Kimi Raikkonen and Jackie Stewart’s F1 careers each lasted less than a decade. That’s not particularly long by the standards of today – consider that Rubens Barrichello is heading into his record-breaking 19th season.
But they both did a lot of winning in their nine-year stints in the top flight as the statistics below make clear.
An in addition to their championships both also finished as runner-up in two seasons. Stewart was second to Graham Hill in 1968 and Emerson Fittipaldi in 1972, his performance in the latter season dogged by a stomach ulcer.
Raikkonen was second to Michael Schumacher in 2003 and Fernando Alonso in 2005. In the latter year he was dogged by engine problems in his McLaren.
Arguably, both retired earlier than they might have done. Stewart decided early in 1973 it would be his last season, and he spurned big-money offers to come back.
Raikkonen was dropped by Ferrari at the end of 2009 and has not shown an interest in returning, happy instead to concentrate on rallying.
Which of these drivers should go through to the next round of the Champion of Champions? Vote for which you think was best below and explain who you voted for and why in the comments.
Kimi Raikkonen | Jackie Stewart | |
Titles | 2007 | 1969, 1971, 1973 |
Second in title year/s | Lewis Hamilton | Jacky Ickx, Ronnie Peterson, Emerson Fittipaldi |
Teams | Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari | BRM, Matra, Tyrrell |
Notable team mates | David Coulthard, Juan Pablo Montoya, Felipe Massa | Graham Hill, Johnny Servoz-Gavin, Francois Cevert |
Starts | 156 | 99 |
Wins | 18 (11.54%) | 27 (27.27%) |
Poles | 16 (10.26%) | 17 (17.17%) |
Modern points per start1 | 9.60 | 11.20 |
% car failures2 | 19.23 | 32.32 |
Modern points per finish3 | 11.89 | 16.55 |
Notes | Signed by McLaren after a single season with Sauber | Finished his first six races in the points and won his eighth start |
Championship runner-up in third season and again in 2005 | Runner-up to Graham Hill in 1968 before winning three titles in five years | |
Won title in first season for Ferrari after stunning late-season turn-around | Retired on the eve of what would have been his 100th start after team mate Cevert was killed | |
Bio | Kimi Raikkonen | Jackie Stewart |
1 How many points they scored in their career, adjusted to the 2010 points system, divided by the number of races they started
2 The percentage of races in which they were not classified due to a mechanical failure
3 How many points they scored in their career, adjusted to the 2010 points system, divided by the number of starts in which they did not suffer a race-ending mechanical failure
Round one
Which was the better world champion driver?
- Jackie Stewart (76%)
- Kimi R?â?ñikk?â?Ânen (24%)
Total Voters: 685
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Read the F1 Fanatic Champion of Champions introduction for more information and remember to check back tomorrow for the next round.
Have you voted in the previous rounds of Champion of Champions yet? Find them all here:
Champion of Champions
- Ayrton Senna voted Champion of Champions by F1 Fanatic readers
- Champion of Champions in stats
- Champion of Champions Final: Senna vs Schumacher
- Ayrton Senna vs Juan Manuel Fangio
- Michael Schumacher vs Alain Prost
- Ayrton Senna vs Jack Brabham
- Juan Manuel Fangio vs Jackie Stewart
- Alain Prost vs Niki Lauda
- Jim Clark vs Michael Schumacher
- Jack Brabham vs Lewis Hamilton
Images © Ferrari spa (Raikkonen), Ford.com (Stewart)
Dipak T
22nd January 2011, 11:50
This is too easy.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
22nd January 2011, 11:51
As much as I love Kimi, Jackie is simply, in terms of as an ambassador for the sport, and his contribution, as well as race wins and outright dominance in his era, far superior
sw6569 (@sw6569)
22nd January 2011, 13:52
completely agree. In terms of speed, the two are close. Possibly Kimi being ahead. In terms of what they did for the sport and results, there can only be one. Stewart easily.
bananarama (@bananarama)
22nd January 2011, 19:16
I voted Kimi, just because I know he can’t win. What I found interesting is that Kimis cars failed him 1/5 of the time. In the 70s/80s that was a usual number, but today it isn’t anymore. Especially when racing against a Schumacher in a car that didn’t fail him for 3 seasons (or so) in a row, Alonso whose Renault was flawless or Hamilton whose car let him down only 2,8% of the time (amazing how McLaren got good in this respect AFTER Kimi left them). Thats how you lose championships. Also I may remember that incorrectly, but a lot of the times the McLarens failed when he was in quite good positions. I’d say Kimi could have been 3 time WDC, but still, Stewart has to win this.
