Sunday, August 17, 2008
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!
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...
Monday, August 4, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, July 21, 2008
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!
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!
Monday, July 7, 2008
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!
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!
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