LOL, conspiracy theories, the Finn had a couple of championship capable winning cars at Mac and could not deliver. Some drivers of the past , dead or alive now would have turned it into at least one WDC.

For the rest as he has to support Massa and has to drive Barricellos cars , that is about as absurd as it gets. So, the F board chases a driver for years, signs him in advance for mega $$$ and then delegates him to substandard equipment and support ? That is the most stupid thing I have heard in a long time.

Fact : the Finn is not that good, he will do a random decent drive, win the occassional race and that is that. He could not carry MS's jockstrap ever, time to wake up and use common sense not fanboy or over the top press reports. Talk is cheap and he ain't walking the walk, period. As a matter of fact if grandpa MS would still be driving at the Scuderia he would park him like the underachiever he is.

Oh and as far as JV is concerned, his true qualities showed up in 98, when , granted the Willams was no longer a winning car but was capable for third place finishes , good ol' " I ride on my dads coattails" JV fell of the planet while complaining..............

 

That's what I said before...no conspiracy at all...I do however believe that getting the team to work around you more so than your team mate is huge in F1.

 

Ohh, absurd, Barrichello move over , moveover schumacher wants to pass , barrichello we are paying you millions moveover for schumacher he cannot pass...


Pole you are pretty naive Seeing your boy spent his career doing this , i know being a hun you miss schumacher , his play is over , cast closed , now enjoy the new broadway, take the meds and get back , the finn has the same problem as schumacher , he is not as good as they make him out to be and now it is Massa's turn , watch and record


Barrichellos car as driven by Massa for the first 12 races of last year , before he got into schumachers car and looked like a champion 07 wc to be exact

 

not sure you understand formula 1 and its stakes.

 

LOL, he 's a Hun i wonder how Massa would be viewed if he won 3 or 4 WC for ferrari .........

 

It is safe to say that I have forgottem more about F1 than you will ever know. For a start, how often were you in the pits at a F1 race ?

 

Pole,
I know you used to be Nuvolari's tireman, but a lot has changed since then ,,, the cars now have wings and Hmmm, well just take it from me, a lot has changed since the War

 

Pete,
Kimi's brain power is the same now as when he was at mc claren , His lack of technical knowledge would only hurt him and the team if the car was a dud and they where depending on Kimi for input ... But In this case with a good car and at this level there is more than enough data to get Kimi there 1. if Kimi can or 2. If ferrari wants to , Kimi role at ferrari is now to support Massa , he reported to ferrari i believe with this culture in place .
Now if ferrari is not working with him by baby sitting him as they did at mc Claren then his lack of technical know how will hurt him ..

 

never was - wish i had been. But then, having been an avid fan since 1981 and being good friends with someone on the inside of F1 (i mean really inside) helps me understand today's F1 quite well.

My pevious comment was very general - sorry about that. I just thought that your post did not reflect a good grasp of the situation.

 

The basis for understanding F1 is egos and money and money does not always triumph over egos.

 

I'll sum up F1 in one word POLITICS!

 

POLITICS = BERNIE

 

This is even better...

 

Kimi Raikkonen says he is not disheartened by the setbacks he has suffered in the last two races because he thinks it impossible that his main championship rivals will escape similar problems over the year.

The Finn's retirement from the Spanish Grand Prix and his crash in qualifying at Monaco have derailed his title bid, and he is currently 15 points behind joint leaders Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

But despite the pressure on him to ensure that he doesn't fall any further back, Raikkonen has said he is confident he will remain a championship contender providing he does not hit any further trouble.

"For sure we want the close the gap rather than fall further behind, but I made only one mistake in the last weekend (at Monaco) and it cost a lot," he said when asked by autosport.com about whether he felt he was close to dropping out of title contention.

"I think anywhere else that mistake would not have made such a big difference. It is so difficult to overtake there, but at least we got one point.

"We have had two bad races in a row and without those we could be right up there. But we will try and win and see where we end up.

"It is hard to think that every other driver will manage to go through the whole year without any problems, so as long as we don't have any problems any more I think we have a good chance to get back. We are still fighting."

Raikkonen, speaking at a Bridgestone promotional event at the Coronation School in Montreal, is confident that Ferrari will be much stronger in Canada than they were in Monaco.

"It is never going to be easy," he said. "I think we have a good package so we have all the chances to win. I think we have a good chance.

"It all depends how well everything goes through the weekend but we have a good strong package and we have every chance to win."

Raikkonen also steered clear of getting dragged into the controversy surrounding Jacques Villeneuve's criticisms of Lewis Hamilton about his aggressive tactics off the start line.

"He has been doing a good job," said Raikkonen when asked to comment on Hamilton's driving. "I haven't been so close to him in the races to see what he has done, but I don't want to get involved in that (Villeneuve) situation."

