Kimi & happy family!

New Circuit 1 – Valencia GP

This year F1 has several new circuits in its calendar. The first one is in Europe, the street circuit of Valencia. New tracks is always (I believe) an exciting challenge for F1 drivers, also for Kimi. Look at what he said in his site about new tracks : 'I like to discover new tracks, since I was a child driving in a kart, I always learned quickly to drive on unknown tracks.'

This new circuit is another masterpiece of Herman Tilke, a street circuit which has many challenging turns and need a high downforce set up from the cars. I can't wait to watch the 57 laps of Valencia GP next week, hopefully Kimi will be the first champion of this new circuit!

Kimi's Stamp in Finn

Finland will have 3 new themes for their stamps very soon. Whose picture is on the stamp? The 2007 world champion of F1 : Kimi Raikkonen! These new stamps will be launched on the Spa Franchorchamps GP, and Kimi will received the stamps formally during the GP. Take a look at the design...

 

Kimi Is Still On Fire !

Who said Kimi is getting his motivation down? The yesterday Hungary GP was the proof. Although stucked on P6 and P7 behind Alonso on first half of the race, Kimi managed to grab 6 points in 3rd (podium) position. He also set the fastest laps while chasing Glock in Toyota who were in P2. However, after the engine blow in Massa’s car (good drive for Massa, before retiring just 3 laps before finish!), Kimi didn’t force his car anymore, and chose to drive safely. He’s got 6 points anyway, while Hamilton got only 4 points and Massa got zero.

So, how about the poor qualification and poor race on the first half? Kimi did admitted that he’s done a mistake on the qualification, and he still got problem with the car setting (again!). Starting from third row has never been easy in Hungaroring, where there are only limited chances for overtaking. Kimi tried to pass Kovalainen from the outside on the start, which cost him getting passed by Alonso. Struggling behind Alonso has never been easy either, but the time came after second pitstop when he could finally passed Alonso. P4 looked quite good for Kimi looking at the situation, but after Massa retired from the race, it’s getting better. Podium!

Kimi is still on fire ? Definitely! OK, people might think I only tried to please myself. But, look at his pace on the last laps of Hungary GP. Fastest laps, remember? So, no matter what people said about him, I believe that Kimi still has the strong passion and motivation as he had when he became 2007 world champion. The main problem is that he knows little about technical details. He is a racer by nature, and a very-very fast one!

Now, Kimi is on 2nd position in the driver championship, only 5 points behind Hamilton. Ferrari have 3 weeks time to overcome the problems before the next race. So, hopefully all the team is now on fire (just like Kimi) to change the situation, and to be back as a strong rival to McLaren on the championship.

Happy Wedding Anniversary, Kimi!

This week is a special week for Kimi, as last Thursday, the 31th of July was Kimi's 4th wedding anniversary. Happy Wedding Anniversary for Kimi and Jenni!

Another thing that I hope will make this week special is the Hungary GP this weekend. After 2 weeks of tests and practices, Kimi has been satisfied with the car handling. Ferrari even set fastest time at the first practice, where Hamilton finally closed the free practice season to be the fastest one.

So, how does Kimi feel about present situation ? He wrote on his personal site that he was not stressed at all with the last 3 races results. He was very disappointed, indeed, but he won't take it for too long. He is already motivated to go to Hungary to win the race. If he does, that would be a perfect gift for both Kimi and Jenni for their wedding anniversary. I believe that the situation will somehow change for Ferrari. Ferrari is a very big and experienced team, who has been in many hard situations in the past. And at the end, they could always reverse the situation to be better and even to win at the end of the championship. So, Kimi and Ferrari: why not close this weekend in Hungary with a win? Me and all Kimi's and Ferrari's fans all over the world are looking forward to it very much.

The Jinx Is Still To Be Continued In Hockenheim....

Again, in German GP in Hockenheim Kimi cannot win! Yes, he still managed to grab 3 points by finishing in P6, but like he always says, the reason of every race is just to win it. Period.

This time the car handling is the cause. Kimi has difficulties to handle his F2008 since the qualifying session, which caused him to be in the 3rd row of starting grid, P6. At the beginning, he even lost 1 position while trying to overtake Trulli and Alonso. On the middle of the race, huge accident of one of Toyota cars has caused Safety Car period. Kimi managed to go to the pit for 2nd stop, while Hamilton is still leading. After the pit stop, Kimi dropped down to P11, but he managed to overtake several cars in front of him until he’s back to P6, which he could maintain until the end of the race.

On the contrary, Hamilton’s race was close to perfect, thanks to McLaren’s team order and his brilliant manoevre while overtaking Massa.

These bad races have to be ended RIGHT NOW! All the team must work harder on the next 2 weeks time to be well prepared for Hungarian GP. DON’T let things like wrong strategy or car setting be a reason for another fail. Kimi can’t afford another fail. This time he must win! Or otherwise he would miss the opportunity to be world champion. And that might encourage him to retire from F1. Well, that’s one thing I and many others don’t want to see. So, Kimi and Ferrari, do your best in the next 2 weekends! I don’t believe in jinxes, I always believe that every success starts from hard working and commitment!

