Ferrari have signed a new engineer from Toro Rosso: Riccardo Adami. For those who don't remember, that was Vettel's race engineer when he raced for TR.
Kimi Raikkonen says he would welcome having Sebastian Vettel as his new team-mate at Ferrari and insists he is committed to the team long-term
Vettel announced on Saturday that he will be leaving Red Bull at the end of the season, with the four-time world champion set to replace Fernando Alonso at Ferrari. Asked if having Vettel as his team-mate is a situation that he would be happy with, Raikkonen replied: “Yeah, for sure.
“Obviously I've never worked with him, we've been in different teams always but I know him probably best out of any of the others and we'll see what happens in the future. I read the same stuff and hear the same stuff so for me it's no issue.”
And Raikkonen said Vettel is likely to come in to a much stronger team in 2015, feeling Ferrari is set to make good progress.
“I have a big belief that we should be in a much, much better position at the start of next year. Obviously we will know more once we get the car on the circuit, but we made progress this year. If you compare where we started this has been pretty good progress. We still have some difficulties to get where we want to be but I have pretty good belief that we can sort out those things for next year.
“We have a great group of people and I believe in those guys, what they have done chasing those things to make sure we're doing the right things for the future. I think we have all the people, all the tools, the factory, all the guys behind it to be able to be in the front where we should be. That's the only goal.”
And Raikkonen said he is prepared to work hard as part of a long-term project to bring success back to Ferrari.
“I was here before, I won the championship, I won the constructors' championship twice. I went away, I came back only because I wanted to come back and not because of someone forcing me to be here. It was my choice, if I wasn't in to the whole thing I wouldn't be sitting here. I can stop whenever I want. I can walk away today, or tomorrow or in ten years.
“It's purely because I want to be involved, I want to do the best that we can to improve and get the team back where it should be; where we were the first time I was here. Obviously it takes time and hopefully it will happen sooner than later.”
Asked explicitly if he would be driving for Ferrari next season, Raikkonen replied: “I have a contract, that's what I expect to happen.”
for posting that, Miezi. It's great to hear that Kimi is so invested in the team. I just hope they're able to reconstruct the front end of the car to his liking. I have a feeling they could listen to Kimi the rest of the season, and it would be a major help to both him and Seb. Both seem to have similar driving styles!
quoteOctober 4, 2014 - I am a sinner, a reprobate. I do not cry, do not scourge myself, do not use newspaper columns or microphones to scream urbi et orbi my inconsolable grief.
Vettel-Alonso Why am I not at all sorry?, for Alonso and Ferrari to separate was part of the logic of things already for several months, because one had become uncomfortable for the other and vice versa. Because in a world now dominated by the logic of the big companies and the professionalism exasperated flags waving where they see fit.
Here today, gone tomorrow, the contracts are long as the automobile leasing, do not redeem the car and never leave out the final settling. It was an announced divorce and both sides will gain. Alonso may have the opportunity to earn what he wants and demonstrate with concrete victories what inconsolable widows have repeated for years: that he is the best driver in the world.
Ferrari, which paraphrasing García (not the sergeant but the Roma coach) transmit church, or Maranello, at the center of the village after the personality of the asturian often had blurred it. And if I have to be honest, if I was Marchionne I would have behaved the same way.
Having to actually start from a long series of failures, I would have sacrificed the innocent symbol of the disaster and then invested over in whom has won more world Championships, facts not words, is younger and is definitely more of a team player. The one, I mean Seb Vettel - which I have always loved as I also loved Schumacher in Benetton - which of course will complain less in public, work in silence and during difficult times, not seek improbable alliances with media.
One that, if things go well, will not be because of his own strokes of genius and if they're going bad, it will not be just the fault of the team. A less self-centered, less showbusiness, with the safe approach - God forbid - but more humble. One that, at the first error, will accept in silence the tam-tam of destroyers, but in the good days will exalt and give proper weight to those who stretch out the red carpet, yellow or green.
A normal Champion, not a Champion surrounded by a protective media network - very clever of him for creating it - that in the history of Maranello has no equal. Prost didn't have such luck, one of the top five in history, not even Schumacher, who began to be appreciated only shortly before winning the first title in Ferrari, doesen't even has it - not had even ever attempted to and I also love him for that - Kimi Raikkonen.
Alonso instead has been a historical anomaly for the Cavallino: a driver who managed to succed despite winning relatively little - not a value judgment is clear, but purely statistical - to create around him a legendary aura always able to get out unscathed from a long and tiring season, another first time in history, that he was innocent regardless, even in the few races in which he was dead wrong - I remember a contact with Raikkonen at Suzuka - and to take awareness to the many who feared the reaction of Ferrari, that some of the Ferrari cars were not quite up to the task. From the point of view of "the media" Alonso has represented for the Maranello radical discontinuity with the past. From the team that won, because they had a good team and Schumacher, had gone to Alonso working miracles in spite of a team that does not exist and bad cars" according to the dominant opinion. The new management could accept this? I do not think so. They had to bring Ferrari at the center of the village. This is what has happened. With Vettel, for sure, there will be less tension, less jitters. Greater peace of mind. More Ferrari and less tantrums.
quoteF1: Mattiacci sees Raikkonen’s pace improving 14 October 2014 Ferrari team principal Marco Mattiacci says the team is seeing Kimi Raikkonen's pace improving even if the results are yet to follow
Since Raikkonen finished fourth in the Belgian Grand Prix he has appeared more competitive at most races but is only able to boast a best finish since then of eighth place. While the results have not been impressive, Mattiacci says Ferrari can see the reasons that have prevented Raikkonen from scoring more points but has noted the step up in pace.
