Polar express speeding through the desert

Polar express speeding through the desert 

Kimi Räikkönen. No Comeback in Schumi slow motion: already second in 4th race. What do confidants say about the cool Finn? 

The days of rage in Bahrain emerged as days of cold, at 40 degrees. Williams parted with a staff member because she was afraid to fly to Manama. Bernie Ecclestone let the TV cameras boycott Force India in qualifying because they skipped practice on Friday so that the staff doesn’t have to go to the hotel in the dark. And in the race shined the coolest driver, the antithesis of the from PR people formed driver type. In his forth race after the comeback the Finn stormed from place 11 to 2nd and there he also fired up Sebastian Vettel. What a humiliation for Michael Schumacher, who also in his 42nd race after his comeback failed at the attempt to get on the podium. What does Kimi make better? 

Tyre Whisperer. James Allison, Lotus technical director, noticed it immediately. “After his comeback he didn’t need laps to get in. His commitment was there right away and his lap times were top. Only with the steering he felt unwell at the beginning.” Trackside operations director Alan Permane, who had worked with Alonso and Kubica, felt it quickly: “He went out and I had the feeling: That’s an exceptional driver. He hit the calculated lap time always in his first lap.” But also in the pit he made a good job, in defiance of everlasting naggers: “His feedback during set up work is great. His knowledge of different engine and differential maps is excellent.” Someone who didn’t trust Kimi much was Michael Schumacher: “His biggest challenge will be to get to know the team. And for me it was most difficult to find an understanding of the tyres and fine tuning.” What for the seven times world champion might be an unsolvable problem, isn’t one for the highly gifted instinct racer Räikkönen. In Sepang he drove the fastest lap – although he had to drive there for the first time the Pirelli rain tyre. Only Titans are setting such an example! “I have a better car than Schumacher had at his comeback”, Räikkönen stays humble. Although his way of life is still unhealthy, on the flight from Malaysia back to Europe he was dead trunk, he never suffered motivation problems: “That talk all the time. People who write that don’t even know me.” What annoys him are stories about his last year at Ferrari 2009 that go around. “Always I was at fault – but it was one of my best seasons.” But typical that Kimi only after Massa’s KO in Budapest got really good and even won in Spa. Till then Ferrari developed the car according to Massa’s wishes – only when he was lying in the hospital, they asked Räikkönen’s opinion. But why he didn’t say earlier? “I said it once, but only once. After there was no reaction I stopped doing.” Räikkönen, the eternal silent breeder. Friends. 

Jo Leberer, the physiotherapist who was an important person for Kimi at the beginning of his carreer was always annoyed by critics: “Everybody has an opinion about him but barely one knows him. He is cool, open, indeed intelligent and able to work in a team.” And Mika Hakkinen, his mentor and idol, says to SportWoche: ”He is young, he has driven the last two years at highest level and regarding car control he is one of the most amazing humans I have ever seen. Once we were both at a rally. He drove and put his elbow casual out of the window – and still he was faster than everybody else. He is a gift by nature.” It is a pity that Dr. Helmut Marko once gave in the pressure of the Webber friendly corporate headquarters in Fuschl – and the planned dreamteam Vettel-Räikkönen at Red Bull never happened. Räikkönen would be the prototype of a Red Bull athlete: different, against the establishment, brave. And traditionally straightforward: “What I noticed in F1 in the last 2 years? No idea. I haven’t watched.” The polar express never drives like the PR navigators want. 

Fonte: SportWoche (Revista austríaca)/Tradução para o Inglês: Miezicat 

Este texto deve ser lido pelos fãs de Kimi Räikkönen. Meus destaques vão em especial para o terceiro parágrafo, onde James Allison e Alan Permane, hoje seus companheiros de trabalho na Lotus, falam sobre a habilidade de Räikkönen em dar feedback aos engenheiros, a maneira como ele entende da parte técnica e a forma como ele é profissional, mesmo sendo um bon vivant. #rsrsrsrs

Ler isto me deixa feliz e orgulhosa, porque o lixo que sempre escreveram sobre Kimi com relação ao seu relacionamento com os engenheiros cresceu muito a partir de seus anos na Ferrari. Mas o mais chocante de tudo, na verdade, é ler, no final do segundo parágrafo que esta equipe que tanto o julgou, só veio perguntar a ele sobre o carro de 2009 (pois o construíram baseado no estilo de pilotagem de Massa), depois que o brasileiro havia sofrido seu acidente na Hungria. A partir de então a Ferrari lembrou que tinha outro piloto. 

E para quem julga a temporada de 2009 de Kimi como ruim, só posso dizer, esta pessoa tem problemas, porque apesar de um carro horrosoro e uma equipe que não o queria mais ali, ele foi profissional, conseguiu 5 pódios, sendo um deles, uma vitória. 

Confesso que hoje, não penso mais em tudo o que aconteceu nas temporadas de 2008/2009, isto só me faz mal, mas ao ler estas coisas, é impossível não relembrar e sentir aquela angústia horrível de saber que não importasse o que Kimi fizesse, nada mudaria. 

Continuando sobre o artigo, o último parágrafo, onde o autor fala sobre Helmut Marko ter errado em não ter Kimi ao lado de Vettel na Red Bull, eu digo, houve um pequeno momento da minha vida de torcedora que desejei isto, mas passou rapidinho. Principalmente depois do rally, onde a Red Bull fez questão de tirar um pouco o corpo fora.

A verdade é que meu sonho era ver Kimi de volta à McLaren, o seu lugar, mas está bom do jeito que está agora, e se a Lotus souber tratar Kimi com respeito e der a ele oportunidades, ele as transformará em resultados, tenho certeza. 

Beijinhos, Ludy