2010 será o ano sabático mesmo para Raikkonen? Ao que tudo indica sim. Kimi já garantiu que não existe possibilidade dele participar do mundial de F1 ano que vem, já que sua única opção, a McLaren, contratou Jenson Button. Puro desperdício na minha opinião um piloto  do calibre do Kimi ficar afastado por um ano. O tetracampeão Alain Prost avisou a Kimi que se quiser uma vaga em 2011, terá que se manter em forma, existem alguns passarinhos cantando por ai que Kimi seria a grande surpresa da Mercedes (ex-Brawn GP), mas eu duvido muito disso, Raikkonen está mais perto dos Ralis mesmo. agora é esperar e ver.

Abraços e Comentem

Quatro hipóteses para a equipa alemã

O processo de ’selecção’ do segundo piloto da equipa na ‘nova’ Mercedes Grand Prix vai continuar a dar que falar durante mais algum tempo. É certo que Kimi Raikkonen continua a ser forte possibilidade para a equipa alemã, só que não vai ser fácil convencê-lo, pois o pré-contrato que o finlandês tem (ler notícia relacionada, ver link abaixo) permite-lhe disputar ralis, como ele queria e voltar à F1 em 2011, com um bom carro e a auferir bem mais do que a Mercedes lhe quererá pagar este ano.

Mas as hipóteses da Mercedes não se resumem, obviamente a Kimi Raikkonen. A verdade é que com a saída de Button, a Mercedes precisa de um piloto ganhador para se juntar a Nico Rosberg, e neste contexto, para além do finlandês, os ‘jokers’ mais prováveis no baralho são:

Nick Heidfled: Competente e experiente, mas longe do perfil ganhador que a Mercedes gostaria. Será sempre uma segunda escolha.

Robert Kubica: A Mercedes vai esperar pela decisão da Renault para tomar a sua. Se os franceses abandonarem a F1, Kubica fica livre para ingressar na equipa campeão do mundo

Michael Schumacher: Um regresso espectacular, mas que o alemão já desmentiu. No entanto já se viu que na F1 a regra é “Nunca digas nunca”. Pode vir a integrar a equipa, mas com funções de gestão.

[Fonte: autosport.aeiou.pt]

Tetracampeão afirma que finlandês é preguiçoso, gosta de festas e de beber

O francês Alain Prost, tetracampeão da F-1,aconselhou Kimi Raikkonen a pensar seriamente antes de decidir se afastar da principal categoria do automobilismo por um ano, como o finlandês anunciou recentemente.

Para Prost, o ex-piloto da Ferrari e campeão em 2007, que pretende se dedicar ao rali em 2010, pode ter dificuldades para convencer os chefes de equipes a contratá-lo novamente.

“Ele tentará o rali, mas Kimi é um pouco preguiçoso, gosta de festas e de beber um pouco. Quando você fica um ano fora, precisa pensar seriamente nisso, preparado físico e mentalmente”, disse Prost à rádio Europe 1 radio.

O francês teve um ano sabático na F-1 em 1992, antes de retornar no ano seguinte e conquistar seu último título, pela equipe Williams. Para o tetracampeão, o problema de Kimi está também no relacionamento com seus colegas de time.

“Ele às vezes tem dificuldades para trabalhar como uma equipe. Algumas pessoas da Ferrari não gostavam de seu comportamento com os engenheiros, mas ele é um piloto maravilhoso”, disse.

“Entretanto, pode ser difícil para ele convencer as pessoas a acreditar novamente nele em 2011″,

[Fonte: tazio.uol.com.br]

Piloto da Ford diz que pilotos da categoria levam muita vantagem sobre ele

O finlandês Mikko Hirvonen, piloto do WRC pela equipe Ford, afirmou que duvida que o campeão de 2007 da F-1, Kimi Raikkonen, obtenha sucesso logo em seu ano de estreia no rali, que deve acontecer em 2010.

O ex-piloto da Ferrari pretende tirar um ano sabático na principal categoria do automobilismo e se dedicar à sua nova grande paixão, as corridas de rali. Ele, inclusive, já participou de algumas provas neste ano e deixou clara sua vontade de competir na mesma categoria que o hexacampeão Sebástien Loeb.