The Most Ridiculous Strategy in Silverstone GP

There are a lot of different emotions inside me when I watched Silverstone GP racing from my television. Excited? Definitely! That race was probably the most exciting and thrilling race since very long time ago. Kimi and most of the drivers spun many times during the wet race! Unhappy? Surely, 'cause my hero, Kimi Raikkonen could not win this race. Winning is always the goal of every F1 racer in every race! Disappointed? Very! As until now I still couldn't understand why the team chose to let Kimi continue the race with the old tire instead of replace with fresh tire during the first pit stop. That caused him minutes of time and many places in the race! I just wonder what exactly are the team's main plan or strategy? It was ridiculous and humiliating for a big and experienced team like Ferrari. Is it because Ross Brawn has left them to move to Honda? (Barrichello can get podium thanks to the right choice of extreme wet tire!).

But after the race is over, well, I can still be relieved as although being in the third place in driver championship, Kimi has now the same point as his two main contenders, Hamilton and Massa : 48 points! Besides all the trouble and unpredictable conditions during the race, I know Kimi is on the right track to the world championship. However, Ferrari should be more and more concerned and careful about every aspects of the race. Not only speed and engine reliability, but also strategy and tire choosing. Ferrari got two experienced driver, one of them is probably one of the fastest in this season! So, it's time for Ferrari to work harder, consolidate the team and give full support to their driver, to be able to win.

For Kimi, don't give up yet! It's still in the mid season and the chance to win is still big, at least bigger compared to the same time at last season where you finally won the world championship. So, nothing is impossible in F1. Keep up the good work, Kimi!

Exhaust Problem Disturb Kimi's Magny Cours Weekend

This post's title is the most fit sentence to express what had happened last weekend on Magny Cours GP race day. After a good start from testing day to pole position on qualifying day, Kimi got an engine problem that caused him second position at the end of the race, despite of the fastest lap he recorded. A broken exhaust, that was the one which 'disturbs' Kimi's weekend! I wrote 'disturb', not 'ruin' as, despite of the broken exhaust that caused lack of the car power, Kimi was still able to finish safely and score 8 points on P2. His team mate, Massa has successfully won the race, while Hamilton didn't score any point this time.

How do I feel about this failure ? I am disappointed of course, but looking at how Kimi can still scored the fastest lap with the power problem in his car, I believe Kimi is one of the best drivers of this season, and his chance to win the championship is the biggest among the others. Do I need to underline how Kimi made his fastest lap while he was in P2 (behind Massa) with the problem in his car? Impressive! That's Kimi! And that's a value that can help him repeat last year sweet victory in Silverstone. Welcome Silverstone, wait for Kimi's revenge this weekend...

Good Start at Magny Cours

The F1 racing has come back to Europe. Magny Cours GP has been sweet histories for Kimi. Is it going to happen this weekend, when he is 7 points ahead from Hamilton after the long bad weekend ? Of course! Kimi has showed signals of leading the race when he leads Massa in qualifying session, and grab the 200th pole position for Ferrari at the same time.

Looking at the good results both during free practice and the qualifying session, and considering that Kimi's main contenders (Hamilton and Kubica) will not start from the front rows, I can feel the atmosphere of victory tomorrow! If Hamilton could only finish in P9 or more, Kimi will come back to the championship. Let's see....

Retiring Issue...Again!

This is an interesting post from Edmontonsun.com :

'In only his second season behind the wheel of Formula One's lead Ferrari, Finland's Kimi Raikkonen said yesterday that retirement after his current contract ends is a real possibility.

The defending world champion shocked questioners when he was asked what his plans were when his Ferrari deal runs out after next season.

"I like the racing (but) the other stuff is not always the best thing," the 28-year-old Raikkonen said, referring to the constant glare drivers find themselves under.

" ... When there are too many things that you don't enjoy or too many things you don't want, it is time to go away.

Rumours already have started that Ferrari has designs on McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Renault's two-time champion Fernando Alonso.'

My comment ? If the 2008 season is going to be Kimi’s last season in F1 career, then I would not miss every race from now on. And of course, I really want Kimi to close his F1 career with world champion title. Whatever his decision would be, for me Kimi is one of very quick and skilled driver in F1 with his unique personal character!

A Bitter Loss At Canada GP

This time I’m 5 days behind from the race day of Canada GP to publish my post. The main reason was because of my preparation for my new career in internet business. But I also find it difficult to put my feelings in words! Although I didn’t see the race from television (the different time of Indonesia and Canada is 12 hrs, so the race was broadcasted at 12 am, while I was still asleep), I felt very disappointed to find that Kimi cannot finish the race after being smashed from behind by Hamilton. And this happened not in the race (which would counted as an incident), but in the pit lane!

