Toto Wolff, who owns around 20 percent of the Williams team, says that the team is in negotiation with Kimi Raikkonen. The Austrian investor said that “The Kimi Raikkonen file is on the table. The story is not a publicity stunt. We are negotiating seriously. There are several options. It will be a strategic decision.”
Wolff says that an aggressive choice would be to run Ferrari test driver Jules Bianchi, who is managed by Nicolas Todt, who currently manages the team’s other driver Pastor Maldonado. The 22-year-old Frenchman finished third in the GP2 Series this year and his presence in the team would please Williams’s new engine partner Renault. However, running Bianchi and Maldonado would mean a very inexperienced duo, which is probably not what is needed. The other option is believed to be Adrian Sutil, who is expected to be dropped by Force India. Sutil is quick, but does not seem to know why he is quick, which is not much good for the team’s engineers as they try to develop cars. Raikkonen is thus the best choice of the three, in terms of prestige and performance. There remain some question marks about his motivation which seemed to tail off dramatically after he won the World Championship with Ferrari in 2007. He was outpaced by Felipe Massa in 2008 and was dropped at the end of 2009, a year ahead of the end of his Ferrari contract.
While money may seem to be a problem, there are increasing rumours that the team will be sponsored by QNB, the Qatar national bank, which has major international expansion plans. There have been rumours of an announcement coming at Abu Dhabi, but that does not really make sense and we would expect the team to leave the news for a few days to get maximum exposure.
joeblogsf1 
Why the motivation of KR is always in doubt? in ’08 KR did 10 (or so) fastest laps, the car was not good in wet (i.e. Spa) and the team sometimes did not help (i.e. Monaco). In ’09 the car was terrible, the team didn’t help either (full wet in Malaysia) and the next sponsor did not want him because needed a second driver “slower than Fernando”.
Hi Joe,
Most of characterisations of Kimi I’ve read over the years seem to focus on his incredible speed and temperamental motivation. Are you able to give us an idea about the consensus in the paddock regarding his ability as a test/development driver please?
Thanks.
Tom I,
Kimi was highly rated but his loss of focus undermined his value back in 2009.
All we need now is for Mika to return!!!!
Then, Jacques, Mansell, Prost and Hill, and we’ll go right back to Senna, and Champions dating back to the mid 80’s
With Kimi we’ll have a full compliment of the last 10 years World Champions
Off topic a bit, but regarding New jersey, have you seen a video mock-up of the New jersey track on your old mate Will Buxton’s blog at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=m10_f1o_0So or on http://nothkemods.wordpress.com/
Credits to “nothke” on http://www.racedepartment.com
I’d be shocked if Williams took Räikkönen on. He really seemed to lack focus throughout the 2009 season, his heart didn’t seem in it, and I can’t imagine he is coming cheap.
So we have to assume (never a good idea I accept) that Barricello will be on the market…. or Retire??
How good is Kimi at helping the engineering corps?
Joe, what are your thoughts on what happened to Kimi after Hamilton took him out in Canada’08?
Personally, I’ve always felt that the drop-off in performance was too great to be put down to Kimi’s motivation. Even after Massa had overtaken him in the points in 2008 he signed an extension to his Ferrari contract. From that point on he appeared to play second fiddle to Massa, but towards the end of the races would quite regularly put a few fastest laps in, as if to make a point.
Furthermore, after Massa’s injury in 2009, the old Raikkonen reappeared and he scored more points than anyone else in the remainer of that season, even winning in Spa in a car that clearly was not designed to win.
I’ve always wondered whether there were some internal politics at play inside Ferrari – a team known for their internal politics and driver inequity. I’ve wondered whether Ferrari wanted to divide the spoils, whether Raikkonen’s cool Finnish manner didn’t sit well with Ferrari’s latin nature and they wanted to see Massa, who they had brought up through the ranks, achieve his dream.
I just don’t buy the lack-of-motivation argument when you look at the contract extension and the fact that he stayed in that mode for a season-and-a-half. When Hakkinen had had enough of F1, he said so and left mid-season. Same with the likes of Wurz, Mansell, Montoya (sort of)… right the way back to Lauda – and we all know what happened a few years after he first left F1.