Para Hirvonen, no entanto, é preciso ter paciência em relação ao compatriota, já que os atuais competidores têm uma vantagem grande em relação a ele por terem uma grande experiência na categoria, portanto, mais ritmo.

“Kimi é veloz e não tem problemas para pilotar. Mas se preparar para correr com anotações de ritmo é um caso difícil para ele”, disse o finlandês ao site Sportti.com.

“Os pilotos do WRC têm muito mais experiência, e quase todas as provas serão desconhecidas para Kimi. É difícil imaginar que ele possa ter sucesso, ao menos na primeira temporada.”

Especulações sobre seu desempenho à parte, Hirvonen disse que são grandes as chances de que Raikkonen dispute sua primeira temporada no próximo ano.

“Aquele homem não me surpreende em nada. Não ficaria surpreso se ele tirasse um ano de folga e competisse, por exemplo, em cinco provas do WRC, ou na temporada toda”, finalizou.

[Fonte: tazio.uol.com.br]

I still cannot believe that Kimi won’t be starting in any race next year or maybe forever.

But is this too early to look at a fine career of Kimi? When i look at Kimi’s career and think of his finest moments pop up in my head. These moments include Suzuka in 2005 where Kimi won the race after starting from 17th place and overtaking race leader Fisichella on the final lap,  his exploits at Spa circuit – the circuit which separates men from boys, Brazil in 2007 where he won WDC, or performances throughout second half of 2009 season in a slow Ferrari car

I even silently pray that he gets a drive with a competitive car like Mercedes.  It would be good for Kimi fans like me and for F1 in general.

We are contemplating to launch a global P1Mag format in English language in 2010. We would like to offer you a first peak on how our e-paper looks in its current German version. As a bonus we’re offering our latest silly season report in English about the background on Schumacher, Räikkönen and Kiubica regarding Mercedes GP.

You can download it for free from the official P1Mag homepage

Liebe Kollegen, ich habe ja nichts dagegen, wenn ihr unsere Recherche für eure Reportagen benutzt. Ich baue aber darauf, dass im Zuge der Fairness unter Kollegen dann auch P1Magazin für die Story, wer denn als Teamkollege von Nico Rosberg bei Mercedes Grand Prix vorgesehen ist, als Quelle genannt wird. Vielen Dank !

Posted via email from P1Magazin

Dear colleagues, please be so kind to quote P1Magazin when breaking the story about Nico Rosbergs likely team-mate to your readers. Thank you !

Updates on this story HERE

Incluso aunque Mercedes no hubiera comprado Brawn, Nico Rosberg hubiera pasado al equipo de Brackley para 2010, insiste el director ejecutivo Nick Fry. El lunes se reveló que el antiguo piloto de Williams es el primer piloto de Mercedes GP.

Se ha rumoreado durante meses que Rosberg se iba a marchar a Brawn y Fry confirmó que las conversaciones se han mantenido durante la temporada 2009.

“Nico se iba a incorporar a Brawn bajo cualquier circunstancia,” declaraba a la prensa, entre sugerencias de que la firma de Rosberg fue una primer indicación de la influencia que han ejercido los nuevos propietarios del equipo.

“Estamos muy satisfechos de que las circunstancias hayan funcionado tal como lo han hecho, pero la negociación se realizó principalmente con el equipo Brawn, conmigo y con Ross,” añadía Fry.

Algunos expertos consideran a Nick Heidfeld como la elección más probable para ser el compañero de Rosberg, pero también se ha vinculado a ese puesto a Michael Schumacher y Kimi Räikkönen.

Robert Kubica también podría ser una posibilidad, dependiendo del resultado de las deliberaciones que está realizando Renault sobre su compromiso con la F1.

[Fonte: es.f1-live.com] - E.M. © CAPSIS International - Fuente: GMM

Kimi Raikkonen assinou um pré-contrato com a Red Bull, depois de terem falhado as negociações com a McLaren, documento esse que passará a definitivo se o finlandês não assinar com nenhuma equipa de Fórmula 1 até ao final deste ano para correr em 2010.