“There have been a series of events,” Mattiacci said. “[In Sochi] Kimi had good pace but unfortunately the start was not a happy start. [Daniil] Kvyat pushed him backwards, so he had a different race to catch up but definitely we see the pace of Kimi improving.
“So does it translate immediately to more points during the race? It's evident it does not. But there are a series of events that didn't allow this. But he's keeping the pace and increasing the speed.”
Raikkonen himself said he has been learning from his tough season and has felt the difference in competitiveness in recent races.
“For sure you learn things but obviously I learned a lot of things in the past and I learned also that sometimes we have difficult times,” Raikkonen said. “The key is to keep working and trying to improve things and get things sorted out. There has been many, many small things that have cost us a lot of points and made our life very difficult.
“Lately we have had some success at improving things and for sure the car has improved a lot since the beginning of the year. The direction is right but obviously it doesn't help much right now. The season has been disappointing overall but I have full belief in all the people and I'm sure we can be much, much better and where we should be next year.”
quoteOctober 4, 2014 - I am a sinner, a reprobate. I do not cry, do not scourge myself, do not use newspaper columns or microphones to scream urbi et orbi my inconsolable grief.
Vettel-Alonso Why am I not at all sorry?, for Alonso and Ferrari to separate was part of the logic of things already for several months, because one had become uncomfortable for the other and vice versa. Because in a world now dominated by the logic of the big companies and the professionalism exasperated flags waving where they see fit.
Here today, gone tomorrow, the contracts are long as the automobile leasing, do not redeem the car and never leave out the final settling. It was an announced divorce and both sides will gain. Alonso may have the opportunity to earn what he wants and demonstrate with concrete victories what inconsolable widows have repeated for years: that he is the best driver in the world.
Ferrari, which paraphrasing García (not the sergeant but the Roma coach) transmit church, or Maranello, at the center of the village after the personality of the asturian often had blurred it. And if I have to be honest, if I was Marchionne I would have behaved the same way.
Having to actually start from a long series of failures, I would have sacrificed the innocent symbol of the disaster and then invested over in whom has won more world Championships, facts not words, is younger and is definitely more of a team player. The one, I mean Seb Vettel - which I have always loved as I also loved Schumacher in Benetton - which of course will complain less in public, work in silence and during difficult times, not seek improbable alliances with media.
One that, if things go well, will not be because of his own strokes of genius and if they're going bad, it will not be just the fault of the team. A less self-centered, less showbusiness, with the safe approach - God forbid - but more humble. One that, at the first error, will accept in silence the tam-tam of destroyers, but in the good days will exalt and give proper weight to those who stretch out the red carpet, yellow or green.
A normal Champion, not a Champion surrounded by a protective media network - very clever of him for creating it - that in the history of Maranello has no equal. Prost didn't have such luck, one of the top five in history, not even Schumacher, who began to be appreciated only shortly before winning the first title in Ferrari, doesen't even has it - not had even ever attempted to and I also love him for that - Kimi Raikkonen.
Alonso instead has been a historical anomaly for the Cavallino: a driver who managed to succed despite winning relatively little - not a value judgment is clear, but purely statistical - to create around him a legendary aura always able to get out unscathed from a long and tiring season, another first time in history, that he was innocent regardless, even in the few races in which he was dead wrong - I remember a contact with Raikkonen at Suzuka - and to take awareness to the many who feared the reaction of Ferrari, that some of the Ferrari cars were not quite up to the task. From the point of view of "the media" Alonso has represented for the Maranello radical discontinuity with the past. From the team that won, because they had a good team and Schumacher, had gone to Alonso working miracles in spite of a team that does not exist and bad cars" according to the dominant opinion. The new management could accept this? I do not think so. They had to bring Ferrari at the center of the village. This is what has happened. With Vettel, for sure, there will be less tension, less jitters. Greater peace of mind. More Ferrari and less tantrums.
FP | Guido Schittone
W.
It was incredibly sweet of you to translate this article! I just wanted to say
He makes very good points about why Alonso left. I couldn't agree more! I wish I had more to say
Quote: Jalumi wrote in post #729PitLaneTalk @pitlanetalk Raikkonen will get new chassis in US after raising his tone in a "hard", but respectful conversation with Mattiacci.
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Fri Oct 03, 2014 6:12 pm
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Can´t we wait with those speculations? I don´t trust this "Nano goes to McLaren" as long I don´t hear it from his mouth.
for posting that, Miezi. It's great to hear that Kimi is so invested in the team. I just hope they're able to reconstruct the front end of the car to his liking. I have a feeling they could listen to Kimi the rest of the season, and it would be a major help to both him and Seb. Both seem to have similar driving styles!
W.
