There is much talk about Kimi Raikkonen joining Ferrari in 2014 and Lotus team boss Eric Boullier admits that he is still trying to put together a deal that the Finn wants. If he can do that, he says he is confident that Raikkonen will stay, although the decision will ultimately be up to the Finn. Ferrari has made it clear that Raikkonen is interesting to them although team boss Stefano Domenicali told GP+ that “in the actual situation I don’t know if he would be the right choice.” What that means is that Domenicali is not convinced that Fernando Alonso will be happy with Raikkonen as his number two. The Spaniard is famous for being rather fragile when he has a strong team-mate and while he may say in public that he does not care who he has as his team-mate at Ferrari, behind the scenes he has started to talk to other teams about leaving Ferrari if Raikkonen joins the team. And this is where things stop making sense. Raikkonen is good, no question, but most of the people in F1 rate Alonso as overall the best driver in F1 at the moment. He’s frustrated, yes, but the team is working hard to change its engineering staff in order to get him a better package to allow a challenge in 2014 and 2015. The clock is ticking on Fernando’s career, just as it is on Raikkonen’s, and ironically both men are under pressure to be in a winning car if they want to add to their title tallies. The problem is that there are no drives available at Red Bull Racing or Mercedes so Kimi and Fernando must choose between the next best and hope that they will move forward. Having the two together in the same team is a nice idea, but it is unlikely to work because Alonso will feel betrayed. Hence Domenicali’s uncertainty. Who calls the shots on drivers? That remains to be seen. It should be Stefano, but Luca Montezemolo is never far from the process.
“We will think of this immediately after Monza,” said Montezemolo. “We wanted to arrive at this weekend without any strange pressure. We will take a decision in the next days – and we haven’t taken any kind of decision yet. We haven’t signed a contract with anybody. We will talk with Massa, then we have our opinion, and then we will decide. We can take somebody else… we have several names. We haven’t taken any kind of decision yet at all.”
If Raikkonen does join Ferrari, you can expect stories that Alonso is talking to Lotus… One of the key issues now is to see to what extent Renault is willing to get behind the Lotus team, which could provide it with a lot more visibility than is currently the case. Right now, Renault is paying the R&D costs for the engines and Nissan’s Infiniti brand is reaping the benefits with Red Bull Racing. Renault needs a way to get Nissan to contribute to the costs, which will free up cash for Renault to buy some signage on the side of the Lotuses.
It is probably no coincidence that there was a very heavy Nissan presence at Monza over the weekend.
joeblogsf1 
I was chatting with Davide Valsecchi and he made a good point. Kimi likes being left alone (as we all know), and Lotus allows him the space he wants. Very limited media and sponsor engagements. I’m not sure he would e afforded the same “space” at Ferrari. It all seems odd, considering he was essentially paid to leave. Once bitten, twice shy?
and this is why I read your blog. Some reporters think the news is just Kimi to Ferrari, you take the time to distill into a few words why it may or may not happen and the ramifications of this. Breaking a story like Kimi to Ferrari is great, but to be honest it’s only one line, you make it so much more.
Hear, hear!
Joe, is it reasonable to assume that Ferrari might only be trying to hire a driver for two years, given that the big boys’ contracts are all winding up at the end of 2015?
As a second question, just to be greedy : in your opinion is Hulkenberg ready for the step up?
I’m not Joe. Neither is Mario Andretti, but there is much more reason to listen to Mario than to me.
Mario joined the US commentators for the Monza race. Among the various interesting comments he made, several were about Hulkenberg. Mario was quite explicit that the man deserves a top-three ride, and that the time for him to get it is right now, not later. He mentioned this a handful of times.
Lots of speculation about a 1pm Ferrari Press conference today. Most “chancers” saying it is to announce Kimi…I really couldn’t see Ferrari going for it having seen what happened at McLaren with Lewis. I still don’t pretend to know which way this is going. Looking forward to your views when an announcement is made…insight is everything!
Sky F1 had a great “Legends” piece on Alain Prost. According to Alain, it was his idea to bring Ayrton Senna into McLaren, that Ron D. was going to pick Nelson, and that Alain would do the same thing again had he to do it over again, that it ended up being the right decision for McLaren and for F1, if not for his own personal number of WDC titles.
Don’t look for Alonso to be suggesting that Ferrari bring in Kimi!
Domenicalli also said a while back that if he could have any drivers in the team he would have Kimi and Alonso. This would be his dream team.
With neither McLaren deals done yet supposedly, can we expect either party to head there? Merc engines next year, and then, Honda. Presumably Alonso would be the best fit commercially for them?
