Vale a pena ler... Sobre o ano de Kimi

Is the Iceman really melting away?

by Karthik_F1

A Happy Home coming With two victories, eight podiums and 390 points, Kimi Raikkonen's Formula 1 return story until 2013 was not only an impressive one, but also a glamourous one. He was cool, focused, consistent and more importantly “motivated”. Pour in some 'Leave me alone' team radio messages and it was the sort of comeback Michael Schumacher would have killed for. In short, he was back to his Icy winning ways. Or so it seemed. 2014 saw Ferrari recalling Raikkonen’s services after their first spell together gave them three titles in total which is also the last time they won anything whatsoever in Formula1. The Formula 1 world loved it. Some saw it as one of the best team-mate show downs F1 has ever witnessed. The reality though disappointed every Formula1 fan out there.

Alonso outraced him

2014 was, in all ways and in any way you could possibly think of, the worst year in Formula 1 for Raikkonen. WORST EVER. With just 55 points to his name over 19 races our Mr. consistent, as he was commonly called by TV pundits during 2012 and 2013, has on average scored about 2.8 points per race. That's lesser than the likes of Felipe Massa, Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen. Never has he been beaten by a team mate so badly in the 10+ years of his Formula 1 career. He suffered the worst defeat to a team-mate across the entire grid with Alonso out-qualifying him 16-3 over the season.

This is also the first time in his career he has never made it to the podium during a season since his debut year. On the technical side, even things like tyre wear which were commonly seen as his strengths have not helped him much and have acted against him throughout the year. In short, there is nothing that could possibly be taken as a positive from his performances in 2014. So, has the Iceman simply forgotten how to drive a Formula 1 car? Perhaps, the doctors misplaced a chip or two when they operated the Robotic Raikkonen for that sore back at the end of last year?

Ferrari should give him a better car

The situation though is much more complicated than just a misplaced chip. To begin with, Kimi has simply been bad with the F14T. We hear lots of reasons in response to a “Why”. First there was the extra torque from the Ferrari V6. Then the pull rod suspension system of Ferrari that he is not used to, then the brake by wire system that was said to be giving him a hard time and finally the in-famous front-end bite or the lack of it from the F14T. Worst part? While Kimi was moaning about all this at one end of the Ferrari garage, Fernando was simply driving around all of them, yet again producing the results Ferrari needed. And this could be really frustrating for a driver in Kimi’s shoes.

So, the simple question is if Kimi is as good, then why hasn’t he been able to do what Alonso has done. Well, it’s just a matter of changing your driving style right? But, its not as simple as it sounds. As most of us have observed in the past, Kimi has a very smooth driving style. He is a tad gentle on the car than the likes of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. Call it arrogance or lack of skills, he has always been reluctant in changing that style. It’s the same story this year as he has simply denied to make any adjustments to his driving styles in order to work in harmony with the F14T. But, the man has the balls to say 'I have never changed my driving style and will never do so' in a recent interview.

His argument is that its up to Ferrari to give him a car he wants. One with a great front end that will give him the necessary grip to enter any given corner with full attack and aggression which then translates into a smooth follow through and an effortless exit. A smooth and clean style of driving that has also given him other advantages like tyre management during the recent years. He certainly thinks that’s the way to go forward if Ferrari ultimately wants to end up producing a quick and a stable car.

A technically good driver

But, that’s not the way TV pundits and experts see it. We are already hearing lots of debates as to whether Ferrari should keep him beyond 2015, if indeed he chooses to stay. As often Kimi is being portrayed, TV pundits often like to write him off as someone who is dumb technically and inactive when it comes to helping his engineers with the development of the car. He is known for his finish-your- work-and-go-home attitude which is in stark contrast with what is being shown about drivers like Alonso and Vettel.

