Raikkonen roars back onto F1 scene

Raikkonen roars back onto F1 scene

By Andrew Gwilym, Press Association Sport 

While the Bahrain Grand Prix is likely to be best remembered for events away from the track, it should go down as the race where Kimi Raikkonen re-emerged as a genuine Formula One contender.

All sorts of question marks had been raised over the Finn's return to the top echelon of motorsport after spending the last two seasons in the World Rally Championship and a brief dalliance with NASCAR.

But it has been clear to see from the outset that the 2007 world champion has settled back into Formula One with the relative comfort you would expect to see from such a talent, even if a series of misfortunes meant his results for Lotus did not immediately suggest it.

At the opening round in Australia there was instant encouragement with a fine seventh place in opening practice.

A communication issue during qualifying restricted him to 18th on the grid, but his reputation as one of the great overtakers remained intact as he stormed through to finish seventh in his first race on Pirelli tyres.

In Malaysia, Raikkonen qualified an impressive fifth, only for a gearbox change to see him handed a five-place grid penalty. A fifth place finish in the race, which saw him use the Pirelli wet tyre for the first time, again suggested the Kimi of old was back.

 That was offset by disappointment in China as starting fourth on the grid was wasted as a gamble on making his final set of tyres last backfired, dropping him from second to an eventual 14th.

But Bahrain was the clearest indicator yet that Raikkonen and Lotus are contenders for race wins and the world championship.

The way Raikkonen pushed his way through from 11th to harass world champion Sebastian Vettel for the majority of the race, with only a cautious pit strategy denying him victory, was reminiscent of the best moments of his first Formula One stint, when on his day he was arguably the fastest driver on the grid.

And there can be no question that as exciting as the 2010 and 2011 Formula One seasons were, Raikkonen was missed.

The Finn's mixture of aggression, bravery and phenomenal speed were obvious from the moment Peter Sauber plucked him from the obscurity of Formula Renault to race for his team in 2001 at the age of just 21.

Within a year Raikkonen was sat in a McLaren as replacement for another 'Flying Finn' Mika Hakkinen, and only poor reliability denied him title glory in 2003 and 2005, the latter season including his incredible drive from 17th on the grid to victory in Japan.

While the likes of Fernando Alonso, currently hamstrung by Ferrari's lack of pace, Vettel and Lewis Hamilton are lauded as being the best drivers in the world, it is easy to forget that Raikkonen's abilities more than pass muster when compared to that trio.

Arguably his finest hour came towards the end of his first season with Ferrari in 2007.

Raikkonen had no margin for error heading into the final two races of the season in China and Brazil, needing to win them both to beat the McLarens of Alonso and Hamilton to the title.

And he delivered with two peerless drives as the infighting Alonso and Hamilton let their eyes wander off the ball. It was Raikkonen who held his nerve.

But the 32-year-old has often given the impression of being someone who could do without the sport. He is often monosyllabic and unresponsive when faced with questions from the media, and is similarly unenthusiastic about dealing with sponsors.

His disillusionment and a lack of consistent results in 2008 and 2009 led to his move away from the sport, but thankfully he is back and showing that the fire still burns.

Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso have been warned.

Fonte:www.sportinglife.com 

Não estou acostumada mais a esta quantidade de elogios. E confesso, às vezes, a gente se perde no meio do caminho e do ego quando lê tantas coisas boas a respeito do piloto para o qual torcemos. A verdade, sendo a mais sincera possível com vocês, que eu quero um volta por cima de Kimi, mas isto não significa que ele precisa ser campeão novamente (o que eu adoraria se acontecesse, é óbvio), mas a volta por cima que eu quero é o reconhecimento o quão bom ele é. E isto já está acontecendo.

Eu nunca duvidei de Kimi, nunca deixei de estar ali, torcendo, desde o primeiro momento que me coloquei neste papel de sua torcedora. Foram anos e anos de certamente, muito mais derrotas do que vitórias, se falarmos em resultados concretos, mas se analisarmos no geral, tenho a certeza que posso dizer que eu torço para um melhores pilotos de F1 do mundo. Como o autor do texto diz, muitos só se lembram de falar do trio Alonso, Vettel e Hamilton e esquecem de Kimi, geralmente o delegam a um posto abaixo dos três, o que definitivamente, eu não concordo. 

A outra coisa que gostaria de comentar sobre este ótimo texto é a questão da disputa do título de 2007 e que o jornalista pontua bem, enquanto Lewis e Alonso, seus adversários diretos na briga eram os favoritos e tinham a vantagem, aquele de deveria arriscar tudo e ao mesmo tempo não tinha a chance de perder a calma, o controle, era Kimi, ele estava atrás, bem atrás, e ele manteve. Na pista e fora dela. Mas a única coisa que todos só conseguem lembrar de 2007 é que Lewis perdeu o título ou que Massa fez Kimi campeão, mas nunca que foi Räikkönen o responsável por se colocar em tal situação, sendo capaz de lutar até o fim. Todo mundo só se refere ao título de 2007 como sendo de sorte. Ninguém analisa o que Kimi fez durtante o ano para merecer este mundial, é mais fácil colocar a glória dele às custas de terceiros. 

Estas coisas me chateiam. Penso que Räikkönen não é visto com o valor que merece, e por isto, estou aproveitando cada palavra de elogio, cada texto que exalte o que eu sempre soube existir, o talento de Kimi e sua capacidade de ser maravilhoso no que faz, pilotar. Seja o que for, F1, rali ou Nascar.

Por quanto tempo vai durar isto? Pouquíssimo! Como tudo na vida, a mão que bate é a mesma que afaga. Por isto, aproveito hoje o bom momento, enquanto todos se rendem, porque vai passar e eeles voltarão a criticá-lo. Não que ele se importe, é claro! rsrsrs...

Beijinhos, Ludy