sw6569 (@sw6569)
22nd January 2011, 20:03
well. That brings up the whole ‘is Kimi a car breaker’ argument – one that Vettel seems to fall foul of too.
bananarama (@bananarama)
22nd January 2011, 20:30
Possible. Another name that could come up on many of those occasions is Adrian Newey. Hakkinens cars failed a lot too and I wouldn’t really rate him as a car breaker. Raikkonen sure punished the cars a lot and, well .. when I look at Vettel, he sometimes looks like he intentionally drives the car to a point where it breaks yet sometimes he is very precise and smooth. Hard to tell, but usually I’d tend to say that the engineers should build a car that endures the drivers style (as long as its not the Hulkenberg chicane style, cause thats rubbish).
alex
22nd January 2011, 22:52
At Ferrari, in 2007, all went great. His second half was perfect. Kimi is fantastic. Car breaker, in these days? Maybe with tyres, but all the rest is controlled by computers, right?
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
23rd January 2011, 8:52
I wouldn’t attribute it to the drivers, but rather to the cars, or to be specific – Adrian Neway’s cars. They’re usually are equally fast and prone to mechanical failures.
tyngdekraft (@tyngdekraft)
22nd January 2011, 11:54
Kimi.
Katy (@katy)
22nd January 2011, 13:27
Are you mad? Stewart had less races and won more races, more championships and more modern points.
Guilherme (@the_philosopher)
22nd January 2011, 13:36
And all that with more car failures too.
Kimi is by far my favourite ever driver, but this is a no contest, Jackie is far superior.
Fixy (@)
22nd January 2011, 13:28
Raikkonen.
infy (@infy)
22nd January 2011, 13:58
Kimi. Jackie looks too much like a rebel in that pic, and I’m a fan of the dark side.
Bullfrog
22nd January 2011, 14:45
Haha, someone’s found a way of shutting him up though!
macca77
22nd January 2011, 21:32
You are right, Jackie looks like one of the bad guy from one of those mad max movies.
SennaNmbr1 (@)
22nd January 2011, 12:00
Closer than I thought it would be, so far. Only one choice though. Kimi’s lacklustre final Ferrari years really do tarnish his image.
Nick
22nd January 2011, 16:04
Lacklustre? Ferrari sabotaging him makes him Lackluster?
Good luck with Massa Ferrari, how many more years will it take to get another 30 second title?
Steph (@)
22nd January 2011, 16:35
Why would Ferrari have tried to sabotage Kimi especially if he was their best driver?
Nick
23rd January 2011, 1:13
because they are in love with cheery boy Massa.
David-A (@david-a)
23rd January 2011, 3:50
I see a bunch of claims, but no hard proof. Like the last 20 times you posted about this.
Steph (@)
23rd January 2011, 10:11
They weren’t so in love with him at Hockheinem. Winning means more.
Skett
23rd January 2011, 16:34
Honestly I don’t think they sabotaged him. I just think they preferred Massa (something which was most likely down to personalities) and Kimi was just down. When Massa was out they put all their efforts into Kimi and he cheered up again, once again showing that hes a world class driver. When he’s in the mood anyway.
Nick
24th January 2011, 0:01
Why would they change development of the car to Massa’s style in 2008 when Kimi was leading the championship? why would Kimi take off the parts suited to Massa?
why would massa get 2-4 laps less fuel in every qualifying?
I’m guessin you’ve never watched the races or are a racist Massa fan against Kimi. its plain obvious.
David-A (@david-a)
24th January 2011, 17:05
They changed the car development when Kimi started to fall behind in the championship. Massa prefers a lighter strategy, which enables him to qualify better, but hinders him for the race.
Myself, Steph and Skett are not “racist” and we followed the 2008 season closely. Bottom line is that you’re wrong on this one (again).
Nick
25th January 2011, 0:03
no. They changed the car after sepang, when Massa spun out again…Kimi complained in Spain, even though he won. You are wrong again, just look at Massa now without all the support…back to the 2nd rate driver he is…which is sad, that Kimi was faster than him even though he got sabotaged.
David-A (@david-a)
25th January 2011, 1:20
There is no evidence that they began changing things that early. Besides, giving Massa extra assistance when he’s struggling is not the same thing as sabotaging Kimi Raikkonen. On that count, at the very minimum, you are wrong.
