Head To Head Fernando Alonso vs Kimi Räikkönen

[Il_leone]

the situation with Vettel and Red Bull today might just have tipped Luca into seriously replacing Kimi for next season

i know Kimi has come out sand said 2009 was even more difficult than now but he probably does not care having banked a good salary and retire without worrying having already proved he could race with front runners on his comeback

 

[WebSlave]

Partly because of Mercedes domination this head to head has been a lot less spectacular than expected. The other reason of course is Kimi struggling with his car much more than Fernando. After China Kimi admitted at least some of it is due to his driving style and he struggles more when it's cold and wet, because he can't get the tyre temperatures right. A problem he has had since he joined Ferrari the first time around (in effect the whole one supplier time, both Bridgestone and Pirelli).

Before the season I predicted (elsewhere) that Alonso will end up slightly ahead, because he has less weaknesses but more strong points. He's a better qualifier, a better starter and hugely better on the first lap. I assumed Ferrari would have the excellent starting system they had last year, but that hasn't showed in Kimi's starts. I also think (which is more an opinion than a fact) that Alonso is better with the team personnel and with tactics during the race. He wants to know where others are, while Kimi concentrates more on his own race.

They both at their best in races, and at his best level Raikkonen is just as fast as Alonso, who knows maybe faster, but his setup window is much narrower than Alonsos.

 

[Il_leone]

Hamilton found Alonso absolutely relentlessly consistently fast even when he went fast and has admitted it was his toughest opponent

So Kimi needs to be at his best consistently to get on terms with Fernando which is something Kimi does not seem to able to deliver well nowhere near Fernando

Kimi's laid back attitude helps him deal with this situation better than say some drivers like Barrichello who would feel demoralised very easily by the constant beatings because he simply does not care

 

[WebSlave]

Hamilton found Alonso absolutely relentlessly consistently fast even when he went fast and has admitted it was his toughest opponent

So Kimi needs to be at his best consistently to get on terms with Fernando which is something Kimi does not seem to able to deliver well nowhere near Fernando

If Ferrari can get the car working like Kimi likes, he'll be challenging Fernando. But it's a big if. Even then, when Kimi flops in a race, he usually flops more than Alonso does. And there's still the disadvantage at the quali and the start/first lap of the race. So Raikkonen may have to beat Alonso with strategy.

Kimi's laid back attitude helps him deal with this situation better than say some drivers like Barrichello who would feel demoralised very easily by the constant beatings because he simply does not care

He cares, but he's less emotional about it - like many Finns. He knows the reasons for the problems (or at least can rationalise them to himself), so from the other point of view, there's a possibility to correct them. While he enjoys racing above all, for him it doesn't seem to be constant comparison to others. It seems to be more about doing his own job the best he can, regardless of others, even the team-mate.

But as another point, the tyre temperatures have been a problem since 2007 as I wrote, and that has very much to do with driving style. If he's not willing to change it (and there's been a plenty of time already), he will keep having these problems as long as he is in F1. Adapting to the car is not his strong point, the car has to be made to suit him.

 

[Slyboogy]

To be fair, all the bad luck that Ferrari have suffered has gone Raikkonen's way. He seems to be losing a free practice per race and even in the testing after Bahrain Raikkonen's car was used it turned out to have damage which may well have been present during the race. On the other hand Alonso does seem to be driving out of his skin this season.

This.

He had several gremlins in winter testing, and now they've progressed on to the F1 season. He finished just behind Alonso in a damaged chassis in Bahrain, and looked quicker of the two in Malaysia but had the unfortunate incident with Magnussen.

He'll come good soon.

On top of that, Ferrari need to sort the car out.

 

[RasputinLives]

Have to say I notice people make a lot of excuses for Kimi. Most of them seem pretty reasonable (although I will point out he was behind Alonso at Malaysia before the contact with Kmag) but the reasonable excuses come so frequently it makes me wonder.

Maybe if Ferrari had put him on a race by race contract we'd see him in good form all the time.

 

[Bill Boddy]

I have tried to not make any "excuses" for Raikkonen, rather I have suggested reasons as to why he has not performed as well as might have been expected.

 

[siffert_fan]

Alonso has also been working with the team members for a number of years, while Kimi is relatively new to the team. That also means that it is possible that the car was designed with Fernando's preferences in mind. Even so, I have to admit that I have been disappointed with Kimi's season thus far. I don't however, expect his run of bad luck to continue.

For those who doubt the existence of bad luck, I suggest that you look up the career of Chris Amon!

 

[RasputinLives]

I have tried to not make any "excuses" for Raikkonen, rather I have suggested reasons as to why he has not performed as well as might have been expected.

I.E - an excuse

For those who doubt the existence of bad luck, I suggest that you look up the career of Chris Amon!

Its not that I don't believe in bad luck its just that, in F1 terms, when a driver has an over abundance of it then it creates questions in my mind. Its happened with the likes of Webber, Trulli, Alesi and now Kimi. The word 'car breaker' whispers through my head.

Although with Kimi I might suggest he has motivational issues.

 

[Bushi]

Alonso has also been working with the team members for a number of years, while Kimi is relatively new to the team. That also means that it is possible that the car was designed with Fernando's preferences in mind. Even so, I have to admit that I have been disappointed with Kimi's season thus far. I don't however, expect his run of bad luck to continue.

For those who doubt the existence of bad luck, I suggest that you look up the career of Chris Amon!

Oh yes, read about him......well read a qoute about the most unluckiest driver in f1 by Marco Andretti, so i guess that it's him:

Mario Andretti once joked that "if he became an undertaker, people would stop dying".

 

[The Pits]

As an aside, Eddie Irvine said something similar about Coulthard

"He could fall in to a sea of Breasts, and come up sucking his own thumb"

 

[Slyboogy]

 

[gethinceri]

Whereas if Irvine fell into a sea of breasts he'd come up with his head stuck up some one better's arse.

 

[Sakari]

Although with Kimi I might suggest he has motivational issues.

What a pile of horse crap...

 

[RasputinLives]

Just saying what I see. I'm not the only one to have said it.

 

[teabagyokel]

I think he looks like he has motivational issues, because all he wants to do is put his foot down and race. He's not motivated to do the rest of the shit.

 

[Il_leone]

teabagyokel It does not look good if your predecessor and successor have being shown to have more commitment in the eyes of Luca to gain those little advantages

If Kimi was winning races or least battling for podiums then there would not be a big problem but anything other than race wins and championship is considered failure and everything is scrutinised as to why he is not delivering

 

[Greenlantern101]

I am getting irrationally peed off with people claiming Kimi is slow because he has 'motivation issues' if driving for Ferrari, being paid a truck load of cash and driving in the pinnacle of motor sport isn't enough to motivate you then maybe you should **** off and let someone else have the seat.

Its making excuses for someone that shouldn't need them.

 

[RasputinLives]

I have a good idea what motivates Kimi......

 

[teabagyokel]

He beat Alonso in quali today. Lets wait for him to actually fail before looking for reasons.