Andrew Jameson,
I think you meant to say: “after Lewis Hamilton accidentally ran into him”
Has anyone thought about Raikkonen and Sutil/Bianchi. You once said that Sutil comes with Sponsorship and im sure that bianchi could find something. Therefore if Maldonado is dropped and PDVSA decide that they are no longer interested the hole in sponsorship could be filled. Would like to see a competitive williams. Dont think Adam Parr is taking them in the right direction racing wise, even if business wise they are doing ok
davcuk,
Yes, but why would one give up a horse-choking wedge of dollars if one does not need to? Maldonado is not bad. OK, he ain’t a World Champion, but he is quick.
This would be great news(I hope that’s not famous last words) – but to your knowledge is Kimi any better at the technical feedback stuff than Adrian Joe?
Well if Kimi does end up at Williams, they had better have a very good car ready for him or he will just get bored again, then not bother trying.
I thought that Kimi was not exactly the most communicative driver with his engineers. I don’t particularly like Sutil, but at least he has been driving F1s while Kimi was rallying. I suppose Kimi will have a though time adapting to the new F1, just ask MS had.
Yes, Kimi will raise the teams profile, and would be great to have another WC on the grid, but would he bring the development feedback needed for Williams?
I would love to see Kimi back over Sutil (who I regard as the most over rated driver on the grid by some distance), although I don’t see Kimi bringing anything to the car development either – doesn’t he have a famous lack of interest/knowledge in the technical aspects of F1?
This could potentially be a really good idea, especially for Williams. However if the car is more like this years piece of junk and Kimi starts suffering DNFs because the car breaks after 15 laps then watch out.
A completely unmotivated Kimi in a really bad car could make for some interesting exchanges between team and driver. I could see Kimi refuse to show up at GP weekends because the car is so bad. Also, Kimi doesn’t do PR at all so I wonder what type of agreement will be reached on that front.
If they go the Kimi route, I hope they have a plan B ready.
Joe, Kimi scored more points in the second half of 2009 and won at Spa. How can you say he lost focus? Ferrari after Todt was not right place for him. I wish he would have stayed at McLaren.
Pete,
I am telling you what people think. He was also beaten in 2008 by Felipe Massa, which knocked a big hole in his reputation.
Kimi is my all time favorite driver.
So far, I think Andrew Jameson has posted the most interesting comment.. A critical view on the “drop in motivation” and Ferrari’s “internal politics” theme would make for great reading!
I also think that the driver feedback issue raised above is a valid one. I’ve always understood McLaren to be an extremely “engineering-heavy” math-driven sort of team, my understanding is that thats why Kimi was such a great driver for them – He didn’t deliver a lot of “soft” feedback but the team could trust that he would find every ounce of speed the car had to offer (ie. he’s as close to a “robot” as humanly possible).
Joe, please do the article and make a (lonely) Danish F1 fan a happy one!
Best,
Frederik
Btw. It saddens me a bit that you’re still referring to the occasional round of abuse from readers of your blog – Thanks for keeping the comment section open..
Williams going with Raikkonen seems to be a bit of a gamble, but I can see it working out. If the drop-off in his results after his championship was the result of the climate in Maranello rather than that he just couldn’t be arsed, then it’s certainly possible that a somewhat more straightforward and regimented way of doing things in Grove will be more congenial. On top of which, if this QNB deal comes off, Williams will be swimming in money…
Frank and Patrick re-engaged and re-energised, stable ownership, loads of dosh, Mike Coughlan, cockpits occupied by a world champion and a quick aggressive second driver, a diversified company standing behind the racing team, and five years of flywheel development in their pocket if the rules move in that direction — Williams are starting to look pretty tasty for the next few years…
…all they need now is a yellow airbox, Canon sponsorship on the sidepods, and Kimi to grow a big bushy moustache, and all the ingredients will be in place…
I see a lot of fun if Kimi comes back, mostly pointed out above.
Sadly, Mika is making too much money with his press relations lectures to bother . .
We gave Maldonado a hard time – isn’t that the point of constructive criticism? – but i see potential, racing and fun, in having him around, forget the dollops of folding.
I keep thinking that Felipe will go. Probably just a worry, but it’s haunting me how much could move if he does.
Anyhow, i feel fine, just scored some “illicit” incandescent light bulbs. This silly season is a bit overdue, isn’t it?
It’s wondered if Kimi can develop a car, but surely the Williams direction is at its most pliable now. And are we reaping the MSC dividend, that he even looks? Not like he’s poor.
Raikkonen scored 35 points in the first 5 races of 2008 and 40 in the last 13.
Domenicali admitted in a 16th December 2008 edition of Autosprint (Italian magazine) that they changed his front suspension from Hockenheim to Monza, where he had to (Supposedly) almost beg for it back (This was also after the new chassis hadn’t satisfied him at Spa) after his contract was extended (A rumoured performance clause, negotiated during the Todt days, the contract was signed in July 2005).
