Raikkonen and Alonso “could be dangerous” together

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo admits putting Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso together in the same team could create problems.

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Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more.

Ferrari will keep Raikkonen busy (Reuters)

“Putting together Alonso and Raikkonen could be dangerous. But in Formula One… everything is potential danger.”

Adrian Newey: “We stand to lose the most again” – New F1 season just 73 days away (James Allen on F1)

“We’ve probably done a better job than our competitors in developing the best use of the exhaust position from the current restriction, so unfortunately we stand to lose the most again.”

Michael Schumacher’s continuing ‘stable’ condition is hailed as ‘good news’

Schumacher’s spokesperson Sabine Kehm: “It is good news. I don’t want to go into further prospects as it is too early. He is still in an artificial coma.”

Michael Schumacher’s agent describes moment journalist dressed as priest found by security – video (The Guardian)

“Sabine Kehm, Michael Schumacher’s PR agent, tells reporters how a journalist dressed as a priest was found in the former F1 star’s hospital room.”

Lewis Hamilton posts skiing photos just days after Michael Schumacher crash (The Express)

“Lewis Hamilton has angered the online community after posting photographs of him skiing just days after Michael Schumacher was left in a coma because of an accident on the slopes.”

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Comment of the day

@F199player reckons one particular rules change helped make F1 cars more reliable.

That graph on reliability really shows how much parc ferme increased reliability from 2003 onwards.
@F199player

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On this day in F1

Happy birthday to Beppe Gabbiani, who turns 57 today.

Gabbiani’s career was a classic case of ‘too much, too soon’. After a decent showing in F2 he hurried into F1 with Surtees in 1978, but failed to qualify on his two appearances.

He returned to Formula Two but was soon back in F1 again, this time with Osella. He contested the first half of the 1981 season and his nine appearances yielded six non-qualifications, two accidents and one engine failure.

Back in F2 he had a strong year in 1983 but missed out on the championship again and never returned to F1.

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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59 comments on “Raikkonen and Alonso “could be dangerous” together”

  1. So is no one in the world is allowed to post skiing pictures until March or something?

    1. I keep hearing about all this anger over those photos, but I haven’t actually seen any myself! (And I’m on Twitter constantly.) I guess I’m just not associating with the same fans…

      1. I suspect the newspaper in question had to go looking to find the “anger”.

      2. Same, I follow half the drivers and plenty more F1 sites but haven’t seen those pictures somehow.

        1. @ardenflo
          I saw it on Instagram (Lewis feed) and Facebook. I don’t have any reason to believe he had any bad intention, actually he did post similar pictures before Schuamcher’s accident.

          Part of the anger was because Lewis was not wearing a helmet while skiing and he did post one or two more pictures yesterday, but this time with a helmet on.

          1. I think that just adds to the stupidity of people getting angry. If Hamilton has gone skiing, then where would Lewis Hamilton fans expect to find pictures of him doing it? On his Facebook page!

      3. I guess we are in some different Internet than those supposedly angered by Hamilton’s photos.

    2. Apparently so…

    3. @beejis60 – I, for one, am outraged that the Russians are organising skiing events at the same venue that will host a Grand Prix so soon after Schumacher’s accident.

    4. Uff, I’m lucky that my skiing holiday is at the end of February ;)

    5. petebaldwin (@)
      2nd January 2014, 14:20

      The point obviously gets slightly missed that the only people being disrespectful are the press who are pretending that this is a huge deal and are using Schumacher’s injury to sell papers.

      No-one cares what holiday photos Hamilton puts on Twitter and no-one would have seen them and decided it had anything to do with Schumacher. To try and create something like this out of what is still a very worrying situation is disgusting and a thousand times more disrespectful than what they are claiming Hamilton has done.

      Obviously they aren’t going to write a story about themselves though.

    6. That’s a shame.

      That graph on reliability really shows how much parc ferme increased reliability from 2003 onwards.
      @F199player

      Good point.

  2. When I first saw Lewis’ pictures, I didn’t even think of any sort of link between that and Schumacher, and I’m amazed that some people did.