After that rare accident, I searched in the internet for news. What the media and reporters had to say about the accident? What really happened there? Was that a common accident that can happen to any driver at any race? Or…was it a human error or silly mistakes by a non-experienced driver? Well, I got a lot of interesting news. Some of them said it was Hamilton’s fault and he deserved the 10 start position penalty at the next Magny Cours GP (Kimi included in this group), but some of them thought it was unfair for Hamilton being punished for slamming other car from behind, while Kimi could walk away from punishment when he did almost the same to Sutil back to Monaco.

Well, I personally think that all F1 drivers are professional and extraordinary drivers, but they are also human. There were times when they did awesome manouvre on the circuit which invites many people to salute them. But time would come when they appear like totally rookie and made stupid mistakes. Even a legend like Michael Schumacher did this kind of mistake during his career. And at those hard times, the best thing to do is to calm down, cool down, and be focused on the next races, to fight back for title, to do the best and to show their actual skill.

I hope Kimi will do the same thing after the Canada GP, and I wait for his win at Magny Cours. It’s been a long time since I cheered on his victory, really enjoy F1, and write a joyful post in this blog!

Is Raikkonen really going to wave goodbye in 2009? Or maybe....?

More speculation on Kimi's retirement issue :

written by: Bryn Evans

The current world champion, Kimi Raikkonen, is rumoured to be quitting formula 1 in 2009 when his current contract with Ferrari expires.

Sources close to Raikkonen have been saying that the champion no longer has the passion to fulfill his commitments off track and therefore will not be renewing his contract after 2009.

Are we to believe that Kimi has gone as far as he can? I think not. Unfortunately for Kimi there would not be many options open to him for a career beyond an F1 driver. Fair enough, his money has been made he doesn't need to work to pay the bills, but for someone who has a strict regime day in day out, how easy will it be to slip into a life with no goals and no purpose.

I don't think we are seeing the last races from the Finn just yet, maybe the prospect of Fernando Alonso as a team mate is not ideal in his eyes and maybe therefore a change is on the cards, and that change? BMW Sauber.

As I understand it, Kimi would relish the chance to prove he is the best driver and going back to his roots would be the ideal option for him. BMW Sauber have proved this year that they are fast becoming strong title contenders in the making but for that they need a world class driver, enter Kimi, the Finn would love the chance to return to BMW Sauber. Whilst driving for Ferrari is a dream for any driver, it is now a dream that Raikkonen has lived and for a man that hurtles round a track at 200mph for a living the challenges and goals need to be there.

Kimi know he can drive a Ferrari to another 5 world championships, but where's the challenge in that. He is no different from any Joe Bloggs, he want to feel pushed to the limit, he needs new goals to stay interested and driving for BMW Sauber would give him that.

So will the Finn be retiring? I think not.

Feel How Kimi Speeding At Monaco!

Click here to watch a short video of Kimi riding his F2008 at Monaco.

Another Resigning Rumors

A week after the bad weekend for Kimi in Monaco GP, rumours about his retirement has appeared again. It says that Kimi won’t renew his contract after 2009. Where did it came from ? Apparently, this rumours came from his friends that heard him saying at a party that he does not intend to spend much longer as a Grand Prix racer.

"Kimi loves the driving and hates everything else about Formula One.” That’s what the friend said. And this statement clarify what he meant by ‘hates everything else about F1’: ‘The public appearances, the life under the spotlight - he doesn't have the desire anymore," I can understand that for a person with a character like Kimi, it’s very annoying to be a star which is the risk every F1 driver must take to be able to race in the grand prix.

That means I can’t skip every chance to see Kimi’s performance at every F1 GP from now on. By the way, Montreal GP is only one week from now. Let’s see what will happen there!

Real Disaster In Monaco

Not only a bad race in Monaco GP, Kimi had to lose his leading in world championship after finishing in 9th position last weekend. Lewis is now leading 3 points from Kimi. It’s too difficult for me to write about Kimi failure in Monaco. In my favorite GP, I have to see my favorite F1 driver must lost in a humiliating way.

I know that every driver must have bad races or bad days during his career. But this one is…how must I say ? disappointing ? I must wait until few days to be able to post about this event. But anyhow, I know how Kimi must feel right now. And this week would be hard times for him, cause everybody will always remember that day. What makes it more difficult, is the fact that he must went through all the bad things as a reigning world champion. People have high expectation on a world champion, and when something doesn’t turn right, they will ‘shout’.

Anyway, Kimi has apologized to Sutil personally, and Sutil has forgiven him. The bad was bad, but everything is behind us now. The most important thing is how Kimi should left everything behind and ‘pay’ it at next races. The closest race is in Canada. Hope things will get right this time.

Photos of Monaco GP

Monaco GP has been my most favorite GP. I managed to get this photos during Monaco weekend (from f1.gpupdate.net gallery). By looking at it, you won't have any doubt that they are taken at Monaco, the most beautiful circuit in the world, no other circuits are like this one! Just look at those views...Wow !!


                                                        


                              

Good Signal To Sweet End in Monaco GP?

