The new season is just around the corner and so after earlier post predicting form of all the teams in 2008 Formula 1 season, it is time to look at the drivers. Let’s start with Ferrari.
Kimi Raikkonen – Finland
Born: 17 October 1979
In F1 since 2001 (2001 Sauber, 2002 – 2006 McLaren, from 2007 Ferrari)
Best Result: 2007 Formula 1 Champion
Career wins: 15
Pole positions: 14
This is the first time Raikkonen goes into a new F1 season as a defending champion. And it looks like the title is there for him to take. He has the top car. He has comfortably settled in the team. He seems to have no problems at all driving the car without the electronic driver aids. Unless he is unlucky and gets more than a fair share of mechanical troubles or accidents, I expect him to claim the number one spot in Ferrari much earlier in the season than in 2007. Kimi is probably the hottest candidate for the F1 crown in 2008 but it sure will not be as easy as many tend to think. Massa will not let go that easy and then there is the McLaren duo…
Felipe Massa – Brazil
Born: 25 April 1981
In F1 since 2002 (2002 Sauber, 2003 Ferrari test driver, 2004-2005 Sauber, from 2006 Ferrari)
Best Result: 3rd in 2005
Career wins: 5
Pole positions: 9
With Jean Todt’s move away from the spotlight Massa may find himself in very different environment. He will have to prove again he deserves his place in the Maranello team. He is a very good qualifier and decent race driver. But one has to remember that all his career wins came after starting from pole position – Turkey and Brazil 2006, Bahrain, Spain, Turkey 2007. His best chance to get better of Kimi is to try to outqualify him as often as possible. He has enough speed to do that, but there may be questions about his driving style. He seems to have had more difficult time than Kimi adjusting to car without all the electronic aids. If he is to beat Kimi, first he has to be quick in qualifying while staying on the track … Most people expect Raikkonen to dominate the battle of Ferrari team mates this year. This may take some pressure away from Massa. But the never ending rumours of Alonso being enroute to Ferrari in the near future may do exactly the opposite…
F1Wolf’s prediction for Ferrari drivers in 2008:
No. 1 – Kimi Raikkonen and fighting for the 2008 F1 title
No. 2 – Felipe Massa – his overall position depends on how dominant Ferrari car will be. If McLarens are close, he will have hard time to stay ahead of one of their drivers.
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i cant believe williams said that hamilton is a better driver than kimi. some nerve. kimis car broke twice last year and hamiltons broke 0 times besides hamiltons mistakes. and kimi went on to win the championship. who is the better driver? that seems obvious to me. williams said that kimi is”not interested”.how can u be the f1 chmp not not be interested?thats why i dont like frank williams. but i agree with you. kimi will beat massa again. that is the real test of a good drier. which team mate is consistantly faster? every team mate kimi has had so far (heidfeld,coulthard,montoya,de la rosa,massa)he has been faster than his team-mate by about .5s. massa has some good quali runs tho. if massa gets pole then he can win but not from any other place. he cant handle the pressure
Well, most punters put their bet on Rakonnen..and I agree with Rich above that Hamilton’s success last season got something to do with Raikonnen car’s brekdowns.
But those breakdowns must be related to the way Raikonnen drive- he had the same spell during his McLaren years (compared to his teammates).
I heard somewhere (years ago) that Raikonnen driving style is too rough for the engine. Maybe there’s some truth in it..
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well in 2007 Kimi only had 2 DNFs – none of them seem to be due to his ‘car breaking abilities’ … electrical failure in Spain and hydraulics failure at European GP
the only serious mistake he made last year was hitting the kerbs too hard in Monaco qualifying and breaking his suspension
yes exactly what im saying. kimi had 1 mistake this year and hamilton had at least 3. and those 3 cost him the championship
kimi is good bettr than most drivers in the grid of 08.hamilton did good because he had fernando and a good car,but he is still a rookie but , now the honey moon is over for him , his team mate says that this will be a fight that he will do everything possible to beat hamilton. what i`m saying is that kimi is the best and kovi will be the 2nd best drive . fernando nowhere close 08 will be hell for him.
Kimi appears to be wicked fast, when he’s focused. His downside is that he seems to lose focus in the middle of races and has mysterious off track adventures. He seemed to break this habit late last season, so maybe he has this fixed.
Hamilton made perhaps the biggest choke of any leader when he crashed entering the pits in China. That cost him the championship.
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he loses concentration when he isnt pressured.he is much better underpresure than without. thats wy he will be even betr this year bc there are no driver aids so kimi will have to concentrate harder. he is lke hakkinen. hakkinen was the same way. if he wasnt pessured he would go off and do stuff to entertain himself.he was once caught on radio whisteling. ahah
I would like to see Massa win more and even win a championship. I have always liked him.
Kimi is a hunter and when the chips are down, he will be tough to beat.
A good fight between Kovalinen and Massa would be nice to see.
Rich: I agree with your assessment of Kimi. The problem is that F1 has a history of large gaps between the cars for many laps, especially at the front of the pack. If Ferrari has the best car, and Kimi gets out in front by 10 seconds, will he keep his focus? I hope so, and believe he went a long way toward improving late last year.
I also agree strongly with Stew…Kimi is a hunter. If pressured, or in a serious championship battle, he will stay on his game and be very difficult to beat.