Nick
25th January 2011, 23:28
actually there is, but you would have had to watch the races. But you obviously only concentrate on your golden boy Latinos, Alonso and Massa.
Massa wasn’t struggling, he is just a bad driver in general…but Ferrari are in love with him so they completely changed it ignoring Kimi completely, therefore sabotage. What did it get them? a made up 30 second championship LOL. People say he lost the championship because of Singapore, how about his 5 spins 2 laps down at Silverstone? or the Sepang & Melbourne spinouts.
David-A (@david-a)
22nd January 2011, 17:04
Sabotage? Nonsense of the blatant Kimi-fanboy kind.
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn)
22nd January 2011, 12:09
Jackie, easily. Great in every sense of the word.
melkurion (@melkurion)
22nd January 2011, 12:16
Kimi?? People actually voted for Kimi in this…. :S
In the first round I always voted for the guy that came out on top…except for the Kimi vs Vettel matchup, so I’m sure as hell not gonna vote for him now. It’s not that I think he isn’t a deserving champion, but against sir Jackie Steward…come on people
unoc
22nd January 2011, 12:16
Kimi Raikkonen.
Stats don’t look good for kimi but you have to remember that Kimi was raching in the time of Michael Schumacher during his billionth WDC at ferrari, while Alonso was at his height at Renault. Then Lewis Hamilton at McLaren.
Stewart on the other hand had Ickx, Rindt (until he died), fittipaldi (probably missed a couple).
While Stewart’s cohort was no doubt a big challenge, racing against and racing for Gran Prix’s against Michael Schumacher (most wins ever), Leiws Hamilton (just listen to his fan club), Alonso etc…
So Kimi Raikkonen for me
Kenny (@kenny)
22nd January 2011, 12:53
Yes, I’d say you missed “a couple”…Clark, Hill, Brabham, Hulme, Peterson……
melkurion (@melkurion)
22nd January 2011, 13:40
Indeed, to say that stewards competition was any less then Stewards it unfounded. In my oppinion, I’d ran Stewars oppostition above that of Raikonnen’s any day of the week, clark vs Schumacher? Clark! Alonso vs Hill? Hill! Alonso vs Brabham? Brabham! Even Hamilton vs Peterson is doubtfull to me, and Kimi actually defeated Hamilton!
sw6569 (@sw6569)
22nd January 2011, 13:57
completely agree with this sentiment. Clark, Hill, Fittipaldi and Cervert, Peterson, Ickx, in my opinion, rank above Alonso, Schumacher and Montoya. Fairly easily in fact. 3 multiple world champions.
The period when Raikkonen could have won championships was between 2003-2007. That was when he was consistent and good enough/in the right car. Possibly 2008 in that as well. It was the end of the Ferrari dominance, so really to state Schumacher has taking away all of his opportunities is quite false, he took away 2003 and 2004.
bosyber (@bosyber)
22nd January 2011, 15:33
I have to agree Stewart had very impressive opposition, and also that Stewart has to win this.
David-A (@david-a)
22nd January 2011, 17:11
Rose-tinted glasses effect.
In 30 years, F1 may end up seeming stale to many long time fans and they will be pining for a return to how things were today. People like you will consider the likes of Alonso, Raikkonen, Schumacher, Hamilton to have had “better” competition than the guys fighting for the WDC in the future. I bet you.
David-A (@david-a)
22nd January 2011, 17:44
But I did go for Jackie.
sw6569 (@sw6569)
22nd January 2011, 18:17
I don’t think its so much who the people are – because i’m not ranking Alonso to be worse or better than Clark for example, instead there were more drivers capable of getting a win. In Kimi’s era, it was very much himself, Schumacher, Alonso and occasionally Coulthard, Montoya, Ralf Schumacher and Montoya. There were more genuine championship contenders in Stewarts era, and more people able to consistently challenge for a win. I’m not rating either era as greater, instead just stating the numbers.
Kenny (@kenny)
22nd January 2011, 15:07
…Gurney, McLaren, Surtees, Bandini, Cevert, Regazzoni, Andretti, Revson, Pace, Reutemann…the amount of top tier talent on the grid from ’65 to ’73 is staggering.
