Ecclestone “sorry” Raikkonen has gone unpaid

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In the round-up: Bernie Ecclestone expresses sympathy for Kimi Raikkonen who hasn’t been paid all year.

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Bernie Ecclestone ‘feels sorry’ for Kimi Raikkonen over unpaid wages (The Guardian)

“He has signed a contract with somebody, they need to pay him. He now needs to do what he can to get paid. I feel sorry for him but he should have been a little more sensible when he signed the contract and know what he was signing for. If he drove for me, I’d have paid him.”

Ecclestone says door is open for India return (Reuters)

“A deal has been done for India to return to the Formula One calendar in 2015 and for six years beyond that if tax problems with the country’s authorities can be overcome, commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Saturday.”

Nico Hulkenberg Q&A: Teams should prioritise talent (F1)

“As a driver you want your performance to be the only argument, but it is different lately. Teams are under pressure as we are in tough times, so some teams take drivers with money rather than with no money.”

Mexico, New Jersey both off 2014 F1 schedule (Adam Cooper’s F1 Blog)

“The Mexican and New Jersey races that currently figure on the 2014 F1 world championship calendar will both be absent from the final version when it emerges from the FIA World Motor Sport Council in December.”

Alonso: Massa qualifying form no worry (Autosport)

“In the last three or four races it was Felipe in front of me in qualifying, but in those races I finished in front and I have a lot more points.”

Vettel’s passion is for two as F1 star reveals love for vintage motorbikes (Daily Mail)

“Vettel is currently in the process of doing up the BMW R 51/3 his grandfather used to ride while a vintage Vespa is another restoration job.”

2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Post Qualifying Press Conference (FIA)

Mark Webber: “I think it’s probably no super secret that I like the more flowing circuits but you have to put your heads down and get on with these types of circuits like Singapore and Abu Dhabi and do the absolute maximum and do the best.”

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Comment of the day

@AdrianMorse is hoping for another battle between the two Red Bull drivers:

I really hope Webber doesn’t fluff his start tomorrow. If he’s leading after the first corner tomorrow and it’s a one-stop race, it could be difficult for Vettel to beat him, even if he’s the faster driver – which he usually is.

I haven’t seen any of the long runs, but if many drivers are able to complete the race with only one step, then I don’t see Raikkonen making much progress. If the norm is two and Raikkonen can comfortably do one, then he can make some progress, but even then the podium looks far without serious mishaps in the top ten.
@AdrianMorse

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On this day in F1

Graham Hill won the world championship for the second time 45 years ago today in Mexico.

He won a three-way title decider with reigning champion Denny Hulme and Jackie Stewart.

His Lotus team also won the constructors’ championship, bringing them some cheer in a season in which they had lost the great Jim Clark.

Here’s a brief news clip with some footage from the race:

Image © Lotus/LAT

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82 comments on “Ecclestone “sorry” Raikkonen has gone unpaid”

  1. In reference to Nigel Mansell’s tweet, are the track limits offenders still under review or did the FIA simply stop caring and let anyone go ahead, even tough they clearly went offtrack ( At least both Mercedes went very wide at the final turn)? I’m asking this because we haven’t really heard anything about the status of these investigations if they even were to take place, which they should.

    1. I’m not sure if it was just the last corner because basically everyone went over the lines on the second to last corner.

    2. @infinitygc I thought we’d be inundated with “the stewards are investigating car Number XX: exceding track limits”, but we got nothing.

      It’s very difficult to know if the driver missed the corner because he went in too fast and he couldn’t avoid it, or he deliberately ran out off track. With these kind of tracks, it’s very hard to know, and it’s massively complicated to police everyone every single lap.