Heikki Kovalainen has since said in a interview with a Finnish media outlet that Alonso had told him during the 2009 Australian GP driver parade that he would be driving for Ferrari in 2010. It is also common knowledge that Todt and Alonso didn’t get on after Alonso rejected Ferrari in 2001 to stay with the Briatore run Renault team. From all this I deduce that Alonso’s first act after leaving Mclaren in 2007 was to call the newly appointed team principle at Ferrari asking about a drive and when they will have a slot available.
Back to Raikkonen. In the races preceding the suspension change (Which was the root cause of his problems generating front tyre heat on a single qualifying lap due to excessive understeer, something Kimi loathes) was Monaco, where he had a drive through due to Ferrari fitting his tyres after the 3 minute board and crashed into Sutil after hitting the bump that still catches out people (Perez this year for example) on a drying track. Montreal, where he was hit by Hamilton (by accident) when he was fighting for the lead, France where he had a broken exhaust while in the lead. Silverstone, where he was right behind Hamilton fighting for the lead until a bad strategy call by Ferrari left him on the wrong tyres in monsoon conditions. Then the suspension changed for Germany and he struggled to qualify in high enough positions and in the ensuing field spread would be too far behind to fight for the lead, at the end of the race with the car settled and track fully rubbered in he showed his potential by setting fastest laps. If you notice, towards the end of the season he put in stronger performances when he was backing up Massa for the championship.
In 2009 he was quite even with Massa at his peak when struggling with the KERS system and the braking issues that result from it. He got used to it towards the end of the season.
This post isn’t a dig at you Joe. I understand you are voicing the paddock opinion, but I consider it more a paddock misconception. Anyway, those are my two cents.
I’m wondering what next for Rubens- could he fill the Renault seat while Kubica recovers? I half thought we might see him in the Toyota sportscar, or another one – Wurz leaves a space at Pug, for example
2012 will be a great year for both Williams and Kimi.
All this lack of motivation-nonsens is because of what happened inside Ferrari after they signed Fernando in 2008.
Without this latinopoliticsnonsens Kimi will show us all his pure speed next season.
I just don´t understand peoples facination with this guy. Being a great Formula 1 driver is literally a 24×7 commitment and Kimi´s commitment seems to commence when he jumps into the car.
Another key driver requirement, and part of the 24×7 thing, is constantly communicating with engineers – and communicating well – to improve the car. Kimi did not seem to be very good at this – as confirmed by Ferrari. Part of this is inspiring, motivating and leading the team as Alonso and Schumi are masters at – where is Kimi on this account?
The last element, that is probably key to Williams, is sponsor work. How motivated is he for this and how marketable is this guy really?
I believe this would be bad for Williams. I would be very happy to be wrong, though.
I think if he comes back he will last as long as Mansell did with McLaren in ’95. Great driver to watch when he is on it, but if he is racing for 10th place how much motivation will he have. He sure lost interest in Truck racing quickly.
Joe,
I would like to know if at all we will be hearing any solid news regarding Kimi’s future. That guy is very unpredictable. It feels to me like his negotiations with mclaren at the backend of 09. When the talks went on and on… but nothing came out of it.
Do you have any information to suggest that this negotiation is different than the last one? Is it heading towards a sign up or a break up?
And you suggested that William will not announce it at Abu dhabi. So What do you think will be the appropriate time for them to announce this information. Isn’t his return being sponsored by sheikhs from middle east. I thought that will make the sponsors more happy.
Thanks Joe for the blog
Cheers
Tarun
Tarun,
I don’t know. One can ask but people do not have to answer. Some people seem to think that gathering news in F1 is like picking up shells on a beach. It is actually rather more difficult than that. One needs to dig to get the real stories. And then one must calculate where to dig. Some commenters think this is rumour-mongering, but that simply shows a lack of understanding of what they are getting. And just because someone denies something does not mean it is not true.
@’Dan: I just don´t understand peoples facination with this guy. Being a great Formula 1 driver is literally a 24×7 commitment and Kimi´s commitment seems to commence when he jumps into the car.’
I think it’s fine for Kimi to have supporters and defenders.
At the same time, I know what I saw… and that was Kimi contentedly lapping in 7th place with an elbow out the window while Massa was driving his butt off up front… and then with 5 laps to go, Kimi would pull both arms back inside the car and be quick for a few laps. Conjure all the reasons you like for that behavior but it did indeed happen, which IMO proves he was not being serious in return for his $millions.