Well, yes his approach towards racing is simple. 100% when you are in the car and racing, but forget it all once you are out of the car and the track. Like it or not a large chunk of his success has to be attributed to this approach which at times also makes him attractive to preposterous accusations like being an unmotivated driver or even a money minded bloke. Well, if you have followed Kimi Raikkonen through his career from 2001, you would learn to look over such claims. Right from his debut in Formula 1 in a Sauber, Kimi has been as good as anyone out there technically. He has mastered cars of various teams with different characteristics and three different breeds of Formula 1 engines in his 12 year long career.

A driver who is able to constantly extract the most from different sets of cars can simply not be claimed to be “dumb”. I still remember how strong he was during the fiery McLaren days when he never got a chance to drive a reliable and a quick car like Schumacher or Alonso with their Ferraris and Renaults. Yet, he has never failed to surprise the grid with strong fight backs and dominating wins like Sepang 2003, Spa 2004 or Spain 2005. I remember when Kimi went through a bad phase in his championship winning year, 2007 too.

Good results in the recent past

After dominating the opening race at Albert Park he was somehow not in love with the F2007's front suspension configurations. He was calm and focused though. It took him until the French GP at Magny Cours to understand the technical difficulties, work with the team and come up with solutions which finally enabled him to taste the victorious champagne again.

This was again a tough period because his team mate meanwhile had scored four poles and two victories. But, once he took off at the French GP he put together a champion season. His victory at the British GP is still one of the best in my books which was a great combination of aggression during the first stint, fuel conservation during second and then composure in the last stint in the lead.

If you need a much newer example, we have some from the Chinese GP 2012. Kimi was a rookie to the Pirelli tyres due to his comeback. He just could not make the tyres hold much longer and as a result fell back in the race to finish 14th. But, he learnt from it. Over the course of the season, Kimi adapted his driving style around the tyre management area and later evolved into arguably the best driver in that department which rewarded him with some beautiful results that year and 2013. Such performances simply cannot be produced by the mediocre batch of F1 drivers who are not as smart as Kimi.

Road ahead

So can Kimi lead Formula’s most successful team to glory, yet again? Well, the positives - Ferrari's technical team is now under the control of Mr. James Allison. This combo had done wonders in the Lotus F1 Team until James left for Ferrari. The odds are with them to team up and produce a car that would benefit both the parties. On the negative side though, Ferrari is on a firing and hiring spree amidst a huge restructuring phase. Does Ferrari have enough time to give Raikkonen a machine to deliver? Or will they lean more towards Vettel's inputs as he is now their long term future. Highly likely. If Kimi cannot adapt to their 2015 car early on and put some pressure on the German in the first half of the season, chances are very high that he will end up being the number two in the team in what could be his final year in Formula 1.

However, as a Formula 1 lover and a Kimi fan, I just hope we get to see glimpses of the fiery Raikkonen again in 2015. Because it’s always good when drivers like Kimi , with a unique combination of natural talent and straight-forward attitude, succeed in a complex sport such as Formula 1.

Fonte: www.sportskeeda.com 

Ler este texto me emocionou. Por diversas razões. A primeira, porque o autor conseguiu escrever o que eu não tenho capacidade para fazer, analisar Kimi de forma fria e objetiva.

Segundo, doi olhar para temporada de 2014 e perceber que ela foi a pior da carreira do Iceman desde a sua estreia. Não houve um pódio, ele sequer terminou entre os dez primeiros e a forma como ele foi derrotado pelo seu companheiro de equipe será sempre um recordação amarga e dolorosa.

Terceiro, porque eu torço por Kimi, porque eu quero vê-lo vencer, porque eu sei o quão bom ele é, independente de um ano ruim, mas isto não basta para os outros. Eu tenho meus momentos de raiva, de frustração, de decepção, momentos em que quero gritar com ele por ser tão "I don't care", porque ao contrário dele, eu me importo e muito, com tudo o que se refere à carreira dele. 

E daí fico triste.  Sem palavras, sem saber como me expressar. Mas ainda bem que algumas pessoas são mais fortes do que eu e escrevem textos assim, me aliviando o coração quando leio.

2015 será o ano decisivo, será ainda mais difícil do que o que passou. Temos que estar preparados para tudo. Seja o que for.

Beijinhos, Ludy