Kimi in Monaco GP

Ferrari was the strongest in Monaco GP! After a not-quite-good practice session on Friday, Ferrari managed to grab 2 front rows on the race tomorrow. Although not a pole sitter, Kimi has succeeded to start from P2, behind his team mate Massa. Where is Hamilton ? P3. If Kimi can overtake Massa on the start, I think his chance to win the race is big. Is this a good signal for Kimi to make a sweet-ending at Monaco GP?

Kimi Just Bought A ‘New Toy’

During the Monaco GP weekend, Kimi participated in a charity auction of the Elton John Aids Foundation. He bought a 1974 Chevrolet Corvette owned by Hollywood actress Sharon Stone at €200.000. The charity auction took place at Monaco's Meridien Beach Plaza hotel on Friday night. Several of Kimi’s friends, the F1 drivers : Hamilton, Mark Webber, Jenson Button and Nelson Piquet were also participating in the fashion show on the same event.

Is a new Corvette enough for the weekend? Of course not! Kimi always chase victory on every race. Just let’s hope that the new toy will bring luck for Sunday’s race. We’ll see…

Going Back To Monaco

The F1 GP is coming back at last to Monaco this week. I should say that Monaco GP has been my favorite ever since I became an F1 mania. And this year, Kimi Raikkonen come to Monaco as the leading world championship with 7 points ahead from Hamilton and Massa. Of course, I’d very much like to see Kimi win in my favorite GP, Monaco GP!

At the practice session, Kimi (Ferrari) and Hamilton (MacLaren) are very close in lap time. In the first session, Kimi beat Hamilton by 0.268s. Hamilton was consistently quicker through the short first sector, while Kimi had the edge through the more important middle sector from Mirabeau to the Swimming Pool complex – outpacing Hamilton by 0.4s through there on his quickest lap.

Here is Kimi’s comment on the overall practice session :
"I would say this was a normal day of free practice. We went quite well, especially on used tyres in the morning. But we struggled a bit to do a time on new tyres in the second session and now we have to look at the data carefully to understand how to improve. There is plenty of time to do that and so I am not particularly worried, at least at the moment.”

The team boss, Domenicali pointed out few things that need to be anticipated. Firstly, the F2008 performance with the softer tyre, and secondly the weather forecast which underline the possibility of rain during the race.

Well, I can only hope that all Ferrari team will do their best to win this race, and hopefully Kimi is the one who took the victory. Go for it, Kimi !

Definitely A Bad Weekend in Istanbul Park!!

Just what I have been worried for before the race, last week in Istanbul Park wasn’t a good week at all for Kimi! Three bad days in a row, problem in practice session, bad qualifying laps, and bad start on the race! The only good thing from last week was 7 points that Kimi have now ahead of other competitors. Well…what can I say? I am really disappointed, but that’s racing! Sometimes you win and sometimes you lost.

But, anyway, what was really happening back there in Istanbul Park race ? As I watched from TV, I could see that Kimi didn’t have a good start, rather slow actually which allows Kubica to overtake him. Later on I learned that Kimi actually had an incident which involved Heikki Kovalainen on the start which caused Kimi to break the front wing of his F2008. For the detailed explanation, I have quoted Kimi’s version at the official Press Conference after the race :

“I didn’t have a very good start. I got to the side of him on the braking. Then I got a little bit squeezed on the inside and I tried to slow down and get behind him, but he just turned in a little bit. The unfortunate thing for both of us is that I broke the front wing and he had a puncture. It didn’t help for either of us. We chose to use the front wing for the whole race because it takes too long to change it and it wasn’t too bad. I knew pretty much what had happened. I hit the rear wheel of Heikki and the bottom of the end plate came off.”

Ferrari had also a bad choice of tyres. “Yeah, if I’d chosen now I would go onto the harder tyres at the first pit stop but it’s too late. I think the first set of soft worked pretty well for me, but the second set, when it was new, was quite difficult and it was at a point when we needed to be faster, so that’s one of the reasons that we lost second place”

Despite all the above problems, Kimi could actually score fastest lap in the last laps of the race. That means F2008 still have its strong speed Kimi needs to catch more win at the next races. I just can’t wait to see Kimi fight back at my favorite race : Monaco GP in 2 weeks…

Don't Make Mistake Again, Kimi!

On the contrary to Barcelona GP, this week seems to be a hard week for Kimi at the Istanbul Park GP. After gearbox problem during Friday practice season, Kimi made a mistake that forced him to start from front row in P4, behind his main contender Lewis Hamilton who will start from P3. Kimi was disappointed on this position, although he admitted it to be his mistake to make a poor lap on the final qualification session (Q3). "I am a bit disappointed but I made mistakes on my second lap in Q3 and I have to accept that," said the world champion. "I didn't go into the final corner before the pit straight quite right and lost a lot of speed."

But, apart from the bad start position (on the second row plus on the ‘dirty’ track at the anti-clockwise circuit of Istanbul Park), Kimi is still positive about getting as much point as he can to save his leading in the championship. It is not easy, but with a car as strong as F2008, I believe Kimi’s chance to win this race is still big. I put a big hope on McLaren’s fuel strategy, as Kimi said : “Of course, there's a question mark over fuel loads and we won't get an answer to that until the first pit stops tomorrow afternoon."

