Kaj Lindström, Petter Solberg, Jari-Matti Latvala & Mikko Hirvonen speak about Kimi Räikkönen

A melhor coisa do mundo é ter fãs do piloto para o qual você torce que falem diversos idiomas. Se tem uma coisa que foi maravilhoso nestes anos de rally, foi que o compartilhamento de informações entre nós, fãs de Kimi, cresceu demais, já que a cobertura do rali é bem mais complicada. A galera traduz tudo! :)

Portanto, desta vez, trago para vocês o que foi traduzido de uma revista japonesa pelo Luviceman. São algumas declarações de alguns pilotos do WRC, e é claro, do co-piloto de Kimi, Kaj Lindström sobre o período de Räikkönen no mundo do WRC, e como eles viram a passagem do finalndês por lá. 

Como é bom ver o piloto que a gente troce ser respeitado por seus colegas. Dá um orgulho danado. Sei que não foi possível resultados concretos, mas o que o Iceman fez por lá, deixou marcas em todos. Boas marcas pelo que a gente percebe quando lê o que Mikko, Latvala, Petter e Kaj falam sobre o Iceman nos trechos abaixo. Fico feliz e emocionada em saber que o WRC soube respeitar Kimi em tão pouco tempo.

Repito o que já falei aqui milhões de vezes, o WRC foi um bálsamo para mim. Eu me diverti, aprendi a curtir uma nova categoria, fiz amigos e pude reaprender a torcer. Só ganhei! E tenho certeza que Kimi também, por isto ele diz que sua história por lá ainda não terminou. E a julgar pelos comentários dos companheiros abaixo, não acabou mesmo! :)

Kaj Lindström: "Rally is not easy. He proved it in past 2 years. Even if you are the world champion in any field, you can't succeed in Rally easily. Even if you can drive F1 well, you can't drive and control Rally car freely. Of course Kimi drove it well. There is no doubt about it. And he tremendously evolved in this two years. But winning is a different story."

"I saw Kimi was a real professional in Rally field as well. When he didn't quite satisfy his time in special stage, he kept silence in the cockpit and thought. He continued analyzing 'how can I drive faster?' Not for fun/pleasure, he addressed Rally directly and seriously. From a fragment of his attitude and the communication, I always felt it."

Petter Solberg: "I talked to Kimi a lot in 2011 because we are both privater of Citroen. Kimi didn't have his hospitality for his team, so he always came to my team's hospitality and stayed relaxed. He made coffee, ate snack and really relaxed. Even if the guests come, even if the media comes and taking pictures of him, he really didn't care about it but spent his time in his space. We often joked and laughing so hard. Kimi was not a guy who was said difficult/moody guy or weird guy. He is just a normal next door guy. Of course his talent of driver was not usual, and his attitude to Rally was really serious. I think if he continued, he could fight for win in near future. I welcome him back to WRC if he is away from F1."

Jari-Matti Latvala: "Kimi is a national hero in Finland. I also respect him, so I am pleased to find out he is fast from the beginning of his return to F1. I am really happy that his WRC career years didn't come out minus to his driving in F1. His F1 fan might have been disappointed because he didn't win, but it's not so easy to win in WRC. We rally drivers start learning how to make pace note since youth, remember the surface and characteristics of the road and run various courses. We start career with slower car and try and fail, and learn slowly. But Kimi did it with short limited time in 2 years and nearly get it. How he grew up as rally driver is not usual. I can only be surprised at what he achived in such short period. So I am a bit disappointed he left WRC on the way to growth. I would like to fight for rally again in future with Kimi."

Mikko Hirvonen: "When I heard Kimi would come to WRC at first, I thought he would struggle hard because F1 and WRC are totally different categories although it's the same motor sports. Someone also said, like ball games, it's different like football and basketball. It's impossible that the top football player tries to become top basketball player suddenly, isn't it? So even if he is ex F1 world champion, I thought he would have tough time. But once he came, he got 5th position and scored best time although he could not be on the podium. This is astonishing, and his fine showing was exceeded my expectations. Even if you do rally for years and driving top machine, there are lots of drivers who never score the best time. I believe he could have won if he continued. As the same Finnish, I also have to work harder to become the world champion!"

Fonte: Grand Prix Special magazine - Tradução para o Inglês: Luviceman

Beijinhos, Ludy