A informação chegou de fontes muito próximas de Raikkonen, que nos garantiram que o nórdico deverá disputar um programa limitado do WRC com a equipa oficial da Citroën no próximo ano, para satisfazer os seus ímpetos competitivos, antes de voltar à F1 com a Red Bull Racing em 2011, tomando o lugar que ainda é de Mark Webber.

A dupla com Vettel seria do agrado de ambos, mas a Mercedes tem ainda cinco semanas para garantir o concurso do finlandês para as próximas temporadas. Saiba mais na revista AutoSport, hoje nas bancas.

[Fonte: autosport.aeiou.pt]

Old-ish news but we now know that it’s highly likely that Kimi Raikkonen will be leaving F1 for at least a year with the McLaren drive no longer up to grabs thanks to Jenson Button. To many people, it seems, this is no big loss. But to me, this is a huge one.

Raikkonen started his F1 career in 2001, with the Sauber team. He only had 23 car races to his name at this point, and many believed it was dangerous letting him drive at the highest level in F1 at this stage. Nevertheless, he bypassed many of the junior Formulae by jumping into F1. And how did he silence his critics? By saying very little, and simply driving his way to a points scoring position in his first race. He didn’t succumb to the pressure. In fact, he was asleep 30 minutes before his first race. Pressure? What pressure. He’s there to drive.

But that’s been a feature of Kimi Raikkonen. He’s not a fan of the media. He just wants to drive. His interviews are almost always boring affairs with him speaking in his trademark nasal monotone, and yet he has a certain charm about him. He’s been known as lazy, in the recent 2009 season being seen in shorts and T-shirt, eating an ice cream after a red flagged race, while his mechanics work frantically, and other drivers wait to go back out.

And his dislike for the media, and his I-don’t-care personality can sometimes provide great amusement to those of us who appreciate that he isn’t just a robot, he has more personality than almost anyone else in Formula One. He doesn’t just conform to the ideals that are always being set upon the drivers.

He’s lazy, unconventional, and perhaps a little greedy with his contract negotiations.

But he’s still blisteringly quick.

2009 saw one of, if not the most awful Ferrari car of the past few decades, being used. Kimi took it to it’s first podium of the year at Monaco, and, after Massa had his horrific accident at Hungary, Kimi really stepped up to the plate, despite Ferrari stopping development of their car to focus on next year around half-way through the season. He achieved a brilliant win at Spa, and came a solid sixth in the world drivers championship, only narrowly being beaten by 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren that was being developed all season.

Let’s not forget how experienced racer Luca Badoer and solid, on the pace, proven race-winner Giancarlo Fisichella fared in the same car. Zero points between them. Yet Raikkonen hustled the car to forty-eight points in the season, all when he’d had speculation all year that his job at Ferrari was to be taken by former double world-champion Fernando Alonso.

Kimi himself is a former world champion, and was very close to winning on two other occasions where it was only the car’s reliability that could be blamed. It’s a testament to his racing ideals that he would prefer to take a sabbatical or try another form of racing if he can’t be competitive in his current series.

He has natural talent and is one of the few F1 racers of today’s era that can hustle the best out of a bad car (along with Hamilton and Alonso, amongst maybe one or two more), and isn’t afraid to push hard and make daring manoeuvres (I still remember his win at Spa 2005, where, in the wet, he pushed to retain his lead with a fastest lap at the time that was two seconds faster than the nearest time). Without him, we lose one of the true racers and champions of today’s era, and we lose one of the most unique people the sport has ever seen. I for one, will miss you Kimi. Please come back soon. I’m sure there will be a place for you somewhere, whether it’s McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari… Who knows. I guess to him it just depends who’s competitive this year. To them, it depends if they can afford him.

Relevant song lyric of the post: Racer X – Motor Man

“Speed is his lifeline
Motorman”

Closing KoLd Quote:

“Kimi Raikkonen will be missed by many, even if some aren’t comfortable with his less-than standard demeanor. People may not realise it, but without him, the racing will not quite be the same. He isn’t easily replaceable. He has cast a shadow; I hope that a major F1 team sees that by next season, or, regrettably, that will be another true racer in the vain of both Senna and Schumacher that we will have lost.”

Sebastian Vettel mostrou vontade de disputar ralis mas a Red Bull já o desincentivou.