Well, 2 bad days are more than enough! Go get a victory Kimi, and close this weekend with a sweet win !

Gearbox Problem at Istanbul Practice

Another F1 GP week has started this Friday at Turkey, the Istanbul Park GP. Another chance of victory for our reigning world champion, Kimi Raikkonen! Starting the first practice session, Kimi has a grearbox problem in his F2008, forced him to do only one lap time. Massa reached the top speed in the other F2008 at the end of 1st practice session. At the 2nd session, Ferrari has to find the perfect setting between the car and the Bridgestone tyres. And finally, with the standard grooved slick tyres, Kimi could record a best time of 1:27.543s.

When we are looking at the competitors, McLaren seems not quit far from Ferrari (at the practice session). Lewis Hamilton record a time lap of just 0.036s behind Kimi. So, the main contender of this race would still be McLaren and BMW Sauber. Let’s see what Kimi can do at the qualifying session this afternoon, as like he said, starting position will much affect the race, just like what we have seen at Barcelona last week.

Keep the pace, Kimi !

 

Kimi's New Hairstyle

Just 'launched' at Barcelona....

 
I prefer his 'mohawk' hairstyle, this new one make him look older ??

Resigning F1 Rumours - Can It Be True?

Barcelona GP has been the most perfect race for Kimi during his career in F1. Everything goes well from Friday practice session, qualifying, to the Sunday race. And all ends with 9 points leading in driver championship. “It was a perfect weekend for us in Barcelona," said Kimi.

Friday practice session
Ferrari has set up few changes for the test session, which Kimi claimed to be worked out very well, and fit his needs.

Qualifying Session
Kimi made a stunning best time with a lap of more fuel than his team mate Massa, which proved his speed.

The Race
Kimi dominating the race regardless of 2 times of safety car involvement, and he did that without having to push the car. Meaning, he could have been faster!

Looking to how strong Ferrari at the moment can be quite frightening for its competitors. Look at a soft threat from Kimi’s words : “I’ve got such a big lead it gives me a little safety for the championships. It takes only one bad result and it’s gone, but we can afford a bad result. The others cannot — and that is going to help me.”

But Kimi’s words of how perfect the Barcelona win eventually trigger a rumour about his career. Rumour had spread out about Kimi’s possibility of resigning F1 if he won the world champion for the second time end of this season. Ferrari denied the rumour, of course, but Kimi said nothing about it. I will be very disappointed if Kimi did left F1, just reminded me to his senior Mika Hakkinen! I agree that Kimi doesn’t like controversy, and he is a ‘self-person’ who cares mostly of his personal goals.

Anyway, it’s only rumour. We won’t know the truth until the last race this year. The more important thing is to keep fighting for the next races to come !

Kimi Win By Dominating Barcelona GP

As always, Barcelona Grand Prix did not provide enough ‘action’ on the circuit. There was almost no overtaking at all, except once when Heidfeld get passed over Fisichella. However, it’s so exciting to get to know that Kimi can add 10 more points by winning the Barcelona race. Starting from pole position, Kimi seemed to dominate the entire race. Although there were several accidents which forced safety car to come out twice during the race, but the final position didn’t changed. Kimi’s F2008 took the chequered flag ahead of everybody else.

Starting from pole position didn’t mean that everything went perfectly for Kimi. He got stuck on traffic when going out from his second pit stop. But it never affected his overall speed on the track. Before first pit stop, Kimi was leading around 3 seconds from Massa who brought a slightly less fuel than Kimi (Massa got in to pit stop before Kimi!). After second pit stop, Kimi still lead from Massa although he didn’t push his car anymore. Just look what Kimi said : “We didn’t need to push. If we wanted to push, we could go much faster, for sure, but there’s no point in risking anything…. The first thing was that they were trying to catch us and the second thing was that they would try to overtake, but if they don’t even catch us, it’s fine….” It leaves a slight threat to all his contenders!

So, I will just keep following and watching the whole season of 2008 season ! I have a strong feeling that Kimi will be the world champion for the second time this year…Hopefully!

Kimi's First Pole Postion This Year

The dramatic qualifying session on Saturday in Catalunya GP has finished. Kimi got his first pole position in 2008, which is 15th in his F1 career. Side by side with him on the front row is 2 times world champion, Alonso in his Renault. On Q2 session Kimi is on fourth place, that's why I personally didn't expect him to get the pole position. On the other side, Alonso has surprised everybody when his speed exceeds Massa’s and Kubica’s. I (just like everybody else I think) thought Alonso will get the pole. But on the final seconds, came from the last turn of the circuit, Kimi set the fastest time. It was so dramatic!

