Raikkonen and Renault

There have been some stories kicking around in recent days, suggesting that Kimi Raikkonen will return to Formula 1 with Renault. These do not make sense to me. Kimi Raikkonen won the World Championship in 2007. This was the culmination of a long career and an achievement that had seemed insurmountable when Raikkonen was starting out as a teenager in Finland. It is fair to say that he never really enjoyed the world of Formula 1, except when he was driving, and he went out of his way to be uninteresting when being interviewed. In that way, so he reckoned, his life would be quieter and he could enjoy himself.

He also hated the restrictions that F1 teams placed on him, with regard to enjoying his life, doing dangerous things, drinking and so on. He now has more money than any sensible person could spend in a lifetime and he has raced for McLaren and Ferrari. In other words, he has been there, seen it, done it and sold the teeshirt about doing it. It has been a great career, has showed off his talent and has proved that, at a moment in time, he was number one. After that it seemed as though his interest in F1 waned. One can say that the car in 2008 and 2009 did not suit his driving style, but this seems to be making excuses. The fire just did not seem to be there any longer. It happens with some World Champions. They are happy with one title and do not need to go on proving themselves by winning a string of championships.

What Kimi liked to do was going rallying and thus a deal was brokered (because Ferrari wanted him out) to leave early and to join the Citroen factory World Rally Championship team. This is stepping in at the absolute deep end. His team-mates this year have been multiple World Champion Sebastien Loeb, Dani Sordo and rising star Sebastien Ogier. Given his relative lack of experience compared to his fellow drivers, he has done all right. Co-driven by Kaj Lindström, who has partnered multiple world champion Tommi Mäkinen in the past, Kimi has finished eighth in Turkey, fifth in New Zealand and seventh in Japan. He is 10th in the World Championship. What is clear is that this is a learning year for him. Next year he will do better as he will have learned more about rallying and then Citroen will decide in 2012 whether he had got what it takes to be a World Champion. If he can achieve that, he will have done something that no-one has ever managed.

At the same time the French company competes at Le Mans, with cars entered by its sister brand Peugeot. Raikkonen has said that he would quite like to win the Le Mans 24 Hours as well, and this is clearly an option. Sebastien Loeb competed at Le Mans in 2005 and 2006 and finished second in the second year, in a Pescarolo-Judd. Thus the rallying route offers Raikkonen opportunities to write his name in record books which F1 cannot allow him. It pays him and it gives him a better lifestyle than previously. In these circumstances one wonders why he would even consider a change.

Renault is looking for a new driver, or at least is going through the motions of doing so. There are two levels to this. Robert Kubica has done well this year, while Vitaly Petrov has done a decent job for a newcomer, although it must be said that Kamui Kobayashi and Nico Hulkenberg seem to have fared better in their respective teams. Having said that, being thrown up against Kubica was one hell of a challenge, as Robert is THE rising star of F1. Renault will almost certainly need to find a replacement for the Pole in 2013. In all probability he has already been signed for 2013 by one of the big teams. The smart money is on Ferrari (because everyone wants to be a Ferrari driver) although McLaren would also have taken a look. Renault, therefore, will probably need to find a new team leader in the long term and must decide whether to invest in a new talent, or buy in an experienced name.

But who is there out there? Taking a driver who has been the top and is on a downward glide path is not really a good option. Renault may not have identified the next Fernando Alonso, as yet, but this is much more likely to be the route that the team will take. The cars are good but not good enough to land a current star. Whether Petrov is the right man remains to be seen. He has done a decent job, brought in much needed money and will get better. He also represents a major market for Renault which may not be important to the team, but it is important to Renault, if the driver is of a sufficient level to make it worthwhile.

Renault might decide to take a look at Mark Webber. He was a Renault test driver and for a long time was contracted to the team. He has done well with Red Bull Racing and is fighting for the World Championship, although things have not always been easy in the Austrian-owned team. He is clearly an option for the long term – but the chances are that he will have had enough of F1 by then.

All things considered, the idea of Raikkonen joining Renault does not seem to be a very realistic idea, although in the wacky world of Formula 1 it is all possible. The chances are that the rumour is there to achieve some other goal. Perhaps a younger driver is asking too much money and Renault wants him to understand that there are other viable options. Perhaps not. In F1 one is never sure. Usually, however, if there is a story leaked there is some reason that this happened.