De acordo com o jornal alemão ‘Bild-Zeitung’, Vettel tinha dito: “Para os pilotos de Fórmula 1, os ralis são uma moda.”. Kimi Raikkonen já correu na Finlândia, Robert Kubica ‘treinou’ em Itália e vai correr em França, e agora fala-se também no Heikki Kovalainen. Contudo, Christian Horner, patrão da Red Bull já fez saber que por razões de segurança “Nem pensar.”

[Fonte: autosport.aeiou.pt]

Desde Alain Prost en 1993, nadie que se fue de la F1 regresó ganando · Sainz tampoco ve fácil que triunfe en rallies en sólo un año · Loeb probó a la inversa

Kimi Raikkonen se debate estos días en una de las indecisiones más difíciles de su carrera deportiva. Su idea, a día de hoy, según su representante, es tomarse un año sabático en la Fórmula 1 (de no mediar una desorbitante oferta de Mercedes), pasarlo en los rallies lo mejor posible y regresar a un equipo potente del ‘gran circo’ en 2011, pero eso no es tan fácil. Nada de lo que pretende, ninguna de sus opciones, son fáciles.

Por un lado, encontrar hueco en un gran equipo un año después de no haberlo encontrado ahora, no parece sencillo. Si no hay asiento libre en Ferrari o McLaren al acabar una temporada en activo, mucho menos el año que viene, por no hablar de regresar y además hacerlo ganando, algo que no le ha pasado a nadie desde las épocas de Lauda o Prost.

Ambos regresaron tras pasar un año en blanco y fueron campeones del mundo, pero con coches que no cambiaban en lustros, sin electrónica, nada comparado a ahora, donde varían casi de un año para otro por el vertiginoso desarrollo tecnológico. El último que lo sufrió fue Jacques Villeneuve en 2004, que aterrizó en Renault para sustituir a Trulli y no podía ni seguir la estela de Fernando Alonso, que lo ninguneó en cada carrera.

Esta dificultad se agrava con la emergente hornada de pilotos adolescentes, tan hambrientos y competitivos que en un solo año se cuelgan galones y medallas y no hay quien les tosa. Sebastian Vettel ha sido un ejemplo, pero Jaime Alguersuari podría ser otro más.

La aventura de los rallies
La segunda opción, la aventura de los rallies, tampoco tiene perfil victorioso. Si al final se marcha a Citroën, con el apoyo de Red Bull, con quien ha tenido reuniones clandestinas a través de su representante en Austria, el panorama sería más de aprendizaje y diversión porque la adaptación de un piloto de Fórmula 1 al pilotaje de rallies es complicado.

“Me cuesta pensar que se vaya a mover”, señalaba a MARCA Carlos Sainz, campeón del mundo de rallies y uno de los pilotos más versátiles de la historia (ha probado monoplazas de Renault). “Si al final lo hace, no dudo de su talento. El que es piloto es piloto sea donde sea, y lo hizo muy bien cuando corrió en el Rally de Finlandia, pero de ahí a ganar pruebas es más complicado”.

Para el bicampeón mundial español, la experiencia es un valor muy importante: “Por muy rápido que seas, y un campeón del mundo de F1 lo es, necesitas un período importante de tiempo, elaborar y trabajar con las notas y el copiloto, necesita tiempo, conocer los tramos, a veces incluso de memoria. Un campeón puede hacerlo dignamente, pero de ahí a ganar más…”.

Al revés tampoco es sencillo. Loeb probó el año pasado el Toro Rosso y se coló entre los ocho mejores. Fue un espejismo. Hace varios meses, en Jerez, se subió de nuevo a un monoplaza, esta vez un GP2. “Es necesario mucho trabajo para llegar al nivel requerido”, lamentó, con frustración, el galo, muy lejos de los mejores.

[Fonte: marca.com]

BBC Sport brings you a regular round-up of the gossip in newspapers and on specialist websites around the world.

Ross Brawn says selling out to Mercedes for a reported £70m will secure a “very strong future” for the team.
Full story: The Independent

Kimi Raikkonen has denied his manager’s claims that he is interested in joining the new Mercedes team.
Full story: Planet-F1.com

Swiss driver Neel Jani will test a Force India car in next month’s young drivers’ test at the Spanish circuit of Jerez. India’s Karun Chandhok could be in line to test alongside Jani.
Full story: F1-live.com

Michael Schumacher and Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi are among more than 300 drivers competing at the SKUSA Supernationals karting evening in Las Vegas this weekend. The 0.66 mile (1.1 kilometre) circuit winds around the grounds of the Rio Las Vegas Hotel.