So…pole position is good. Starting a race from the front row always give advantage for any driver, however drive the car in a long run race is another thing. On his personal website, Kimi has confirmed his total commitment in this race. “My approach is to keep pushing 100 percent, like the whole team.” Anyway, the Barcelona race is one of the most important races on every F1 GP season. The result of Barcelona race can be a barometer of all next races. Just like what Kimi said: “Barcelona is such a circuit where you have to get everything exactly right to be at the top.” Just a reminder, Kimi is leading in the driver championship with 5 points ahead of main competitor, Hamilton. However, the man in the second position, Nick Heidfeld has only 3 point gap from Kimi. Wow…what an exciting races we will watch along this year!

Let’s just watch the race today, we might have even the slightest idea about who is the main contender of 2008 world champion. For Kimi : Good luck!!

Welcome Back to Europe, F1 !

End of this week the F1 GP will come back to Europe. Spain, the home of Alonso will be the first host. I think many of the drivers (including Kimi) are very happy to be back to Europe after 3 tough races back in Asia. Coming home with fans and family supports, many improvements on the car, and friendly circuits and atmosphere. Just read how Kimi described it : "I'm glad we're back to race in Europe. We don't have to travel so much and we can put all our energy into the race weekend. It's a bit of a tradition: it's almost as if the season starts now. For me personally it's a bit special, because it's the first time that I start the European
season as the leader in the Championship."



The Friday Practice Session

Ferrari dominated the first session of practice. Kimi set the fastest time, 0,050 seconds ahead of team mate Massa. Kubica, the new rising star of BMW who was in the fourth place, set nine-tenths off Kimi’s time. On the second session, again, Kimi made his best lap of 1:21.935s.

So, how’s the race would be at Barcelona on Sunday? Will Kimi and Ferrari win the race? Well, about that Kimi has said that the competition is becoming tighter with the fast improvement of BMW. So, now there are 3 competitors in the top level : Ferrari, McLaren and BMW.


The New Improvement On F2008

Coming back to Europe, many teams have the opportunity to install several improvements to the car, that they cannot do during Asia’s races. Ferrari has issued a new nose (with a whole) to improve the down force of the car. Is it going to make F2008 running faster ? Nobody knows…yet! The technical persons in Ferrari said that the new nose isn’t going to give an extreme change to the car, but…we’ll see. I personally think that the qualifying session tomorrow will be full of surprises!

So…welcome back to Europe, F1! And hopefully Kimi will get (again) his first victory since 2005!

Kimi Stands For Hamilton

Despite of his rivalry with Hamilton, Kimi made a symphatic comments about Hamilton's few faults in Bahrain GP. As we all knew, Hamilton got a huge crash 
on the Friday practice session. 
Then, on the race, he had a bad start and another crash with Alonso's Renault. Out there, people
starts to talk about Hamilton's mistakes and that they are not impressed with him. But Kimi, his main competitor on the drivers championship right now defended him by saying : "Lewis did not make many mistakes last year. This year, they are not in as strong a position with the car,".... "Maybe it makes it more difficult when you do not have such a good package and you try to push more and more - especially during a race when your weekend has not been as good".

I agree with Kimi. I think we all need to give Hamilton another chance. Have a healthy competition on the circuits, not the media. Let's see the outcome until last race. Anyway, the winner will take it all. Butdeep in my heart, Kimi deserves to win his second world champion this year. Go Kimi...go!

What Really Happened At Sakhir

Kimi's pit stop - from f1-live.com

4 days after Sakhir race....

These are few things that had happened during the race, of course which concerning my champion : Kimi Raikkonen. It's revealed that besides having unconvenient with his car setting, Kimi also had an ear infection while speeding on his F2008 in Sakhir. That made him outperformed during the race. Meanwhile, at his first pit stop, Kimi faced a trouble with the new installed pitstop lights system at Ferrari pitlane. This lights system replaced the presence of lollypop man. A green light will automatically turned when the fuel hose is removed. About the problem, Kimi just lightly commented : "There was a problem with the system, so it took a bit longer, but it didn't change much,"

Anyway, it's interesting to read what Kimi personally said in his website. He is NOT satisfied with the race result. "I always want to win. That is my only passion. Obviously being second does not give the best of the feelings for me. And it never will..." Winning is everything, but being on the leading position on drivers championship is also important. Kimi knows it, and I'm proud of his real character : always have the motivation to win. I'll wait for your next win at Barcelona, Kimi...

Not Quite A Weekend In Sakhir!

Not quite a weekend in Sakhir for Kimi! That would be the most suitable phrase to describe how the Bahrain GP race was ended for Kimi. Kimi still cannot bring home the winner trophy from Sakhir, no victory on this race. However it's not too bad also for Kimi as he still got 8 points being in the second place. 
With total points of 19, he is now leading the world championship.

Starting from P4, Kimi can overtake Kubica at turn 1 that makes him jump to P2. And that position stayed until the finish line. Seems the team cannot find the 
right car setting for Kimi. Luckily for Kimi, Lewis Hamilton got stalk problem at the start, than a crash with Alonso, which throw him to P 13 with no point at all. Well, not quite a weekend, but not too bad with 19 leading point!

But all Kimi and Ferrari fans definitely want to see more victorys in next races, especially when the F1 GP are going home to Europe! Let's forget this weekend, and wait for the real F1 season in Europe....