 

The Finn was drafted in by Bridgestone for a special appearance at the Coronation School in Montreal - where he was put up in front of 400 eager children keen to meet a real sporting hero for the first time.

Raikkonen relished the attention and interest, and even dared take some questions from the children themselves about his career, the life of an F1 driver and the sport. But the best question of all came from a kindergarten child who asked simply: How do you drive so fast?

After the event, autosport.com heard from Raikkonen about how he found the experience, his confidence levels for the weekend ahead and what he thought about some slightly controversial comments from local hero Jacques Villeneuve about Lewis Hamilton's driving.

Q. How was it?

Kimi Raikkonen: It is nice to be here at least. It is nice to see the happy kids. I think it is nice to do this kind of thing. It is much more relaxed and they appreciate it much more than many other people, so you get more out of it.

Q. Have you met children at events like this before?

KR: It is up to the team what we do. I don't know really what will happen when we go there. It is nice, the kids get much more out of it and appreciate it much more than some other places where we go.

Q. Did you get to meet sport stars like this when you were at school?

KR: I never had any heroes, but I don't even remember because it is too long ago. But usually sometimes in some schools the kids can meet some people, but I cannot remember too far back

Q. But your presence here can have an impact on their future can't it?

KR: Yeah for sure, and it is nice to see the kids are so excited.

Q. Did the kids' questions surprise you?

KR: Not really. You never know what the kids come up with. I think they always come up with the best questions usually, so I am not surprised.

Q. Can you win the race this weekend?

KR: We try definitely. It is never going to be easy. I think we have a good chance. It all depends how well everything goes through the weekend but we have a good strong package and we have every chance to win.

Q. Are you feeling confident? Do you like the track?

KR: It is a nice circuit, a nice place, but a lot of things can happen here usually. I have had some good races and not so good races here. But the last two races were okay. I won in 2005 and I was third here last year, so I think it is a good place usually for me. I think we have a good package and have all the chances to win the race. That is what we are going to try to do.

Q. Do you feel that Felipe Massa has an advantage in the team because he has won more races since the beginning of the year?

KR: I think he had an easier time with the car. We have improved the car and it seems to be better now for me. We had a good weekend in the last race before I hit the wall, so it didn't help. I think the car seems now to be quite good and I am much easier able to drive it.

Q. So there is no number one driver at Ferrari?

KR: No. As long as I have been there, there has never been a number one. We will see what happens.

Q. What do you think about the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve?

KR: It is a nice circuit. It is quite challenging, quite hard for the car. The long straights are hard for the engines and the bouncing over the kerbs does not give the easiest time for the cars. I think the only question mark is the surface of the circuit. Last year it broke up during the race, so it was like driving on sand at some corners. Hopefully they have done something about that?

Q. Are you still learning the Ferrari?

KR: I think you are always learning every time you go out. We had a good first race, but I still wasn't happy with the car. We start to get more happy with the car now, so hopefully we will get the results.

Q. Do you think you have to win this weekend after what happened in Monaco?

KR: I think the last two races have been difficult, although at least we got one point out of Monaco. That could make a big difference in the end. So for sure it helps if we can win and that is what we will try.

Q. Are you surprised by speed of McLaren drivers?

KR: No, not really. I think when I was there, when we had a good car I was quick. But last year that wasn't the case and there haven't been many years like that. This year they have a good package and they are strong everywhere. So I am not surprised.

Q. Do you think your Monaco form, and the fact that McLaren were so dominant, was a one-off because of the nature of the circuit?

KR: When I was at McLaren we were always quick there. Even last year when the car wasn't quick anywhere else, it was good there. So I wasn't surprised that they were strong because they have a good car. We will see what happens here.

Q. Fernando Alonso has said that he reckons you are just one bad result away from dropping out of the championship fight. Is there pressure on you to get a good result here?

KR: For sure we want the close the gap rather than fall further behind, but I made only one mistake in the last weekend (at Monaco) and it cost a lot.

I think anywhere else that mistake would not have made such a big difference. It is so difficult to overtake there, but at least we got one point. We have had two bad races in a row and without those we could be right up there. But we will try and win and see where we end up.

It is hard to think that every other driver will manage to go through the whole year without any problems, so as long as we don't have any problems any more I think we have a good chance to get back. We are still fighting.

Q. Jacques Villeneuve has said that Lewis Hamilton is a driver who is dangerous on the track and some of the ways he drives warrants a black flag. What do you think?

KR: I don't want to get involved in that...

Q. How do you think Lewis is driving?

KR: He has been doing a good job. I haven't been so close to him in the races to see what he has done, but I don't want to get involved in that situation.

He is a good driver. Everyone knew he was good even before he came to F1 and he has a good team behind him. So he is doing good this year but we are trying to beat him.