Perez is officially still driving for McLaren in 2014 – his contract was for “multiple years” according to the original press releases. Button is officially out of contract for 2014, but publicly Whitmarsh and Button are saying that they are keen to extend his contract.
I’m afraid I don’t understand the supposed Renault unhappiness. Since Renault’s CEO is also Nissan’s, isn’t it his conscious decision to let things play out as they currently do?
If he wanted more Renault exposure, why did they themselves paid for the Infinity brand on the car? Renault still owns Infinity, no?
I’m sorry Joe but I really don’t understand this thing (reported elsewhere too) about Renault’s unhappiness about their exposure.
Can you please explain?
What about this scenario: Ferrari picks Kimi, only for a 1-year deal. If Kimi shines, they keep him (and Alonse may want to leave). If Kimi doesn’t meet expectations, they can hire Hulkenberg or Bianchi as of 2015. Both of these drivers would be more experienced then and relatively cheap to buy out from whatever contract they will be in in 2014. The top teams are already set, so even a buy-out of Hulkenberg from Lotus would be affordable for Ferrari.
Enough of my chancing. 😉
Car manufacturers are always doing awareness surveys and it seems that Renault’s visibility in F1 has dropped by something like 80 percent since they gave up being the team owner. The costs have not dropped 80 percent and so it is not good ROI.
But why do they then not put the Renault brand on the car in stead of Infinity? Although I can imagine a big brand like Renault needs to be “big” on the car for it to seriously raise awareness. Infinity is still relatively small, so they are not perceived as “below their status” when indeed on the car, but overshadowed by the RB brand? I think I’m starting to get it. 😉
Money
But Renault and Nissan are both part of the same company. The money is all coming from the same pot.
Have another look at the alliance.
dear jo: do you think a better qualifier than alonso, let’s say ayrton senna, could have won the italian gp, last weekend? With all the time fernando lost passing webber, plus the gearbox problems vettel had at the end, i think it would have been posible.
I think it is impossible to say.
i think you are 100% right. But a very boring answer that’s for sure.
Could there be space for H. Kovalanan in the mix somewhere?
I doubt it. The next man in line is definitely Nico Hulkenberg.
Kimi to Ferrari, Alonso to Lotus, Lotus and Renault gets more sponsor money, everyone is happy?
is fernando ever really happy?
Are we sure that it is not Fernando who is leaving Ferrari ?
I think the article says that this could happen.
Kimi’s the winner here:
Either he coaxed Lotus into getting some extra money for his campaign, or he’s at Ferrari again.
As a fan, Alonso/Kimi is an intriguing combo, but I think the smart thing for Ferrari to do is to take on Hulkenberg. Having two #1 drivers could blow up badly and be damaging for the team.
But, as a fan, you could also argue that having two top drivers in two different teams is a better prospect, because it should offer a broader range of potential winners. Unless, of course, on of those teams fails to come up with a half-decent car, e.g. McLaren 2013.
The thing, which seems to have been forgotten, is that no one knows which cars will be good next year, so all the driver speculation is based upon current performance with the 2013 chassis and engines.
Next year however everything will be different, we don’t know which engine will be “best” or who will manage the huge heat problems, nor if anyone will get any manageable high frequency electrical energy back out of the turbo.
We can perhaps expect McLaren to utilise the new ERS systems to the greatest initial advantage given their current expertise in control systems and their involvement in Formula E. However we do not have any indication of power/torque outputs of the new 3 engines, so for Kimi picking a new team is difficult.
Maybe the “heavy Nissan presence” was to promote this: http://mashable.com/2013/09/09/nissan-nismo-smart-watch/#! ?
No.
Tavares leaving Renault surely doesn’t bode well for Reanult’s motorsport budget. He was well known for supporting motorsport and perhaps his replacement may not be the same?
Ghosn supports the F1. The other stuff is small potatoes.
IF Ferrari have signed I Kimi, I can imagine both Renault and Honda going all out for Alonso and both Lotus and Mclaren chasing the Santander backing he brings.
As much as it would be an interesting pairing, and fun to witness the fallout, I’m not sure it would be good for Ferrari.
As an Alonso fan I would much rather see Hulkenburg get the 2nd seat.
If Alonso goes to Renault / Lotus I don’t think he’ll win any more championships. If Kimi goes to Ferrari and Alonso stays, I can’t see it working, and I don’t think either of them will win any more championships.
The net result is that unless the rule changes next year really turn things on their head, Vettel will get a few more championships – something I really don’t want to see.
When was the last time Ferrari had two world champions at the same time?… I think it was 1989, and Mansell was still trying. Before that… Well, as far as I can remember Ferrari has never had two world champions racing for them at the same time, not since the 1970’s.