Sakhir, Before The Race

The qualifying session has just finished. Kimi, my hero and the reigning world champion will start from P4 tomorrow afternoon at the Bahrain GP in Sakhir. The pole position belongs to Kubica from BMW (good drive for him!). 
Massa (who I think carry less fuel than Kimi) in P2, and Hamilton in P3.
I think tomorrow will be a hard race, but I have faith on Kimi that he will do his best (as always !). Anyway, it's a four-wheel race, so anything could happen. I just hope tomorrow will be the first victory for Kimi at Sakhir.

Besides the GP race, there is another hot issue concerning Max Mosley's sex scandals. Several teams and drivers are against his side, however Kimi gave his sympatethic voice for Mosley (as quoted from F1 Live) : "It's his personal life and he can do whatever he wants and it's not really my business or anyone else's to put their noses in." Kimi has refused to join in the widespread condemnation of the FIA President, Max Mosley.

Cool as always, huh ? That's Kimi.....

Will Kimi Get His 1st Win At Sakhir This Weekend ?

Why not ? After 3 years of lasting on the 3rd in podium, this weekend Kimi deserves to get his first victory at Sakhir circuit (Bahrain GP). Kimi believes that the F2008 has speed and strengthness to win at Bahrain. And last tests in Sakhir had shown that Ferrari is quite strong there.

About the Sakhir circuit, Kimi said "I really like the Sakhir circuit, because it differs from the others. While going there, you feel like playing in the sandbox. It really feels like a gigantic sandbox. Where ever you watch, you see just sand. And you feel it, too - in your hair". Quite interesting, huh ?

So, let's just see whether Ferrari can fight back this weekend, and more important, how is other competitors' performance too. I think this year F1 GP has got more interesting than ever, with new regulation (no traction control), many new (young and talented!) rookie, and with new circuit (night GP at Singapore). 
I do hope this weekend will be a new era in Kimi's career, a victory in Bahrain GP!!

Kimi Shows Intelligence in Malaysian GP

A week after Malaysian GP, the hottest race at one of the hottest circuits... The Bahrain GP is still next week, but when almost all the F1 drivers are in holidays or back to stay with their families at home, there are so many rumours going around. One of them came from Gary Anderson, a semi-retired Grand Prix car designer for teams like Jordan and Jaguar, who thinks that Felipe Massa was manipulated into second place at Sepang despite scoring pole position and leading race winner Kimi Raikkonen until the first pit stops.

He also said: "Don't forget, we are talking about a man who was brought in to replace the seven time world champion Michael Schumacher.
"For me, the key scene was the first corner, when Raikkonen was intelligent enough to not get involved in a collision with Felipe.
"Kimi always saw the bigger picture," Anderson added.

Personally I agree with Gary about Kimi's capacity as the successor of Michael Schumacher. I think he is a smart driver, who races with strategy besides speed. I just can't wait till Bahrain GP next week ! Hopefully another win for Kimi!

It's Begun in Sepang !

Both Ferrari side by side right after start - F1 Live

Today, in the Sepang Malaysian GP, Kimi finally got his first win after a terrible opening at Melbourne last week. Qualifying session was great for Kimi, however at the last minutes Massa got better speed that make him the pole sitter. Starting from P2, Kimi got a good start, as well as Massa. On the first turn, I held my breath for a second when Massa pushed hiscar to Kimi a little bit, and just for that second I think they will collide each other. But, luckily, I think Kimi realize that if he pushed it, things would turn bad for everybody. So, he didn't push anymore.

The sign of his leading shown after first pit stop. Massa came in first, and that time (as always) Kimi paced his car with lighter fuel before he come in himself. I think that what's at the end turned both Ferrari driver's position. Kimi came out from pit just in front of Massa (Hooray!). And from that time on he lead the race far from everybody.

As Hamilton finished only in P5, the point position for Kimi is now 11 : 14. 3 points appart, but...it's still the start. There are still many races, and there 
are still many things can happen. I do hope this win in Sepang will burn the spirit 
of every team member of Ferrari, and of course my hero : Kimi Raikkonen!.

Kimi's New Resort

Latest news from Kimi's official website, Kimi has invested in a new beach resort in Phuket, called Serenity Terraces, Rawai beach. This villas and condominiums are still under construction, however promises a beachfront living with luxury apartments, penthouses and villas with five star facilities such as gym, spa, pool, and bar. Wow ! What a fantastic place to spend time! But I think Kimi deserves that, after all his hard works and adrenaline flushes at each race in every season, a peace refuge looks tempting.

When announcing his investment, Kimi said : 'I am really looking forward to enjoying the rare vacations away from the track, in this hideaway beachfront community'.

Hope after his peaceful vacations, Kimi will come back to next races with full energy and spirit to grab every points he need to be the world champion ! But before all of that, Malaysian GP is coming. Let's see whether luck is with Kimi this time!