Jeffrey Powell
22nd January 2011, 16:16
Yes, and I have to add probably the ‘quickest driver to not win a Grand Prix’ Mr. C Amon.I was a fan of Kimi because he seemed to be very quick especially at Spa and as a fan of WRC any Fin in F1 has always appealed.But I have to say it again this is a vote for who was the better World Champion Driver. Sorry Kimi but JYS IS UP THERE WITH THE GREATS.
alex
22nd January 2011, 22:58
I think Clark was competition for Stewart as Senna was to Schumacher… right? Not too much time…
People like to think the past was better than the present. Why??? It is the same in football…
It is just different, guys!
unoc
23rd January 2011, 0:56
Schumacher is statistically the greatest driver ever (I don’t know like schumacher though), and with Ferrari they had most probably the most fearsome combo between 2000-2004 ever. THe F1 english speaking (mostly British) media seem to think that Hamilton is around about Senna. Senna most would say is the greatest (though once again I differ by prefering Prost). I wasn’t alive back in Stewart’s time, but in my mind while Hamilton is overrated, he is bloody fast, Alonso at Renault and Schumacher at Ferrari were Raikkonens competition and I think that they were indeed some of the hardest competition in f1 ever.
Kenny (@kenny)
23rd January 2011, 3:27
I don’t see any comment on this particular thread that says the past was better.
David-A (@david-a)
23rd January 2011, 3:54
To quote melkurion:
Kenny (@kenny)
23rd January 2011, 6:13
He’s comparing drivers Stewart raced against to drivers Raikkonen raced against, and he apparently thinks that those who raced against Stewart were better than those who raced against Raikkonen. He’s making an informed judgement on the abilities certain drivers…no “rose colored glasses” (that seems to be your label for anyone with an opinion different to yours) and no blanket assertion that “the past” was better.
unoc
23rd January 2011, 11:57
How do you know it was informed and not rose intinted? I atleast gave reasons to back up my reasoning (schumacher and his statistics, Alonso at Renault and Hamilton and the response of media worldwide about his abilities), melkurion simply stated two names and said one was btter than the other. How is that well informed.
Logical pots
kenny vs unoc? unoc!
See, now my post is well informed too!
David-A (@david-a)
23rd January 2011, 16:34
I didn’t see anything in melkurion’s post that was well informed. Just a list of current drivers being said to be inferior to drivers of the past, with no reasoning behind it.
And I pointed out the rose-tinted effect because I although sw6569 is correct that, there were more “competition” for wins and championships in Stewart’s day, that doesn’t mean that the drivers were all better than those competing in the current day. Just more evenly matched in terms of ability. The English Football League is usually very close since there is more “competition” than there is in the English Premier League. But because more teams can win League 1, does that mean that they are better than Premiership teams? How do you and melkurion know that current drivers weren’t just great enough to make a very talented field of F1 drivers look ordinary?
Kenny (@kenny)
23rd January 2011, 13:51
unoc, what are you nattering on about??? I made no comment about your last post. Re melkurion, I count seven drivers compared and his observations are astute, which indicates to me that they are informed ones. And what in the world is a “logical pots”.
David-A (@david-a)
23rd January 2011, 16:37
Anyone can post “Driver X vs Driver Y? Driver Y!”, without anything to explain those choices.
unoc
24th January 2011, 1:07
Logical poSt. I accidentally typed ts rather than ST.
As David A is saying, you seem to be believing that melkurion’s
Yet what he said was
A vs B? B!
C vs D? D!
That doesn’t sound astute to me. Astute would include very good and thought out reasoning. I dont’ care if his post is not astute, but he didn’t actually make any point other than his thoughts.
Saying Alono vs Fisi? Fisi! is just as reasoned and thought out as what he said. You would disagree with what I just said wouldn’t you? And that proves that what I said was just an opinion (not mine btw) not an
FuriousA83 (@furiousa83)
22nd January 2011, 12:18
I don’t agree that this one is too easy!
I chose Mr Stewart – you could argue both ways on which is the most deserving champion on the track but Jackie has given F1 so much more than Kimi – One example of this is the safety improvements he doggedly brought to the sport.
I could go on but i won’t…
schooner
22nd January 2011, 12:37
Kimi was certainly a talented F1 pilot, but he falls WAY short of Stewart by any possible measure.
PJA
22nd January 2011, 12:45
Just on their driving and on track exploits then it is Stewart but you could make an argument for Raikkonen I suppose, however if you factor in everything else Sir Jackie had done for Formula 1 it really is no contest.