Full story: Formula1.com

Schumi Going Green?

And no… I do not mean environmentally friendly. After initial reports tipped Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg for the drives at Mercedes GP (formerly Brawn GP), rumours have surfaced about another German bumping Heidfeld from the running. Former F1 team owner, and established race analyst Eddie Jordan, has stated his belief that retired, 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher, will now prospectively be the number one at Mercedes, which will place even more certainty on the impending departure of Kimi Raikkonen from F1, for the next year at least. Of course, this is still all up in the air. Michael faces a fair bit of red tape including gaining medical clearance, being released from his current contract at Ferrari… not to mention the physical wear and tear on that F1 will put on his body… how much more he can take has he suits up at the ripe age of 40? While it would be amazing to see the greatest driver of our generation take to the world’s circuits once more, we should remember that all of these talks could be surrounding a consultative move, comparable to his role with Ferrarri currently.

Jordan did comment that the contract would likely only last a year as the general thought is that Mercedes ultimately want Sebastian Vettel as soon as he becomes available… which could be as early as next year depending on any extensions and or/options that are extended in his contract at Red Bull Racing. This also pushes Heidfeld into drivers no-mans land, which is somewhat disappointing because many feel that while he has not always had the most flattering results in the series, that he is a bona fide competitor and that he could without a doubt be a solid contributor to any team in search of winning the constructor’s title. Stay tuned to cheddarbomb.wordpress.com for an upcoming breakdown of Teams and their driver selection to date.

Mercedes Loves Germans

It seems there are some news stories flying around the Formula One paddock that may or may not be true. One thing that we do know at this point is that Kimi Raikkonen has decided to take a sabbatical from F1 for 2010 and go to the WRC. His decision is based on the fact that he was pushed out by Ferrari, was too expensive for every other team and couldn’t come to contract terms with McLaren before Jenson arrived on the scene. He has stated that he could return in 2011, but only if he is driving for a team that has a shot at winning a title. This logic also runs through his WRC hopes and he, I assume anyway, will sign with Citroen if he wants the best car. I am on the fence about him going. I was never a true fan of his, but he did bring a really mellow, laid-back, Finnish attitude to the pits that was really refreshing… plus, he could wear a hat like no other. His Kimi-cap fashion was something to see in every press conference. As far as rumor is concerned, there is some speculation going around that Michael Schumacher will actually return for the 2010 season. But the shocker is that it won’t be in a red car with a prancing horse at the front. If he does come back though, he could be pared with Ross Brawn again at Mercedes (formerly Brawn). Eddie Jordan, the outspoken former team owner and BBC pundit, has made it known that he believes Schumi will be back on the grid, but that it will be in a Silver Arrows with Mercedes Grand Prix. Personally, I would hate to see this happen, but it isn’t like Michael can drive for the prancing horse because both seats are filled. If Luca di Montezemolo had his way and gotten the third car he wanted, this would not be an issue, but because that won’t be an option, Schumacher to Mercedes looks like a possibility that cannot be denied. Also, it has come about that, although Schumi renewed his contract with Ferrari, it has nothing to do with the F1 team anymore and is solely focused on the road car division. This leaves his racing wide open and he could be the person to fill one of the two seats that is now open at Mercedes GP because of the departures of both Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. Do I think Schumi will do it? I think he will certainly give it a shot, I mean, he desperately wanted to come back this year and was unable, but his neck injury meant that he had to return to the sidelines. But that will be healed soon, so he will probably give it a good run. Now, do I want Schumi to return in anything that isn’t red and comes from Maranello? Of course not. But that’s the way things work these days. The coming weeks will really tell the whole story, but it is an interesting development and could be one of the biggest stories of the off season if it comes to fruition. Just imagine what Schumacher and Brawn can do with a car that came away with both the driver’s and constructor’s championships last year. It could be a hell of a season if that’s the case. Stay tuned.