What Kimi Has To Say About Failing Australian GP

Kimi's good start at Aussie GP - from F1-Live

From the official website of Kimi (http://www.kimiraikkonen.com), this is some of Kimi's personal statement :

No use to cry ! (it's a good and touching opening)

Kimi said that the most important thing is to left what has happened behind, although the Aussie GP failure is dissappointing. ..'There is no use to cry afterwards. It does not change anything anymore. The result is what it is.'...

Kimi is not worried at all about the F2008 performance, he believes Ferrari has the speed needed to win more races this season. Kimi also explained about how he got stucked behind some other cars after a very good start he made (from P15 to P8). About the overtaking, Kimi said : ...'Obviously, to overtake is always difficult. While you sometimes try, you are not able to keep it on the road.'...

Well, although many people tell bad things about Kimi's manouvre (Italian press even said that Raikkonen has made two blaringly rookie-style errors as he tried to make up ground. -

from F1-live), but I still have faith on Kimi. People made mistakes ! Even a world champion!!

Anyway, fight for next races, Kimi ! And be my champion this year !

Disaster at Albert Park

Picture taken from f1-live.com

Quoted from F1 Live, this is what Kimi said about the disastrous race at Albert Park :

'It's really disappointing not to finish the race, but at least the point is better than nothing. I had an engine problem, the reason for which now needs to be analysed. The car was good and I had a good pace when I found a free track ahead of me. I spun a couple of times trying to pass those ahead of me, but the first time, with Glock, I put a wheel on the grass and the second time, with Kovalainen, I was a bit too optimistic. This result is obviously not the best start to the season but it is a very long one and we are well aware that we are capable of recovering from far worse situations than this. We have to put everything in place and then we will be really competitive.'

It's indeed dissapointing, but I think Kimi and Ferrari will learn a lot from what had happened, and focusing now to next week Sepang GP! Go and get it Kimi!

Bad Luck For Kimi at Australian GP

Coming to Australia as the world champion, Kimi failed to win in the Australian GP. It's really a bad luck for him and all Ferrari team. His car had trouble at the qualifying session, causing him to start from P 15, while Felipe Massa, his team mate started from P 4. Carrying more fuel, Kimi succeed to pass 7 cars and ended at P 8 after his good start. I thought he can at least get 1 point this time.

The race today is really terrible ! A lot of cars crashed each other, engine problems, human error... All of that causing safety car hold the race for 3 times. I feel quite relieved when Kimi got to P3, the podium point. But....not for long. He seemed can't control his car everytime he got to pass a car. I don't know what happened, is it because of the new regulation of control traction ?

Anyway, he ended up in P8 (thanks to Barrichello who was disqualified). So...1 point today, Kimi ! Quoting the latest release from Ferrari's official site, Kimi is not yet completely happy with the F2008 handling.  But, this is just the beginning. I still can see his spirit to keep pushing in every situation, even in the worst. That's what makes me a great fan (besides of his coolness, of course !)....

Kimi The Iceman

I like this picture, Kimi with his blue-grey eyes and ice splattered on his face, very cool. Kimi, the iceman!

New 'Iceman' Tattoo

Kimi Raikkonen opened the F1 2008 season with a lot of attention at the paddock of Albert Park Circuit, Australia. On the practice session on Friday, he appeared with a new tatto on his inner left arm. The tatto read : 'Iceman'. With this new tattoo, he can now be crowned as the tattoo king of F1! His first tattoo is a big fire pattern on his right arm. But personally, I like his first tattoo better. It looks fit on Kimi's personallity, young and cool.

About his tattoo, Kimi seems very calm and quite (as always !). On the first formal interview session Kimi confirmed that he wasn't burdened by his world champion title when he came to Albert Park for Australian  GP. 
Experience was not the most important factor. Kimi and Ferrari will work their best,
and let's see what will happen.

Well, anyway, I keep supporting Kimi with his 2008 season. Hope the new tattoo helps him reach better result this year. Keep speeding, Kimi and keep cool !

Kimi Raikkonen Has Been My Hero !

I have been watching Kimi Raikkonen's career in F1 since his debut with Sauber Petronas team. At that time, I watched him as a cute young man with calm personality (later on I know that he is the real 'iceman'!) and I just knew that someday he will be a star in F1. 
I also like how he drive his car : fast - fast and very fast.

Since then I follow his career. When he signed a contract with McLaren-Mercedes, I thought 'this is it'! His first win might not be any longer. Since then I became addicted to F1. Kimi has been more and more matured as an F1 driver, and he is definitely a very fast racer. Then the day has come when he finally joined Ferrari, my favourite F1 team. So, my favourite driver at my favourite team. What can I hope more ? Of course, world champion will be my dream comes true !

So, last year was a very dramatic year for me, to watch Kimi competing with Alonso and Hamilton to be world champion. 
And finally, he did it, he achieved his first world champion ! 
My cool Kimi Raikkonen is a world champion ! That's what inspired me to build this blog. 
From now on I will closely review all his achievement. Every one will be looking at
him as the world champion.

The 2008 season has begun, I support Kimi to reach his 2nd world champion.

Hopefully !!