Alonso advised Ferrari to hire Raikkonen

2013 Singapore Grand Prix

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Fernando Alonso says he advised Ferrari to hire Kimi Raikkonen after they decided not to retain Felipe Massa for 2014.

“I was always informed about the team’s movements, even at a time when the decision had not yet been taken,” said Alonso during the build-up to the Singapore Grand Prix.

“However, once they decided not to keep Felipe, they asked me what I thought and I told them that in my opinion, Kimi was the best out there in the market, especially when next year’s championship will see many changes and will require a lot of car development work in January and February.”

“I told the team it was important therefore to have a team-mate with a lot of Formula One experience and I am happy with the choice.”

Alonso dismissed the suggestion that having Raikkonen as a team mate will force him to raise his game. “I don’t believe any team mate can push me more than I push myself,” he said. “Having two champions will make no difference,” he said.

“Even when I came here, people said that it would be a difficult relationship with Felipe who had been here for many years. After four years together, I can say he is one of the best friends I have here.

“Anyway, I consider Felipe like a world champion as well. Remember, he was a world champion when he crossed the line in 2008, so it’s not like he’s a rookie driver.”

2013 Singapore Grand Prix

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Image © Ferrari/Ercole Colombo

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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57 comments on “Alonso advised Ferrari to hire Raikkonen”

  1. Wow that’s interesting but Alonso’s beard is weird!

    1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      19th September 2013, 19:29

      He admires Vissir Jaffar from “Aladdin”

    2. weirdbeard ,new nickname

    3. He wants to look like Salvador Dali perhaps

    4. I definitely get a “pirate” vibe from Alonso’s photo…

      1. Captain Morgan!

    5. If it weren’t for the full chin, it would be very Guy Fawkes.

    6. So when the guy says a bunch of reasonable things we just make fun of his beard now?

      1. He is obviously playing PR with his mouth. The beard never lies.

        1. Ninja Turtle and Iceman, F1 is like a cartoon these days.

    7. Why do I get the feeling, that all the comments above me were written by the same person?

  2. But I thought Fred Teflonso had a clause in his Scuderia Santander Ferrari contract that only allowed drivers of Max Chilton’s quality to be both his team mate and personal slave…

    1. well now you know there was nothing like that in his contract otherwise if you think Kimi is of Max chilton’s level..

    2. Or else you might rethink about your thought process :P

  3. Feel like PR line… Actaully Alonso is a musketeers in his free time. Here is a picture of him dressed as one

    1. LOL … My thoughts exactly.

  4. Getting a challenge from someone on the other end of his garage will do Alonso very well.

    I suspect his fellow 3 musketeers do that already…

    1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      19th September 2013, 19:35

      Stefano, Luca and?

        1. Pedro de la Rosa

  5. next year’s championship will see many changes and will require a lot of car development work

    And when you have a lot of car development work to do, you turn to Kimi Raikkonen? I’m not buying it. The theory that Kim will force Alonso to raise his game seems much more plausible than the one about Kimi suddenly putting in long boring hours working at car development.

    1. To me it makes perfect sense that an experienced driver pairing like Kimi & Alonso will definitely be very handy when it comes to car development feedback considering the massive regulation changes … If Kimi does manage to match or beat Alonso then it’s going to be epic though I personally think Alonso will have an edge over Kimi(Now dont ask me for factual evidence or stats to prove it as it is just an opinion :) )… Also I fail to understand how a driver who aspires to win more WDCs is not pushing 100% because he has a supposedly weak team mate( I am very happy that Ferrari hired Kimi as that will probably give an indication on whether it was the 2009 accident or Alonso’s supremacy that caused Massa’s poor performances over the last 3 & half years) …

      1. Car development is at least as much about long hours of boring work as it is about experience.

        “All right Kimi, we’ve adjusted the thingamajig 0.5 degrees, give me six laps please. Good, now we’ve made another slight adjustment, give me another six laps.” And so on and so on for days and weeks and months. Kimi was noted (notorious, even) ten years ago for being the sort of driver who liked to show up for a GP weekend, drive very fast, and go away again – leaving Colthard to deal with the tedious car development work.

        But maybe he’s changed since then.

        1. Well at least it can be said that the teams are not allowed days and weeks and months of testing anymore. Even with the expanded in-season testing returning next year, testing is still quite limited compared to ten years ago.

          I think KR should be given some benefit of the doubt that some of the stories about him are exaggerated. I suspect that he is a better car developer than many armchair fans are giving him credit for, and certainly if it was something that concerned Ferrari they wouldn’t have signed him, so they don’t seem to have a problem with him…and they know him. He won them a WDC. That sound like someone they don’t think they can work with?

          I wouldn’t be surprised if KR is the type who gladly does the work that is agreed to at the negotiating table…gives 100% to that…but when asked to do more, perhaps he balks at that. He wouldn’t be the first driver who would really just prefer to race cars in an ideal world. But I think he’s been around long enough and has earned enough street cred to be trusted to know how the game works and what he can and can’t get away with.

          I like every quote of FA’s I’ve just read above and I hope and trust he means every word of it. I believe he does.

        2. But maybe he’s changed since then.

          Getting hopelessly lost in Austin after missing practice would suggest otherwise ;)

          1. *Brazil

    2. Shreyas Mohanty (@)
      19th September 2013, 20:27

      @jonsan How did you know he doesn’t take part in car development? And “long, boring hours” ? He is a F1 driver like the 21 others – he will do everything he can for himself and for his team.