      It’s like the Hulkenberg incident at Singapore, or Grosjean at Hungary… but 22 times… every lap… at every corner…

      It’s the result of these trend of tracks being basically carparks with white lines delimiting a “racetrack”. Same issue at turn 7, they put the kerb in the middle of the road, and they want drivers not to exploit the rest of it. It’s a bit far fetched… instead of being so controversial, they should make it properly the first time out. Specially at Abu Dhabi…

      1. Gravel on the exit. Problem solved.

        1. Gravel can have bits dig into it. Problem not solved.

          1. David not Coulthard (@)
            3rd November 2013, 11:30

            @tommy-c @mike Grass? Sand? Abrasive ashpalt a la Paul Richard?

  2. Nico Rosberg says #kimi not the only driver in F1 not getting his money. Let the games begin #f1

    Well, didn’t Seb say he’d do it for free? Maybe RBR can cover half the field with his salary :P

    1. Trying to think who he could be referring to. Hulkenberg maybe?

      1. I’m thinking Hulkenberg, too. I’m trying to think of drivers in cash-strapped teams, and his name is the first that pops into my head.

        Unless Rosberg is subtly hinting that HE’S not getting paid?! lol
        Perhaps Merc overspent on Technical Directors!

        (The last part IS a joke)

        1. Its pretty certain that Hulk isn’t paid by Sauber (and there are hints he hasn’t yet gotten all of his money from FI yet either), I wouldn’t be surprised to learn the likes of Grosjean, Bianchi and DiResta being in much the same situation (and the pay drivers get their money just from sponsors directly).

          I guess STR, RBR, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes pay, I hope Williams does but apart from that, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that all teams pay most of their drivers only at the end of the year (if at all) when the FOM money arrives.

    2. It’s not only Raikkonen and Hulkenberg. Ted mentioned on qualifying notebook that Grosjean wasn’t paid either, but given that he’s partially reimbursed by Total, he’s happy to wait for the salary to come in.

    3. Max Chilton!

      1. Not true, Max Chilton is regularly paid his monthly salary of -0.5 million pounds.

    4. I think this is what Fellow Germans are referring to

  3. “Nico Rosberg says #kimi not the only driver in F1 not getting his money. Let the games begin #f1”

    I hate when it when reporters do this, “quote” a driver without any previous context or source.

    There again, it’s Byron Young, he’s not exactly a shining example of F1 journalism.

    1. There again, it’s Byron Young, he’s not exactly a shining example of F1 journalism.

      can´t argue with this

    2. Sudha S (@cbeSudha)
      3rd November 2013, 4:00

      Agree with you. Lot of the F1 journalists dealing in rumours and speculation and not covering themselves with glory. At the end of the season F1fanatic should make a list of 10-15 of the top F1 journalists on TV and print media in the English language and rate them and get readers feedback.

      1. This is a great idea

    3. @silence I agree w/ you 100% and I sent him a msg telling him to provide some details or else it was just rumor and innuendo. Twitter sucks.

  4. Michael Brown (@)
    3rd November 2013, 0:18

    I really didn’t care for the New Jersey race, but I was anticipating the return of the Mexican GP. I hope at least one of these races make it next year.

    1. I will be very disappointed like I have been saying on this page if none of these make it. Talking about calendar so Korea is safe after all that and a night race on the cards?

  5. I hope that journalists are proved wrong as I definitely want to see Mexico happen. Mexico has to prove in 2 months time that Charlie Whiting would give it the thumbs up. Surely they can resurface the pit lane and track in over a year

    1. @william It’s not just resurfacing though, also a completely new pit building was planned, as well as a new tower I believe, to do that they need to demolish first what is already in place, knowing that, it really seems like an impossible task.

      It’s a shame because who knows if Pérez and Gutiérrez will be racing beyond 2014, the only consolation is that it’s not a financial problem halting this race.

      1. @mantresx – I did not know that. But I am sure they can resurface the track, pit lane and pit building. But I am sure Mexican’s billionaire would want this not to happen where the race won’t feature on the calendar

        1. Can they not demolish it and instead upgrade it

          1. Upgrading is still a difficult task.

            As for the circuit, Septembers issue of “F1 Racing” had a good article on it a few months ago. The circuit itself is currently used as a “park” by the locals, with people riding bikes, playing football, walking their dogs, and even stalls have been set up that sell food and drink! If I remember rightly, they had even dismantled all of the barriers and used them to make goal posts…

            There were photos of the stands all rusting away and even part of the track was flooded in areas.