This whole thing is not what it seems to be. Lotus needs more money and Renault backing to keep Raikkonen there. Ferrari wants to tell Alonso he’s not the last egg in the basket. Kimi Raikkonen wants to get paid. And that’s about it. It is all about public pressure, and if that wasn’t the case, then Mr. Montezemolo would be a lot quieter.
Kimi must be desperate to even consider going back to Maranelo after everything he went through in 2008. That’s the team that drove him to two sabatical years. So I don’t think he is really considering it.
I’m not even sure Massa won’t be at Ferrari next year. Does Alonso fancy the Hulk? I don’t think so. Also, rising stars are not Ferrari’s thing. My guess is that they will keep Alonso and Massa. Again. I’m brazilian and it pains me to say, but Massa might just be the new Patrese – the perfect second driver to a world champion, even better than Rubens. He might not be collecting a lot of points, but Ferrari knows how bad the 2014 car really is.
And Kimi will stay for another term at Lotus, alongside Grosjean. Maybe after that he’ll move back to Mclaren, who knows?…
The one thing that amuses me is the Renault/Lotus deal. They have a lof going on outside F1 with Caterham. How that’s gonna work?…
Personally, I can’t see why Kimi would want to return to a team that led to his exit from F1 in the first place. I know in F1 you always have to think about the future and how good the team could be and so on. But even so, you would’ve thought that there’s a high chance that the conditions that made him leave in the first place would still be prevalent today in that team e.g. an expectation of PR engagements and so forth. He didn’t even like being told to smile all the time. How can he think things will be any different this time? It’s all a bit odd to me but that’s F1 for you – never say never and anything can happen.
Kimi above all wants to WIN. All the rest is very much a forth order problem.
I agree with them who say that the degree of “freedom” that Kimi is enjoying in Lotus won’t compare with any team and that he’s comfortable that way, but when he gets incomfortable due to money problems or delays, he is smart enough to realize that when your level of risk and exposure (PR-wise) is down to it’s minimum, so it’s your apetite for money.
If he doesn’t want to appear in PR events such meets &greets, doesn’t want to appear in a commercial doing yoga stretchs along a NASCAR driver doing ballet splits while eating a cookie dipped in soft drink, that’s good for him, but when the money stops flowing…he will be doing what it takes to open the faucet…I’m a big Kimi supporter, he along Kubica is part of the only race drivers I decided to follow up…and know admit again to finally understand the final purpose of F1…as “somebody” here says very often: MONEY.
Montezemolo`s 100% loyalty has been decreased after Alonso`s last month behaviour. I am sure he is thinking on not putting all eggs in one basket.
I personally believe that the way ferrari operated after Schumacher, with Kimi and Massa was the proper one. Having no preference after half the season that led to a winning championship. It was sad that after the accident Massa has never been the same.
Still everybody says Ferrari did not provide a winning car to Alonso, but it has been second the last two or three years, and the race pace of the car was sometimes even much better than the Red bulls as well as car reliability.
So can we throw all the guilt to the car, or maybe Vettel is too good, or Alonso does not have the edge?
I would love to see Kimi with Alonso in the same machinery. I think both of them are old enough to handle the situation. As for Kimi, Allison leaving to Ferrari plus its heritage its a natural decision to become red again. Alonso leaving to Renault? I doubt it.
Maybe Jean Alesi could make a Ferrari comeback? He seemed very keen on the Monza podium!!
Luca wants Vettel in case AGAIN 2014 Ferrari is not able to win the WDC
So he needs to do something NOW. Raikonnen is a good choice to break the status quo but its highly unlikely that Fernando will stay
Based on what evidence?
The number plate on Vettel s car and that again with Nico a similar driver
did beat Ferrari at Monza.Nobody at Ferrari is a fool they know what engine
they have given to Torro Rosso and Sauber
Seems to me that this is another driver move that is quite illogical.
Ferrari are hiring a competitor for the bloke that has wrung every ounce of pace out of their car in the past few years, a move which is likely to leave them with two aged drivers in their cars who are likely to leave in the next 2/3 years.
Got to be time for Hulkenburg or perhaps Bianchi to be given a shot.
Hang on joe, how can you say that this all relates to money with Infinity, when renault is paying the R&D costs and nissan is paying ziltch with engine development. What has Infinity got to do with F1? Zero. Maybe Renault will have to make Lotus the chosen team and not RBR and exclude infinity. What do you think joe?
I don’t your idea is very constructive.