My favorite was seeing him in his shorts, drink in hand, watching the end of a race from a yacht in the harbor… not the guy I’d want in my foxhole…
ps: I was a great Kimi fan until I saw what I referenced above… and I do believe in the concept of restoring one’s reputation… and I hope he does do so… but he hasn’t yet…
The fact is the car isn’t going anywhere near the top in 2012. There’s no point paying a wedge to Kimi – even Vettel or Button couldn’t get the thing to the podium. Much better to retain Barichello for direction in development, and Maldonado to pay for it.
Its a shame that the F1 world seems to bemoan characters who hark back to the styles of the past. For example, Schumacher’s calculated moves could be compared to those of Prost (or even Senna). Kimi in my mind is similar to some of the more flamoyant drivers like Hunt (or even Hamilton). Unfortunately, in today’s pristine PR world, we don’t appear to have have room for this. Drivers have to be perfect and dull.
As for Williams’ move in signing Kimi, I fear they are focusing again on the quick fixes. I would rather they spent money on fixing their engineering and deisgn team. The good drivers will come by themselves when they can demonstrate a capable car. This is what happened during their peak. They have focused in recent years on trying to achieve the “hail Mary” pass technical development each year. They forgot their previous strengths were in the solidity of their engineering and key relationships like those with Renault. But I fear that given they are now listed, the focus will be on keeping shareholders, rather than supporters, happy.
In my opinion, Kimi may have matured a bit since he was last in F1. We could see this next year in his attitude.
I’ve been wondering where Barrichello would go. I’ve sometimes wildly thought maybe he can go to Renault (now Lotus, whatever) since Kubica still isn’t 100% confirmed on his recovery.
Might be interesting to have Kimi back.
All the talk about big names, I think Nico is a big name, and silly fast, and bang on his setup. Hold on with me here, i am trying to hit one out of the park to get my o four oh average on a winner, but i just woke up and thought Nico ought to be on the move upwards. It all seems so static now. Backing the quiet one.
24×7 commitment? Why don’t you give your employer yourself 24×7? WHY NOT?
I can work overtime but both me and the employer need to agree on it FIRST. Kimi clearly operates on this same principle. He is not hanging around getting in the way of others when his work is done. If his employer wants him to spend more time at the factory, perhaps the employer should ask him?
Anyone can come up with crap like that. I can make the perfectly valid argument that Lewis Hamilton is a lazy unmotivated a-hole who has not spent enough time at the McLaren HQ. Therefore he needs to be fired from his job. This is true and any arguments to the contrary are false, because I say so. I never met Lewis or anyone from McLaren but I know Lewis’ motivation and also what Mclaren has asked him to do. This kind of logic seems to make perfect sense to a large number of posters at online forums.
I don’t think Kimi’s performance really dropped off that much in 2008 and 2009. I think it may have looked that way because Massa had more room to improve whereas Kimi was probably closer to his potential already.
Even in 2007, Massa was equal to Kimi for most of the year, and it was only a fuel error in Hungary qualifying and an engine failure at Monza that put him out of the championship running.
ed24f1
I think Ferrari may have disagreed with you
@Joe and ed24f1
I think Ferrari may have been a bit busy trying to secure it’s long term financial future with Santander to look at actual driver performance.
A question for Joe on the whole Ferrari-Kimi issue.
It’s a well known fact that Marlboro paid Kimi’s salary. As they also paid for Schumi’s salary. Who pays Alonso’s salary? And since Alonso joined Ferrari, have Marlboro decreased the sponsorship money they have given Ferrari per year?
Ernest,
You know more than I do. I think that Ferrari paid Kimi’s salary.
I recall stories in 2006 that Marlboro were happy to foot a potential “$70 million” wage bill with Raikkonen and Schumacher. Rather hinting that it’s their obligation to pay for the lead driver at Ferrari. I was just wondering if the same applied to Alonso (Or has it changed to Santander?)
One would think that if Kimi is willing to come and drive a mid-grid car (I hope), for a team that is far from the logical choice from Kimi’s point of view, for less than what he could probably get in a top team, then he is really wanting to come back to F1. One would think that would take care of the motivation question, surely. You don’t take all that on if you are not really into the idea of a comeback.