            I don’t think it will be re-appearing anytime soon :(

          2. That is a real big shame for what the locals have turned the iconic race track into. But can’t it be like what MotoGP is doing to the upcoming Brazil race in 2014 where they inspect the circuit near the start of the world championship. It will definitely feature in 2015

    2. Well since I cancelled my Claro movil line, maybe Carlos Slim does not longer have snough money to paid for Mexico :D ;)

      1. @celeste hehe that’s funny, he’s certainly cutting costs where I live, my Telmex internet has been very crappy recently :)

        1. Yeah, cancelled my internet and cable connection with them last year…only lasted a month :)

  6. Bernie, you can feel “sorry” for Raikkonen, but it doesn’t change the fact that a lot less teams would have these financial issues if you and FOM weren’t so greedy, and increased the prize money for the constructors.

    1. How sorry is he for Raikkonen? Maybe he has some spare change jangling around in his pocket…

    2. @kingshark You are right .If Bernie is so clever he has to find a way to police resource restriction so that , smaller teams don’t suffer and more teams come to f1 . This could also level the playing field . I know that it is very difficult to accomplish this but it has to be done to save f1 from becoming a game of rich kids with lesser talents . Just changing the regulations would do nothing to level the field . we need 14 teams not 4 .

      1. why do you assume Bernie wants more small teams OR a level playing field?

        1. @joepa Because in some time that’s what fans will long ( unless you want a couple of cars to be 30 seconds ahead of the pack ) for and the thing bernie longs for is fans
          . .
          ( $$$ )

      2. F1 did very well for over 50 years without resource restrictions and without development restrictions, the money is there, it is just not getting to the people that make F1 happen.

        1. @hohum Think of how better F1 can become if there are more closely fought battles between more teams . Play with what you have . Make it simple .

          1. @hamilfan – The teams will never agree to that. They like structure in the championship, where progress up and down the grid comes slowly, both to protect the current pecking order and to serve as a barrier to entry to new teams.

        2. It could be argued that, in the 1950’s and 1960’s, that Formula 1 effectively had resource and development restrictions when Formula 1 ran to Formula 2 regulations precisely because the teams were complaining about the cost of the existing Formula 1 regulations.

    3. @kingshark – Nor would it change the fact that the team’s have had every opportunity to cut costs and yet refuse to do it.

      1. @prisoner-monkeys that’s true to an extent. I find it however that this is too simplistic a way to understand the situation. I think its becoming increasingly clear to fans that Bernie has built a commercial structure that:
        1- Uses the competitive nature in F1 against the teams themselves and in favour of a few bankers and investors (divide and conquer strategy)
        2- Is unsustainable over the long run, harmful to the sport, fans and teams
        From a strictly short term view its is a brilliant business strategy, however while one has to accept that there is a business side to F1, it is still a sport. And it is a sport that exists because of the teams. No teams, no F1, therefore they should be the one’s enjoying the most from the sport revenue. Every commercial effort in F1, be it tv deals, track ads, race host fees, merchandising should serve the primary purpose of supporting the teams. That is clearly not the case with the current commercial structure, and that absolutely has to change.

  7. You have to hand it to them…….Lotus are really thinking out of the box when it comes to reducing the number of points Raikkonen can achieve in a grand prix in order to try and limit his total wage bill!

    1. @mach1 And losing championship points (which is also money) and the potential of future investors! SO CLEVER!!!

      Seriously, stop with that already.

      1. @silence ….. really?!?!….please tell me your continuing the joke…if not…..well….lets just say…I did not think someone would/could actually take that comment seriously…

        Do you really think I was actually suggesting that was true!!!

