Raikkonen backed by Italian press for 2018 contract
- Published on 01 Aug 2017 13:37
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- By: Chris Soulsby
The Ferrari affiliated Italian press has supported reports that the team looks set to to retain Kimi Raikkonen for 2018. It is expected that Ferrari's driver lineup will be announced at Monza next month, where it will be confirmed that Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will be retained for another season.
After a 1-2 finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Italian press praised Vettel and Raikkonen's work ethic. "Vettel won with Raikkonen's help," wrote La Gazzetta dello Sport. "In truth, Raikkonen is the true winner, having played servant for Vettel because he could have easily overtaken and won. He will be at Vettel's side for another year."
The pairing of Vettel and Raikkonen at Ferrari has been praised by a number of publications, with Corriere dello Sport calling them a "dream team". They continued: "Ferrari was invincible in Budapest thanks to the power of clear ideas. At Ferrari, it is understood that one wins the drivers' title only if all row in the same direction," while Tuttosport added that "No one should be allowed to separate these two drivers."
Corriere della Sera also praised the pair: "Hungary reminded us that formula one is a team sport. Raikkonen waived the victory and receives a contract extension, as Ferrari has a perfect duo that Sergio Marchionne will want to keep."
Former F1 driver Mika Salo said that the pecking order at Ferrari is clear and logical when speaking to the Ilta Sanomat newspaper: "The points difference became so big at the beginning of the season that Kimi is forced to accept it. I don't know whether Kimi could have passed Vettel, but for Ferrari [what happened is] ok as formula one is still a team sport."
Chris Soulsby
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Replies (13)
Login to replyWolfgang
Posts: 313
Kimi is a fucking legend. I hope he´s going to have another shot at the championship in 2018. 2017 should be Seb´s year although i´d like to see Kimi at the top.
f1fan0101
Posts: 1,804
I can't see it.. especially if Red Bull come into play. Kimi is probably the weakest driver out of the top 6 guys, which is a shame because he was an amazing driver back in the day
Wolfgang
Posts: 313
you may be right that he´s the weakest of those 6.. but don´t forget the level of competition there..
HEINZ
Posts: 61
He is not weaker then Bottas. And Verstappen, although faster, still makes too many mistakes.
Barron
Posts: 625
How things change. He was a laggard last week..If Ferrari said it was Friday, I'd know it was Thursday.
mcbhargav
Posts: 1,332
Kimi vs Perez. At 38, he might still perform at the same level/higher than Perez. But, Sergio could make less mistakes.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Oh, Italian media, you never stop to surprise us with how fast you change your mind on things!
Wolfgang
Posts: 313
why the media? i thought it was Marchionne who said "Laggard" to Kimi..
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Italian media has pretty much bashed Kimi up until now.
F1racefan97
Posts: 113
Hmmm he doesn't really deserve a spot right now, his time has passed, he has won grands Prix, won a world championship, his time has unfortunately passed
Wolfgang
Posts: 313
from the Ferrari teams perspective it´s perfect as it is right now. That´s what Marchionne said, with the climate is as good as it nearly never was in the team..
Barron
Posts: 625
Which suggests that the 'elephant in the room' was Fernando.
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
Everyone can see that was Kimi's race to win. Kimi hasn't gotten any slower. You could see how it was eating him up not being able to race Vettel. That race should have secured his contract for next year. After his contract is signed maybe he'll be feeling a little more racey.