Who thinks Kimi Raikkonen is leaving at the end of this year?

Question

When Rubens Barrichello left Ferrari, they made him have a rubbish car and he went down hill. Whats happening to Kimi????? I do suspect something. And you can't say anything like - well he got a podium - only cos lew had a puncture and felipe's engine failed.Thought plz!!!!!!

Answer 1

Conspiracy theories are brewing.... I don't think he'll be leaving end of this year. He has denied reports and said that it's just people making them up. He'll want  to retire at the top of his game. I think he'll probably see out his contract until the end of next year

Answer 2

Kimi does look like he is winding down, but he had a patch like this last year. I'm waiting to the Spa GP in Belgium, if Kimi doesn't win that race his days may be numbered as he always goes well at Spa.

Answer 3

I hope he leaves today.

Answer 4

I agree with Julian that we should look to Spa to see how fired up Kimi really is... I still envisage him going to the end of his contract then going down other avenues such as Sportscars, NASCAR, Rallying (which would make most sense considering his Finnish blood) or just drinking (again, he's from Finland :P)

He used to have off days at McLaren too, but the difference in his good and bad days is a lot more marked now, as is the difference in his raw speed from his earlier career... he is not the fastest driver out there anymore, which was his main weapon. He doesn't seem to be able to reach that other level he could once turn on and off at will (Japan 2005.. one of the great drives... so much better than Felipe last week).. Lewis, Fernando, Kubica and even Massa can all claim to being better than Kimi right now.. which is a bit worrying when you consider he's the reigning Champ...

Answer 5

ya i agree with u tht kimi's podium at hungary wasnt really an hard earned....he just got it he didnt even tried for it....(i never thought being an kimi fan i would be writting such things)......kimi i think really doesnt want to race any more what has happened to him is an very bigf surprise,last year and all the preceding years he was an person with'never say die'attitude...once i remember he started frm pits and had an podium finish....and at canada in 2005 or 2006 ithink he overtook giancarlo fisichella in the last lap to win the race...such was his fighting spirit....but now its found no where in him....its been 7 races i think he wasnt found in the podium ....he said though that he wont be retiring at the end of this yearhttp://formularacin.blogspot.com/2008/07...

but like juan pablo montoyo said to mclaren tht he wanna leave and mclarn allowed him cause it of no use hving an driver who is not motivated and has an thirst to win or doesnt wanna race in the team or car...and in the case of kimi he doent wanna race in f-1 anymore..so i do think tht kimi may not break the contract but ferrari may be happy to break the contract with kimi and bring in a driver like alonso to win championships,....as he has tht thirst....but still these are all guess works and u dnt know tht maybe kimi still has it in him and will be on fire aftr valencia(blah.........i had said this for hungary too,for hockenheim too,for silverstone too....hmmm...)....lets see...i hope for the best for kimster...

Answer 6

I don't think he will be leaving this year, but possibly next year if his performance continues to go downhill!  

Answer 7

He looks to have taken his decision to me. He might want to fulfil his contract with Ferrari, but whether he actually manages to is another matter. It's hard to keep going when you can see the end.

See my answer to a similar question earlier in the week for more details: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

Answer 8

I don't think anythings wrong with kimi. Yes he's having a bad couple of races but if you look back to last year the exact same thing happened and then he snatched the title at the end so im pretty sure that near the end of this season maybe within the next two races he will come into his own, plus he's only 5 points behind lewis which isnt bad. Kimi has admitted he is kinda lazy but the way he's so laid back and cool headed he wont worry bout anything or take action until its really necessary, for example is lewis was in Kimi's position he'd be really worrying and probably make a lot of mistakes out on the track because of the pressure. i Really dont think Ferarri will get rid of him, he won the championship last year and he is a really determined guy but he's just quieter about it so i dont think he'll be retiring soon either. He mentioned something about retiring in an interview something like he wanted to finish his career at Ferarri and automatically this rumoured that he was leaving at the end of this year when he probably meant in about 6 or 7 years he would go.

Answer 9

r u saying that the team is trying to kick him out and therefore giving him a poor car, or that he is driving badly so thta he gets thrown out.  both, i suspect, are baseless - he is a driver going thru a rough patch - should be able to get over it and make a more serious challenge for the rest of the championship.. all the best kimi

Answer 10

I hope he leaves, and I think that Ferrari isn't to pleased with Massa, so to me it looks like Ferrari will have a whole new team next year.   Hopefully one of those drivers will be Alonso.

Answer 11

who knows? Kimi got a championship handed to him because of a rookie mistake last year. He's not a "World Champion" in my eyes. if he leaves then good, that'll make room for real drivers who want to be there.

Answer 12

Personally I think he's just ready to move on. He likes to play, and I've heard that he wants to pursue other things. I dont know if it will be at the end of this year or next but it won't be much longer until he retires from F1. That being said, no I DO NOT think Ferrari is giving him lemons. Ferrari wants to win ( The constructor and the driver championships) period. They can cut who ever they want at any time, no need to make a c**p car, that would only make them look like a poor constructor. I think that the lack of the Kimsters' performance is a result of his lack of interest and enthusiasm.

Answer 13

i don't think he is leaving at the end of the season. he has very good chances for the title this year. besides he has said it before that he is going to honour his contract with ferrari, and that ends next year.