“Raikkonen’s not doing his job” - Irvine
Former Ferrari racer Eddie Irvine believes the Italian team should sack Kimi Raikkonen or slash his pay if the Finn fails to perform in 2009.
“If you’re the highest paid you have to be the best and he’s not doing the job, simple as that,” the Ulsterman, who was Michael Schumacher’s team mate between 1996 and 1999, told Virgin Media.
In his season as reigning champion, Raikkonen had a lacklustre 2008, failing to win a race after April’s Spanish Grand Prix and finishing 22 points behind his Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa.
It is believed Massa, just one point shy of winning the 2008 drivers’ championship, earns only one third of Raikkonen’s Ferrari retainer.
Both drivers have contracts to the end of 2010.
Irvine said of Raikkonen, 29: “If he doesn’t beat Massa next year I’d be sacking him or reducing his wages massively.
“In sport if you perform you get paid and if you don’t perform you’re out.”
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I’ll be the first to say it: if anyone knows about doing an inadequate job at Ferrari, it’s Eddie Irvine…
Oh, you beat me to it.
Well, if Gazzetta’s anything to go by he’ll be looking at more than a pay cut!
Why is Eddie giving his 2 cents all of a sudden. Does he need publicity with the property crash slashing his portfolio…
Talking was always his strongest side…
Kimi will do his job, don’t you worry
Don’t remember Eddie Irvine winning a world title!!!!!!
He has no place to talking!!!
Exactly what I was thinking !
Kimi has had a bad season but not all of it was of his making.
I’m expecting him to be back in the fight this season (car allowing).
did i read this correctly….eddie irvine saying kimi is not doing his job and should take a pay cut? if thats the case how much do you owe ferrari then eddie??
Now now, Eddie fulfilled his role perfectly at Ferrari.
He never once looked like he was going past Schumacher. Shame he never looked like he was going to pass anyone else. Still there was never the chance of the Austia saga with Eddie hahahaha
Those who CAN’T ridicule about those who CAN.
I think Eddie’s gone into random rant mode. OK, so Kimi is underperforming a bit, but if he can figure out why 2008 went wrong (or the regulation changes solve the problem for him), he’ll be as much of a threat in 2009 as he was in the latter part of 2007.
*Round of Applause*
Kimi should feel scared. Very scared.
The mighty multiple Ferrari champion has spoken.
Its bizarre that these allegations are coming from somebody like Eddie Irvine, but I do agree to a certain extent that 2009 maybe the defining moment in Raikkonen’s career.
At this moment in time, Felipe Massa must be feeling pretty agrieved to be only on a fraction of Raikkonen’s now legendary salary. The most bemusing factor about Raikkonen’s season this year, was for me, not about so much the absence of wins, but the huge number of fastest laps. I would often ask myself, if the car was that quick on lap 50, why isn’t Kimi higher up the pack?
I can remember years ago, reading about Frentzen’s time at Jordan, and how simular performances used to infuriate team boss Eddie Jordan.
On one occasion, during the 2001 Monaco Gp, Frentzen mid race posted several laps that were almost on par with Michael Schumacher who was leading. Frentzen at the time was in the midfield, not much of a threat, all of a sudden, producing fantastic lap times.
After the race, Eddie Jordan made his feelings quite plain on the matter, which reminded me of Raikkonen at Ferrari.
Possibly being a defending champion played heavily on Raikkonen’s mind, maybe Massa’s increasing popularity within Ferrari took its toll? The impressive thing about Kimi, is his ability to shut himself off from others, from the words of rivals.
He won’t give two hoots about Irvine or anybody else. He will be confident in the knowledge that he has walked the hallowed ground known only to the best, unlike Eddie Irvine.
Eddie managed to score two podiums driving an uncompetitive and unreliable car in the mastertrack, Monaco, and in a place where you can’t hold anyone behind you, Monza. He would have won the 99 WC if it wasn’t for an unlucky pitstop. He was wasted due to Ferrari politics and ‘team spirit’ or ’schumacher spirit’. You critisise someone like him without considering him as a person. He wasn’t a machine like Schumacher, he asked from the organizers to wave the irish flag in his podiums while some others pretend Mozart in the sound of the national anthem. That kind of person he is and he has every right to express his opinion about a playboy driver.
can some one please tell me who this eddie irvine is and which magazine he works for ?
I am a free agent john…:-)