Steph (@)
22nd January 2011, 12:51
This is an easy for me. Stewart was a great champion, formed a great relationship with the team, had good pace and was a very smart and smooth racer. His win in the wet at Nurburgring in 68 made everyone else look like rookies at the time and none of Kimi’s performances (even Suzuka 05) can match that. If it was just about raw speed then Kimi would probably have a good chance. I like Kimi but I just had to vote for Jackie.
Bigbadderboom
22nd January 2011, 12:54
Certainly an easier choice! Kimis last season left me wandering about his desire and calibre. Compare that to the charasmatic and more succesful JS and there is only one winner
katederby (@katederby)
22nd January 2011, 12:56
Sir Jackie’s contribution to the sport, like Sir Jack Brabham’s, goes way beyond his superb record and 3 titles… not contest.
F1iLike
22nd January 2011, 13:07
Starting to feel like this whole “game” is set up. Of course, Senna, Prost, Fangio will never go out before the finals unless they’re put up togheter in the first rounds..
melkurion (@melkurion)
22nd January 2011, 13:43
Offcourse it is, Keith already said he had “seeds”that wouldn’t go against eachotheruntill the later rounds, he just hasn’t made them public. But the pattern is obvious, teh first 2 winners from round 1 face eachother in round 2, first 2 winners from round 2 face in round 3 etc….
LuvinF1 (@luvinf1)
22nd January 2011, 15:35
This is a “head-to-head, knockout” competition and is not meant to establish a reader ranking of WDC drivers from 1 to 32. As I offered in another thread, no matter how the brackets are set up or how the drivers are seeded, there will always be those who just don’t agree. The goal is to see which WDC is left standing – as voted on by the registered readers. So far, the highest registered number of votes is 795 – and they are making the decisions as far as I can see.
0634 (@)
22nd January 2011, 13:31
This is barely a contest. Stewart obviously the better champ on every front. As a driver, as a person, as a true fighter for safety measures, and he won 2 titles more than Kimi did. One of the true caracters that made this sport what it is.
In comparison, Kimi looks like just another champ.
Lee
22nd January 2011, 13:31
cant stand jackie stewart so its kimi for me
kowalsky
22nd January 2011, 13:50
that’s a surprise.!!! You are entitled to have that opinion. But can you elaborate, and tell me what are the things that you don’t like about him? It must be more than one to just vote for kimi, with the huge diference in numbers, and risks he took to get those numbers.
Lee
22nd January 2011, 15:53
He refuses to accept the opinions of other pundits and commentators, has a level of arrogance which i think is unjustified and somewhat unessecary despite his impressive record and just comes across as a not very nice bloke
I also hold him almost entirely responsible for costing silverstone the british grand prix, were it not for a very unfortunately timed credit crunch we would not be looking at a hugely impressive redevelopment of the track but instead be visiting donnington for the foreseeable future.
Kimi was a fantastic racer, he was ridiculously fast and was let down by some really unreliable mclarens on more than one occasion which could have given him far more success than we are judging him on here. Admittedly at the end he had lost interest and as a ferrari fan he couldnt stay on.
But i cant bring myself to vote for Jackie Stewart.
kowalsky
22nd January 2011, 16:47
like i said. Everybody is entitled to have an opinion.
Lee
22nd January 2011, 16:50
totally agree
SparkyJ23 (@sparkyj23)
22nd January 2011, 13:33
I’ll take the guy who mae the best of his talent as opposed to the guy who got out the car for an Ice-cream.
Sir Jackie it is
Ral (@)
23rd January 2011, 1:46
Seriously, why does this keep being brought up? It was a shock-journalist picture with no meaning.
His car was out of action. Did not work. Could not move. Was not drivable. Not going to move an inch by its intended means of propulsion. Kaput. Un-fixable within time to go back out on track again before the race would finish. Was never going to be able to participate in the rest of the race.
Do I need to come up with a different way to try to explain this point? That part of his job was done for the day. No more driving was to take place for him in that particular race. Over. Done with. Just waiting for the post-race analysis with his engineers.
kowalsky
22nd January 2011, 13:45
i was surprised kimi passed the first cut agaist vettel, but he is a cult driver for the younger generation. I can understand that, with a little effort.
But he is now against f1 royalty. A driver that did everything that’s possible in the sport, with pace and grace.
He saved lives, with the work he did on safety. He was a pioneer in that aspect of racing.
And some of his victories are part of the sport’s folklore.