From Williams perspective, if the deal guarantees the QNB deal, along with the roumered jack-up of Maldonado’s money into the big leagues, they start to look better placed than their immediate rivals again. Plus, acting like big boys, with proper sponsors and a big name driver will motivate the guys at Factory and circuit and get a bit of positive momentum.
If it happens, it may be just the “reset” Williams need mentally.
I’m completely underwhelmed by the prospect of Raikkonen returning to F1.
He had a chance that most drivers would kill for (No1 Driver at Ferrari) and then lost all interest after he was gifted the WDC. It wasn’t like the 2008 Ferrari was a bad car either, it was the fastest car on the grid so there should have been no excuse.
To joesaward (eigth messages above)
I don’t think that ferrari sensed a drop of performance of Kimi in 2009. I remember comments from Marc Gene to Spanish TV in the second half of ’09 and he said that ferrari engineers couldn’t believe his ability to extract speed from the F60. At that time Raikkonen was going far beyond the car possibilities and they knew that.
DiegoP,
Hmmm… So why did they fire him then and pay him for not driving in 2010.
Joe’s reply to Tarun made me think of the friendly footsie I have to play to engage with any company. Or, for that matter, if litigation is afoot. You really do – in anything – have to pound the pavement to get anything of value, nothing guaranteed. To me, that’s the correct definition of taking a risk. I guess in litigious environments, a trick or two is permitted, within strict bounds, but otherwise i’ve found most everything in life is given, not traded, nor forcibly prised.
Reason right there it can be so delightful to really put effort into something, and so annoying when others assume it’s all tea and cakes. (Oh, i was accused of the tea and cakes thing, but i was very young) Just realized i am in a bit of a grump with a pal who i walked through how to incorporate properly (I do not mean form filling, so much as making integral a structure which is more believable and reflecting reality than simple boilerplate) . . some beers were had, and suddenly my unsuccessful private life came under scrutiny (fair comment, really, but not news), i asked why, oh, because i was earlier criticizing “him”. Water off duck’s back, and a good pal, but think i should raise this.
Even guys lambasted for being in the high perches of finance oft labelled predatory, pounded the streets for years. It’s the ones who didn’t, who worry me.
Note to self: do not fall asleep at desk after long chat over driver safety with transport science prof brother, too emotional, though obviously I rather fancy Rosberg’s chances.
@ Joe and Diego
They let him go because they had already signed a replacement by that time. Massa’s injury meant Ferrari concentrated on Kimi, and he delivered.
Ernest,
I am sure they would be surprised to hear this news.
lots of Kimi fans pretending there was nothing wrong with his motivation, good luck with that! McLaren staff used to talk about knowing what kind of result they were going to get out of a race by checking which Kimi had turned up on friday, it’s this lack of consistency that tarred his reputation. The guy has always had massive speed, but he needs to turn it on every week. I still think he would be the perfect fit for Williams, it seems their choice is Kimi or Sutill, I think I would go for Kimi just because of the potential for greatness that still lies within.
I think some people under estimate how much difference a driver can make to a team. F1 isn’t just about the car, imagine if Red Bull had Mark Webber and another driver slightly slower this year. Would Mark have done what Vettel has? We could be congratulating Jenson on his second championship, and asking if Adrian Newey has lost his touch!
Joe:
“I think you meant to say: “after Lewis Hamilton accidentally ran into him””
I don’t think anyone ‘accidentally’ runs red lights. Rules are rules. Kubica and Raikkonen didn’t make that mistake.
SG
Yes, some people do accidentally run red lights.
Joe:
“Hmmm… So why did they fire him then and pay him for not driving in 2010.”
This has been dealt with before I think. Ferrari wanted Santander in as probably a new title sponsor, before Marlboro decided to stay for another few years. Given the uncertainty over sponsors at that time you can see why Ferrari would do anything to get a new sponsor in. If you really have been around motorsport for as long as you claim then you know that no one pays a driver tens of millions not to race who only has a year left on his contract anyway.
The trouble I have with all this ‘motivation’ nonsense is that this is not something that any engineer that has ever worked with Raikkonen repeats. Not at McLaren, not at Ferrari. It’s something journalists push around to fill the void of Raikkonen not talking to them.
As I’ve said before, I think it fine that Kimi have defenders… and that I was once a big fan… until I saw him call it in for the better part of a season.
Anyone who claims there are zero issues with Kimi’s willingness to bother, well, such folks apparently failed to watch more than several races…
@joe saward,
Not when there are a couple of cars in front…
Sandeep
Tell that to the guy who ran into the back of me when I was sat at a pedestrian crossing.