Joe, I don’t believe Renault is marketed in North America and lately we are seeing a lot of “Infinity’s new director of performance, Sebastian Vettel” ads on tv. It may be the marketing of Infinity/ Red Bull is aimed at North American.
An additional point to mention is how Ferrari, historically, hasn’t hesitated to punish drivers who make it look bad in public, as with Prost. Alonso looks to be perilously close to wearing out his welcome with Luca. As Jean Alesi tried to subtly remind Fernando during the podium ceremony, no driver is bigger than Maranello. If Fernando finds himself negotiating with Lotus, he has only himself to blame.
Joe, any chance of Alonso going back to McLaren?
No
I’d love to see Kimi and Fernando paired, it would be awesome to see two of the best drivers in the same equipment. But, from a team management perspective, I’d have to think Ferrari would be crazy to put the two together. I don’t think Alonso would cope well with a competitive teammate. It sure seems like the team would suffer mightily from the friction that would occur (ala Prost/Senna or Alonso/Hamilton).
Who knows, though? Ferrari sure do seem to make, what seems at times to be, irrational decisions. So, maybe they’ll roll the dice and see what happens.
I think some folk are both underestimating Alonso a bit here or not understanding him. He has already made it clear that he feels Massa is simply a better fit for the team but that he absolutely does not mind who is in the other seat (including Hamilton or Vettel). I think following last year alonso knows he is pretty much the best all-rounder there is (even his peers say so). Nobody at Ferrari even thinks Raikonnen would do better than alonso, so why would alonso be worried? He just does not believe Raikonnen and his character will help push the team forward and yes of course also all the distractions and demands from Raikonnen’s side of the garage will not help a team that is finding it hard to return to winning ways. The story is pretty simple, Ferrari need a construtors title at least and Raikonnen will score the most points in a second car out of all drivers available including Massa. thats Ferrari’s reason. Alonso is simply worried Raikonnen will destabilise things too much, resulting in lack of focus and fewer chances for him to win, which you could call selfish but I’m pretty sure all drivers are.
Is it possible that Alonso learnt a lesson from the 2007 affair and then the wilderness years of 2008 & 2009? Might he tolerate a fierce team mate given what he’s endured already? Might Ferrari be willing to risks to assert that no one person is bigger than the Scuderia?
With my ‘romantic’ view of the world I’d love to see Kimi at Ferrari and have Alonso win the championship anyway!
and so it goes …, and so it goes…, and where it’s going no ONE knows.
lyrics and music by Dave Edmunds and band mates of the British business plan branded as rock band ” Rock Pile” registered trademark 1980s.
Well Massa has come out and confirmed he is leaving, maybe Webber is staying on jk, however is it true that if he had wanted to stay on again this year that Ferrari would still want him.
I keep scratching my head about this. It really just doesn’t make sense to me to have someone who they paid to go away, who would upset their top driver.
Kimi is a natural and brilliant driver, but Ferrari’s current and past situation just doesn’t seem to point towards him going there. In Hulkenberg, they’d have someone who, as far as we can tell at the moment, is quick and looks to be ready to make the next step up. Of course, he may be a straight swap for Massa, but after so many years just that bit too far behind Alonso it would be worth taking that chance.
Hypothetically, who would you take, Joe?
Joe, Felipe Massa has just announced on Instagram that he’ll be leaving Ferrari by the end of the year.
An Alonso/Raikkonen pairing in the same team (if it happens) has all the makings of being absolute dynamite in every sense of the word! The risks seem huge. Joint number ones at Ferrari? I’m trying to think of Ferrari’s record (in recent times, in 80’s & 90’s onwards) of being able to run two number ones; sure someone will contradict me but I can’t think of a time when they’ve been in the position when they’ve had to do it? EG, like McLaren with Senna/Prost. After the weekend’s evidence, I would stick with Alonso/Massa and try hard to improve the car to compete with RBR.
…done two hours ago
Massa just announced that he is leaving Ferrari. So is apparently between Kimi and Nico H. Interesting developments, I would like to think.
“With my ‘romantic’ view of the world I’d love to see Kimi at Ferrari and have Alonso win the championship anyway!”
SAME HERE!
Just spectulatiing but I sense Ferrari want to send a message that they are more important than drivers and if Alonsom feels differently he is free to leave and good riddance.. So welcome Kimi. Calmer heads at Ferrari might conclude this is a foolish move based one the history of paring equal drivers and if so welcome the Hulk. Again my view is that Massa has performed at his limit and should retire without soiling his reputation driving for a mid field team. The best part of this is the focus appears to be on driver performance instead of the dreaded sponsorship money,
Remember the ice cream…