He is my number six of all times as a pilot, number one as a motorsports figure.
sw6569 (@sw6569)
22nd January 2011, 14:36
I think thats a slightly harsh description of Kimi, but certainly a really apt one for Jackie. F1 royalty, I like it
JamesC1991 (@)
22nd January 2011, 13:51
Jackie wins this one without a doubt and gets my vote
Kimi can’t get close on this one :(
rdenatale (@rdenatale)
22nd January 2011, 13:56
To use one of Kimi’s most frequent phrases, “For sure” it has to be Sir jackie.
kowalsky
22nd January 2011, 15:18
that’s more like massa’s. May be he copied it from kimi when they were at ferrari.
Feynman
22nd January 2011, 16:18
Was just watching this great video of McLaren’s 1975 season.
http://vimeo.com/16014505
You get shambolic old style race starts, chaotic marshalling in the rain, a bit of famous Bernie’s ordering about, some race mechanics bending steering arms back with brute force
… the highlight has to be 9minutes in when Emerson goes “for sure” crazy, with two of them in 10 seconds.
Some classic 35year-old vintage “for sures”, a treat, and perhaps a clue as to where young Felipe picked them up from.
sw6569 (@sw6569)
22nd January 2011, 20:08
cheers for this link, hadn’t seen that before. Really scary stuff – puts the (lack of) safety into perspective again when you have marshals waving yellow flags in the middle of the circuit
melkurion (@melkurion)
23rd January 2011, 3:06
Noooo….why did you have to post this video…? It’s 4 am, I just got home, I’m drunk, I sent a girl home because I need sleep, I decided to check internet for a few minutes saw this link, now I’m 8 minutes into it, and I can’t stop watching it!!!!!
Miguel Machado
22nd January 2011, 14:45
Comparing Jackie to Kimi… I think that Kimi can be compared to James Hunt. Both win a single championship, in part as result of unlucky of opponents and probably kimi have a life style that James Hunt had, adapted at the now times…
Faraz (@faraz)
22nd January 2011, 14:46
Im sorry but Jackie takes this by a mile he drove in the most dangerous are of the sport and won three CHAMPIONSHIPS he is among the best ever.
George (@george)
22nd January 2011, 14:53
Easy choice for me, Jackie is #1 in my book.
JohnGreen (@)
22nd January 2011, 15:09
Voted for Kimi
Why??
Felt sorry that his Dad passed away a couple of weeks ago.
SundarF1 (@sundarf1)
22nd January 2011, 15:17
Kimi was amazingly quick and consistent, and arguably the fastest racing driver of his time, but Jackie is one of the all-time greats. Much as I adore Kimi’s ice-cool ways and his driving, in my mind, the Scotsman is undoubtedly a greater champion.
Willis (@willis)
22nd January 2011, 15:18
Jackie Stewart easily! There shouldn’t even be a discussion on this :P
morningview66 (@morningview66)
22nd January 2011, 15:22
As much as im a massive Kimi fan and rate him amongst the top 10-15 ever, you cant argue against Stewart’s 3 championships and what he has done for the sport as a whole.So i voted for him.
On the other hand i think Raikkonen gets to much stick for not being bothered. As soon as Massa was (unfortunately) sidelined and the team got more behind Kimi he delivered 4 straight podiums, including a win in a less than brilliant car.
Tinakori Road (@tinakori-road)
22nd January 2011, 15:38
Jackie Stewart in the BRM catching Jimmy Clark in the Lotus at Spa in the rain in 1967 the year after his big crash, well, as much as I am a Kimi fan, shows more to me than Kimi’s speed advantage over Stewart. If the car is not great, Kimi does not try hard.
Edsel (Joshy)
22nd January 2011, 15:45
I would have to go with Kimi on this one. Call me crazy if you wish :-)
kowalsky
22nd January 2011, 16:52
crazy.
Victor.
22nd January 2011, 15:56
Stewart is potentially my favourite driver ever. I wouldn’t mind being like him when I’m older :P.
Regarding the actual match-up, this is a walkover.
Michael Griffin
22nd January 2011, 17:05
JYS, no problem.
Kimi poorly defended his title which just settles it here.
Malcolm (@)
22nd January 2011, 17:31
I’m still a fan of Kimi, but he wasn’t in the same class as Stewart. Jackie’s win at the fog laden 14 mile Nurburgring in 1968, and beating his competitors by over 4 minutes, has to go down as one of the top drives in the history of F1.
I will have to admit though that, Kimi’s drive at Suzuka in 2005 wasn’t too shabby.
