Kimi Raikkonen is a major threat for all contenders in 2012 Formula 1 World Championship
Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen has emerged as a major threat for all the contenders in the 2012 Formula 1 World Championship and has performed convincingly well in the season so far.
Raikkonen is presently standing at fifth place in the drivers’ championship with 116 points. Moreover, he is ahead of Nico Rosberg of Mercedes and is just 1 point behind Lewis Hamilton of McLaren.
He won the 2007 World Championship with Ferrari and left the sport in 2010. After spending two years in World Rally Championship, he made a great comeback with the Enstone based in the current season.
In the season opener, he secured 7th place finish after taking a start from 17th grid slot. Later, he improved his performance in the second race and came 5th after setting off from 10th grid position.
Conversely, he couldn’t score even a single point in the third race as he came 14th even after starting from 4th grid position. Nonetheless, he strike back in the Bahrain GP and secured an impressive second podium finish after beginning
from 11th place in the grid. He continued with the same pace in the Spanish GP and secured third podium finish after setting off from 4th place in the grid.
Contrarily, he struggled in the Monaco GP and could only score 2 points with his 9th place finish after beginning from 8th grid slot. Later on, he came 8th in the Canadian GP after qualifying for 12th place in
the grid.
Nevertheless, he hit back in the European GP and secured second podium finish after taking a start from 5th grid position. Then, in the British GP, he secured fifth place finish after starting from 6th grid position.
Furthermore, in the German GP, he showed an incredible pace and secured third podium finish after beginning from 10th grid position. Over and above, he secured an amazing second podium finish in the Hungarian GP after qualifying for 5th
place in the grid.
Although, he has secured five podium finishes in the season until now, however, he has not been able to score a grand prix victory in the first half. In addition, he said that he can achieve more if they enhance their qualifying pace in the forthcoming races.
Besides, it is to be noted that the team principal of Ferrari, Stefano Domenicali considers the Finn a major threat for them in the season ahead.
“I was not surprised by Kimi because I have always thought Kimi is a very good driver and a World Champion which you don't do unless you have something special,” said Domenicali. “They have had a good car since the beginning, so they could have more points.”
On the other hand, the team boss of Red Bull, Christian Horner also called Raikkonen their main rival in this year’s championship fight.
“Their car has been quick all year, and they have two good drivers, so Kimi is a factor in the Drivers' Championship,” said Horner. “He is only one point behind Lewis (Hamilton), so it would be foolish to underestimate any of our rivals at the moment and
there is still a long way to go.”
Above and beyond, it will be very exciting to see how the Finnish driver performs in the second half of the season after the summer smash.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the writer’s and do not reflect bettor.com’s official editorial policy.
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