall, but that's Kimi - he takes risks. This season he almost put the car on pole at Monaco, a circuit where you need to be 'on it' to really get a good lap.

He's hard to judge, but he's undoubtedly a talented driver.

I say, he's lacking the motivation for quite awhile. Shame, coz he really got the talent.

I've said before that he's still motivated and that Kimi being Kimi would probably just walk away if he wasn't happy. Scoring three podiums on the bounce and leading pretty much lights to flag at a circuit like Spa shows that he's still very much a Formula driver.

He's just a different cat. Some drivers wear their hearts on their sleeves. Others have a passion in their voice when talking about a fast lap or a certain race. Kimi doesn't, he'd rather others woo the media and try to build up an image, Kimi turns up, puts his visor down and just flat out goes for it.

He's just someone you cannot dislike really... The excitement he gave us in 2005 at Suzuka, the toileting quote with Brundle and the burst of laughter in the press conference at the back end of 2008 after letting Felipe win.. Quality Kimi

Kimi is an amazing driver, and he will do well for the remainder of the season, even if it appears that he isn't trying very hard! But I also have a feeling his heart really isn't in F1 anymore. He doesn't appear interested in the whole F1 circus i.e. carrying out activities for sponsors, keeping the media happy etc so maybe it is all getting a bit much for him.

I can see Kimi heading to rally next year, with Alonso at Ferrari alongside Massa, freeing up a seat at Renault... possibly for Kubica?!?

Kimi? Rally driver.

When he crashed out of Rally Finland he was 4th in his class. Sebastian Loeb has even said he just needs to get a couple more rallys under his belt and he'll be good enough to go for wins, if not championships (obviously with a WRC car, not the class 2 cars he's had so far)

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