Former Grand Prix winner John Watson thinks Kimi Raikkonen will find 2012 season tough – Formula 1
Former Grand Prix winner John Watson believes that it will take Kimi Raikkonen some time before he can adapt to the new technicalities of Formula 1.
Raikkonen ended his career in 2009 and took up rally racing instead. Ever since there had been numerous attempts from different teams to bring him back into Formula 1 but nothing came into realisation. Until recently when Renault started talks with the Finn’s
management, they were able to strike a deal and lure Raikkonen back into Formula 1.
Many have criticised if Raikkonen will have the motivation to become the same force he was when he left the sport. He is still considered one of the most talented drivers in the sport but a two-year banishment has left many critics and former drivers questioning
his ability to make a competitive comeback.
Raikkonen though has maintained that making a comeback will not be a problem for him, as not much has changed since he left. He also said that he is much more comfortable with the Pirelli tyres as the same compound was being used when he left the game.
Watson though believes that Raikkonen will not find it easy to adapt to the new technicalities and will take some time before he can be competitive.
“If you take the example of Schumacher, who was slightly longer out of the cockpit and found it more difficult to re-acclimatise to F1 than he may be expected, whether Kimi will go through the same struggle I don't know,” said Watson at the Autosport International
Show. “I think probably not to the same degree.”
“But big changes because of the aerodynamics, primarily because of the change of tyres, the limitation on testing, all those factors are going to limit Raikkonen's progress so he is going to have to really use every opportunity to be in the car to try and
short cut that two-year period where he has been fooling about in rally cars,” he added.
It will be interesting to see how well the former world champion adapts to F1, but it will surely make 2012 season much more exciting with his inclusion.
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