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31)
22nd January 2011, 17:50
I voted for Kimi, because he was my favourite driver in F1 ever.
debaser91
22nd January 2011, 17:51
Kimi Raikkonen is probably my favourite driver from the last 10 years of formula one, but Jackie Stewart undoubtedly wins this round. As has been mentioned he raced and beat the best in a very dangerous era of the sport, without even mentioning his enormous importance as a figure and ambassador of the sport off the track.
mrgrieves (@mrgrieves)
22nd January 2011, 18:07
Kimi deserved a title as one of the best drivers since the 80’s hayday of stars. For the vote however Jackie Stewart was the star of the 70’s in my view and his record right from the start of his carear is incredible. Always a front runner even with the brand new Tyrell team in 1970
Marco
22nd January 2011, 18:08
Not too much to think about here, really… :D
Jackie gets my “invisible vote”… Räikkonen doesn t belong to top 20 or even 30 in my opinion… He drove 8 years for 2 top teams and the result was one lucky title with a “little help” of teammate Massa, who showed in 2008 and 2009 he is a not worser driver at all… I still can t get how Räikkonen passed duel with Vettel, who is a much likeable guy and more complete as Räikkonen ever was…
debaser91
22nd January 2011, 19:14
I’m not sure complete is a word I would use to describe Vettel at the moment. He is very fast, excellent at leading a race from the front, but if and when the Red Bull is not a rocket ship in qualifying it will be interesting to see if he is able to show good racecraft too.
More complete than Raikkonen? I’m afraid I don’t see it at the moment, but Vettel has all the potential to be a great of the sport if he makes full use of his talent. Despite how quick Raikkonen was/is I couldn’t say he achieved what he should have done in terms of championships with his raw speed.
Marco
22nd January 2011, 19:51
People, who worked with Vettel said he is very intelligent and very interested in things around himself, almost analytic… Same as Schumacher was… I never heard that being said about Räikkonen…
debaser91
22nd January 2011, 20:04
I’m not really sure what your point is.Do you mean as in feedback to the mechanics as how to improve the car, because otherwise I’m not sure how relevant that is.
My only complaint of Vettel at the moment is that when he is not in the lead and he has to overtake he has made several errors and shown himself to be impulsive and slightly reckless. And if you say Raikkonen’s championship was lucky, you could also extend that to Vettel’s, lucky that his car was so dominant that he could make so many errors and still come out on top!
Marco
22nd January 2011, 21:24
Yes, feedback, but also showing interest in details… There was an article some time ago, where was written, that Vettel very often makes som notices about what he consider as important and what he may use in the future…
Räikkonen just sat in a car, drove a qualifying or race and bye, bye without showing any further interest in analysing why he didn t win, what was the problem, how the problem can be solved and so on… So, then it is not surprising he finished his Formula One bussiness with just one title, which even wouldn t be without
2 additional points of Massa, who was in the lead…
I don t know, if you understood, because English is not my native language, but this is my opinion on Räikkonen, who btw. also crashed to Sutil in Monaco…
David-A (@david-a)
23rd January 2011, 4:06
I heard that his Mclaren mechanics did appreciate his level of input. His image of lazyness is only one that is attached to him because of his laid-back style, like with Berbatov in football.
Mentioning Brazil 2007 isn’t the best thing to do with all those accusations that flew around about Red Bull not treating their drivers equally (although I still believe Webber was far too inconsistent to win the title).
And the Sutil crash wasn’t reckless at all- he wasn’t taking any additional risk, but he got 2 of his tyres off the dry line and that caused his car to lose control. Kimi has enough overtakes to redeem that error anyway. Vettel swerved all over the place in the rain at Spa in an attempt to faze Button and turned into his teammate when it was clear he clearly wasn’t fully ahead in Istanbul.
Damon
22nd January 2011, 18:19
Kimi didn’t seem the so called fastest driver in f1 when he partnered massa.
kowalsky
23rd January 2011, 7:24
agree. And when he partenered montoya in 2005, the colombian was a match most of the time, even having to hand him a victory at spa, because he had a better chance at the title.
The perception fans have on kimi is based on the fact that they like him a lot, due to several facts outside his results.
And i have to tell you i liked his ways too.
David-A (@david-a)
23rd January 2011, 16:40
Kimi was actually faster throughout the Turkish and Belgian weekends, Montoya just needed to be there to take second…which he didn’t.
But indeed, Raikkonen is likeable, which didn’t stop me voting for Stewart.