        My my…… people really need to chill out…..

        1. @mach1 Of course I was, if you check my posting history you’ll see I’ve been defending Lotus from this the whole evening =P

          1. defending Lotus? you mean defending the indefensible?

            Do you have a job? Do you do it for free? Why not?

          2. @silence Your post made no sense whatsoever.

  8. I am disappointed about the possibility of losing New Jersey. I think it has potential to be a fantastic racetrack, if it ever happens.

    1. Bernie previously said that Valencia were giving barriers to New Jersey for free.

  9. How can anyone even tell when they’re off the track?
    Yas Marina is just a mess of Tarmac run-offs/side-roads/kart-tracks and blue astro-turf!
    It looks like a kids play mat.

  10. A bit of “feeling sorry” coming from Bernie and “If he drove for me, I’d have paid him.” feels a bit of sarcasm.

    1. Feel sorry my dash . He has to do something to clean this mess of pay drivers and resource restriction problem.

      1. The failure to agree resource restrictions is the fault of the teams. Well, one team in particular.

        1. @red-andy Norbert Haug tried his best …. in vain :-(

    2. Bernie would have paid him, but not a lot…

      Nelson Piquet more than tripled his salary when he left Bernie’s Brabham team to drive for Williams – already a double World Champion.

      1. Always nice to read some historical hidden details of the F1 world, thank you @tomsk for your post

      2. Cool bit of insight – yet not exactly surprising. Bernie’s history always produces a raging dilemma in my mind of whether the mans insatiable greed can somehow be justified by the grandiose level to which he has managed to raise F1 over the decades.

        Under any circumstance he is correct to look at the situation from the simplistic point of view of honoring the contract. Kimi has certainly honored his part diligently and dropping the final races could easily cost Lotus a good chunk of prize money. However, I hope his advisers will remind him that he will stand a much better chance in court if he completes the job he signed up for. In that case Lotus will not have a single argument against paying the salary and it is not like they could have gotten another driver of this caliper for free.

        Lotus have gained massively in form of popularity, sponsors and results from Kimi’s outstanding loyalty and at the end of the day they have achieved results that were higher than what they could actually afford. It can only end up hurting them for next season.

        I have to admit that I am completely baffled at how Lotus seem to be annoyed with Kimi’s departure. How could they possibly believe they could have contained him for 2014 without paying for 2013 first? They rather ought to be absolutely grateful to the man!

  11. End of last year Massa was also quick in the dieing stages of the calendar. This is not surprising and it also means nothing.

    1. Maybe it means he will be fast at end 2015.

  12. Nice interview with Hulkenberg.

    Interesting news from Sky now reporting he has been offered a 2 season contract from Force India. hard to know what to believe or what to expect any more.

    1. Same pay deal as Lotus ?

      1. better: he’ll actually be responsible for bringing a couple of million euros to F.I.!

        What a pathetic moment for F1, and what better example of how corrupt and inequitable the revenue distribution is, and how cynical the sport’s administrators are that they don’t want to establish an equitable system OR limit the $$ that can be spent by the Big 3 teams (that is, FOM and CVC don’t want an RRA b/c Red Bull and Ferrari don’t want it).

      2. Not completely sure, but If i remember right one of the hurdles for FI signing him might be that last time they were paying him even worse than Lotus deal with kimi @hohum, I remember something about outstanding salaries at the start of the year.

  13. About the Mexican Grand Prix, I live in Mexico City and today was the last track day at Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the next 5 years , because they are starting with all the modifications of the track for the F1.

    So I’m guessing that they have already a deal or contract for the next 5 years

    (This was the story that was going around the track)

  14. Lovely Bernie, you pretend to have you heart out for Kimi but then blame him because he didn’t expect a team would break their contract with him.