      1. He has said so himself that he does not prefer testing one bit .

        1. Some engineer he’s worked with said that with Kimi you don’t have to do so much testing because he knows exactly what results any modifications will produce even before anyone’s taken the car for a spin. Maybe it was Marc Priestley, not sure. Anyway, there’s no point putting in long hours if you get the same results by using your time smartly.

        2. Nobody likes testing. Imagine what the most of the testing stuff can be. Straightline driving, brake testing, go out and drive around the track slowly and then come back in. Sit in the garage waiting and waiting and waiting. The go out and do some slow laps just to see how the kers works. Not all testing is some hotlapping. Some days it rains or is too hot or cold to do anything.

          I doubt there is one single driver in f1 who really likes testing. They just don’t way it to the press.

    3. My idea of Kimi’s car development is something like:

      – Kimi gets out of car
      – Engineer: “Ok Kimi how does it feel, what can we do to improve it?”
      – Kimi: “It’s ****.”
      – Kimi walks out of garage.

  6. It’s PR nonsense!

    1. You can say what you want, but Ferrari surely know how to dominate headlines.

      As a tifosi, I’d much prefer it if it were due to winning races and championships, though..

  7. “Kimi was the best out there in the market, especially when next year’s championship will see many changes and will require a lot of car development work in January and February”

    Oh, fershure, you called Luca and you said “boss, the car next year will require a lot of development work, so I suggest you hire Kimi Raikkonen to develop the car so I can be champ”, and Luca said “ok then”.

    PR is destroying F1 as much as DRS, me thinks. But at least sometimes the PR guys deliver good laughs.

  8. Well I think it’s fair to say experience will count when it comes to car development… It would be pretty stupid for Kimi to not do any development work (aka boring in your opinion) as making the car faster will only help him in his title push ( which undoubtedly he will be aiming for)… I think Kimi is smart enough to understand that though he gives the impression that he does not care much…

    1. I completely agree. Kimi is probably just as good as any driver for developing a car. Just because we see him being not very constructive on camera doesn’t mean he is like that with his team.

      But all these rumours just add to the legend that is Kimi!

  9. I like that Alonso comment about Massa being a world champion for a small moment. Although inaccurate as the comment is, Massa did come very close to being a champion. Alonso can be very nice sometimes!

    I think Massa is possibly a brilliant driver who has just been demoralized by having to play number 2 so often. This was his own choice of course. He dealt with it sometimes. Maybe he thought he could deal with it all the time but obviously not.

    I’m really glad Ferrari have hired Kimi. Although I’m not sure it is good for Alonso in any way. Brilliant for Ferrari’s constructors championship though.

  10. Leave Kimi alone. He knows what he’s doing.

    1. If I never read this sentence ever again, it will be too soon.

  11. Am I alone in thinking that Alonso fears Hulkenberg more than Raikkonen? Kimi is excellent, of course, but I feel there an intensity about Hulkenberg that would bring matters to a head more quickly if he were partnered with Alonso.

    1. I have thought this too. Like Hamilton before 07, he hasn’t driven for a top team, so he could surprise people. Raikkonen is less likely to surprise. So there would be some concern that Hulkenberg could often out-qualify and challenge Alonso in races.

    2. If I were Alonso, I too would fear Hulkenberg more than Raikkonen for those exact reasons.

      1. @kingshark exactly ! If I were any top driver , I’d fear Hulkenberg . Imagine the things he can do in a top car . The way he held off Rosberg and fought with Hamilton fair and square was phenomenal.Actually Hamilton had to break a sweat before being able to overtake him,that too with fresher tyres . I know you guys can give excuses saying Monza is not an “overtake” track and that the Sauber was actually good that weekend etc etc, but give credit where it is due guys.

  12. What wasn’t lost on me coming from Alonso was him essentially saying that he pushes himself harder than anyone else ever could. That’s a mindset I fully relate with. I am exactly the same way. Its part of why he is such a fierce competitor, and so highly regarded. As well, that seemed like sincere sentiment regarding Filipe. Seems he really has matured since being teammates with LH. I don’t think he’s as afraid of Kimi as many haters wish to believe either. I suspect he will be the same relentless racer he has always been.

  13. he was a world champion when he crossed the line in 2008

    lol no Alonso….he thought he was a world champion when he crossed the line in 2008. It annoys me when people say he was a champion for 13 seconds or whatever it is. The race is not over untill everyone crosses the line. He thought he was champion…nothing more….

  14. I’m sure Montezemolo will be glad to hear that Alonso advised him. Even though Montezemolo has stated that he is not concerned if hiring Kimi is upsetting to Alonso.

    It looks like Alonso had all of his facial hair dyed, very creepy.

  15. According to our very own Boris Lalaland Johnson “utter rubbish” . Felipe was a world champion when he crossed the line when the other guy hasn’t crossed the line yet? Complete ********. You’ll find that Kimi is a different proposition next year. You just wait Alonso. For one, Kimi’s not interested in being best friends with no one like Felipe does.

  16. Alonso had no choice in the matter at the end of the day. LOL at the idea of LDM going to Alonso asking him advise him on the appointment of a new teammate.

  17. Reading between the lines, Alonso doesn’t trust The Hulk.

  18. Lynden Wellesley
    20th September 2013, 4:54

    I don’t think K.R is going to play the role of second fiddle to F.A. He tried it when L.H was a rookie and L.H with similar equipment outshone him .K.R is good for the team,not certain about F.A.

  19. An advice that the wily Spaniard might rue later.

  20. You don’t need to be genius to understand why Alonso wants Raikkonen as teammate: Australia 2007- Hungary 2009…are more than 30 reasons why he want him

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