IceBlue
22nd January 2011, 20:12
If Kimi wasn’t a privileged alcoholic playboy, and had been a totally focused professional driver like Jackie Stewart, he could’ve done much better even if he hadn’t been in a first class team.
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
22nd January 2011, 21:20
No contest. Sir Jackie,
Bartholomew
22nd January 2011, 21:38
I loved Jackie Stewart´s helmet.
A strong graphic design that was distinctive from the distance.
debaser91
22nd January 2011, 21:50
Fair enough Marco. Raikkonen is a bit of an strange driver, which is why people have such different opinions of him. Personally his whole outlook of purely focusing on the business of purely driving the car as quickly as possible rather than other details is what makes me a fan of him, whilst others don’t like him as they feel he is not committed or bothered. You’re right in that I can’t see him sticking around too long after a GP analysing the race :)
Mr. T (@mr-t)
23rd January 2011, 1:03
Kimi, for his ruthless and selfish pursuit of speed, money and fun.
Ral (@)
23rd January 2011, 1:32
Voted for Kimi, but like others, only because he can’t win this anyway and I am an admitted fan. But I don’t really think he should win this. Talent-wise, he might perhaps outclass Stewart and the man himself has been quoted as saying Kimi was the fastest on the track at one point during Kimi’s McLaren stint.
But Stewart has been a much better ambassador for the sport, even after having retired and has done so much to push safety issues that, while Kimi probably bemoaned the resulting regulations, he was also “born into” as an F1 driver and therefore for the largest part must have taken for granted. And that’s not even going into the numbers, which very much favour Stewart.
kowalsky
23rd January 2011, 7:18
let’s remember two races they did in germany. jackie won at the old ring in 68, what everybody considered his best race. He kept the car in one piece in horrible weather conditions. On the other hand, people tend to blame mclaren for lack of reliability. But in 2005 when he was at the nurbugring in the las laps of the race being chased by alonso, he wasn’t smooth at all, when it was desperatly needed, and that finaly cost him the suspension failure.
And now the kimi fans are going to get very upset, because like i said before, he is a cult driver for the fans that started watching f1 in the early 2000’s.
He was fast and cool, but he didn’t used his talent to the maximun for lack of focus, steward on the other hand did.
debaser91
23rd January 2011, 9:37
To call Raikkonen a cult driver is maybe a bit harsh. When I think of recent drivers of that ilk someone like Takuma Sato fits the bill, or maybe Kobayashi at the moment. Someone who is fun to watch on the track but at the end of the day is not considered top draw.
Raikkonen for all his flaws (and he has a few I admit) was one of the best performers of the last decade, although as I said earlier he is nowhere near a greater champion than Jackie Stewart.
karasuma (@)
23rd January 2011, 8:44
I voted for Kimi for one reason for me is The Best
himmatsj (@himmatsj)
23rd January 2011, 9:35
Raikkonen’s just awesome. Winning from 17th on the grid in Suzuka back in 2005 was just about the drive of the decade. Never liked him once he moved to Ferrari though.
Alex Bkk
23rd January 2011, 11:13
Really? I thought that his drive to win the WDC was brilliant! That’s one of the high points of F1 in the last ten years… he did everything right in that race. Really unbelievable. I wonder what the Vegas odds were on Kimi winning the WDC?
I still voted for Stewart…
Tlux
25th January 2011, 3:18
I would say Kimi is one of the most talented drivers in history. His natural speed is dumbfounding.
His work ethic was not as good as it could have been. I think Jackie will win this one, but i vote for Kimi due to his pure speed, and in a sport of speed, this has to admired.
Funkyf1 (@funkyf1)
25th January 2011, 7:58
Stewart cant be denied, yet I’ll vote Kimi as he is my fab driver of the last decade
Valentina
25th January 2011, 23:21
Raikkonenn is my idol and best sportman ever so he is my choice!
Valentina
25th January 2011, 23:22
Raikkonen* is my idol and best sportman ever so he is my choice!
Raikkonen_Biggest_Fan (@)
25th January 2011, 23:38
Kimi is unique,fastest driver i think he bnever showed how hell of the champion he really is,he could do so much more than 1 title and we have never seen his real potentional if he comes back to f1 now i am sure he would win wdc,i am his enormous fan and i will always vote for him no mather what cause for me he is the best on this world!<3
theRoswellite
27th January 2011, 16:02
An unfair match-up for Kimi….and I’m sure if you ask him who should go forward he would undoubtedly make the correct choice.