  15. Ya know if I was already a millionaire multiple times over I would totally race an F1 car for free. Then again with the lifestyle Kimi has he’s probaly nowhere near being a millionaire haha

    1. @fisha695 – I wonder how much Raikkonen makes per year. When he was at Ferrari, I heard he was getting up to $50 million. At the very least, he gets paid millions. So I find it hard to be sympathetic when he is whinging about not being paid.

      1. This type of self righteous ignorance seriously makes me boil! How much do you make? If you made one quid this year you made more than Kimi. And any third world worker could easily argue that you have it too swell already to deserve to get paid for your job. Same difference!

        But that aside Kimi didn’t offer his services for free, did he? Just because he makes a lot more than we do doesn’t mean he is not worth the money. In fact he is most likely worth his salary multiple times more than we will ever be. So unless you personally love to screwed while under contract maybe just keep that thought to yourself next time.

        1. I haven’t been paid at all this year and I work 4 or 5 days out of the week at a buddies bodyshop working on his racecar. Yes he does pay my way into the races ($35-$40 a week for half the year) and buys lunch and stuff every now and then but other then that nope haven’t been paid once cent.

          That being said while Kimi may not be getting a paycheck from the team I’m certain that he’s been paid this year by the companies that have personal endorsements with him so it’s not like he’s not getting any income at all.

          1. But do you have a contract with your friend that he is supposed to pay you a salary or did you agree to do this?

            You are not arguing that someone working two jobs should only get paid for one of them, are you?

      2. While I agree with both of you, @fisha695 and @prisoner-monkeys, it doesn’t negate the fact they have a contractual agreement that is 100% lawful and therefore, I understand his rage.
        On the other hand though, I also would be willing to drive for some of these top teams for very cheap just to win if I had Kimi’s finances…

        1. And you honestly think you would still do that after having proven worthy of way higher salaries and after completely impressing everyone with top standard post sabbatical performance? How long would you keep going to work yourself if you didn’t get paid your agreed salary? All year? I very much doubt that!

          And what do you guys know about Kimi’s finances anyway? Do you know his monthly bills? Do you know if lost a lot of money on investments like so many others in recent years? Do you know how much he gives to charity?

          His loyalty and patience has been enormous but now it is time to put the foot in the door.

  16. Michael Brown (@)
    3rd November 2013, 7:33

    In GP3 news, Daniil Kvyat won the championship with one race to spare.

  17. If he drove for me, I’d have paid him.

    I would say he does drive for you, Bernie, and so do all the other drivers. You could go further and say that, whilst you’re profiting from their work, everyone in the industry is practically in your employment, including the marshals, who are also unpaid.

  18. Bernie is unlikely to enjoy the fact that one of the top performing teams in F1 is not paying its driver like it agreed and that this is now public knowledge. He will undoubtedly be putting pressure on Lotus.

    Interestingly, there was a programme about Eddie Irvine around the time of his book, Green Races Red;(1997?) and he stated his annual earnings were around 3 times his Ferrari salary after endorsements and personal appearances……..on that basis Kimi is earning plenty, and has plenty in the bank already…… BUT isnt this about honouring your contract and keeping your word.

  19. An honest question…
    If Nico H is so good, why cant he get sponsorship to compete with the likes of MAL. Sure, I understand MAL gets money from his government who has an interest in promoting the country, and that HUL will never get THAT much money, but with a few million plus all his talent, shouldn’t that be enough to push him over the top of people like MAL?

    1. First, because I doubt he wants to. Being a paid driver isn’t exactly something to brag about.

      Secondly, because being good has little to do with the ability to get sponspors. It has more to do with experior motives (like Sirotkin or Maldonado) or massive popularity (think Schumacher).

      1. I agree about the stigma of being a “Pay Driver”, but I think you have the terminology wrong. A Pay Driver is one who does not belong in an F1 car but is given a seat because of Massive financial contribution. Anyway, being a Pay Driver is better than having no drive at all.

        I disagree about driver sponsorships. Nearly every driver has sponsors…
        ALO – Oakley, Europcar, Viceroy
        VET – Procter+Gamble
        HAM – Reebok

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