    I have to echo Keith’s sentiments – some people clearly just relish the opportunity to have a proper whine about certain people.

  3. Maybe I’m reading too much into Luca’s comments, but I do recall an article from a few months ago that said he favoured Nico Hulkenberg for the seat, but Stefano Domenicali lobbied for Raikkonen and won. I get the feeling Luca is trying to flex his muscles a little.

    Honestly, I think it’s a bad partnership, and I think history will remember Raikkonen and/or Donenicali as losing a lot if it does not end well.

    1. There wasnt exactly anywhere else for Raikkonen to go to. RB declined him, Mclaren didnt seem like an option, Lotus’ finances were pathetic. He could have gone to a smaller team, in the hopes they pull a Brawn, but that would be a bullet in the dark.

      1. Hearing from Webber’s interview couple weeks ago, Raikkonen did not agree to Red Bull’s terms.

  4. Ok, so The Express gets Teh Block®.

    Thanks for the heads up @keith.

  5. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    2nd January 2014, 1:21

    The Express.co.uk should be ashamed of themselves. As should anyone else who was supposedly “angered” by Lewis’s photos.

    Man I hate humans sometimes.

  6. The photos that Lewis posted are from Christmas day and where uploaded to his instagram account first then twitter a few days latter.

  7. In another tweet, Lewis thanks Nico for the extra ski tickets he sent as a NYE present.

    1. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
      COTD!!!!

  8. Adrian Newey makes a good point, but I think Domenicali should be the worried man. The expectations at Ferrari will be as high if not higher this year, there is no longer any room for excuses at Ferrari.

    1. @funkyf1 I think its funny, every year Ferrari place these “expectations” on themselves, and as you rightly point out, they only up the stakes each year… There are only 2 possible outcomes for Domenicali at this point, either produce a championship (either WDC or WCC) or don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

      1. Domenicali has been under threat from internet speculation since 2010 and he’s still there. As long as he doesn’t lose championships in the style McLaren did in 2012, he’ll be fine.

        1. To be honest, nobody from McLaren seems to have been shown the door either. You’ve got to be on a perpetually downward trend like Williams before big names (i.e. Team Principals, Tech Directors) get thrown out these days.

  9. Montezemolo keeps contradicting himself with what he says.

    1. At least he’s not imagining ‘dirty tricks’.

  10. I think you’re about spot on about the Lewis thing Keith. Make no mistake. Massive Schumacher fan and I hope with everything I have that he comes out of this….

    But, I dunno. Someone went skiing. It’s not that crazy a thing to do.

    It’s nice that for the most part (I’m guilty) you’ve got a really sane community here.

    1. It’s quite nice of Lewis to take his brother out skiing really…. Good on him.

  11. “…so unfortunately we stand to lose the most again.”

    Let’s not forget that Red Bull gained the most from the last set of regulation changes in 2009, so its swings and roundabouts Adrian.

    1. One might say they gained a whole lot, and now gradually they are taking it away because in the end Bernie and others like Vettel but RB not so much.

      1. I think people are warming to Vettel more, but I think RB are becoming the most hated team in F1.

        1. Redbull cannot be the most hated team in F1. Not as long Torro-Rosso is around, lol.

          But seriously.. Im aware they’re not the most populair, but it’s not like they are hated either. Apparantly they trow the best paddock party’s, free of charge and open for other team’s members to join. Also they have some likeable people at the top (with the possible exeption of mr H.Marko). I very much enjoy the human side of Redbull, something that is far less existent at say.. Mclaren, in my oppinion.

  12. I don’t understand why people are lashing out at Hamilton for going skiing. He missed the Bahrain Pirelli test because he was in the middle of his high altitude training programme, and for as long as I can remember F1 drivers have used skiing (cross country mostly which seems to be what he is doing) as part of their winter preparations. He would have had this in his schedule for ages, so I don’t think he should be critisied for it just because of the unfortunate events that have unfolded in the last few days. In his pictures he is wearing protective gear and seems to be proficient out there (I’ve never skied, so I can’t comment on his skill level). If he wasn’t wearing protective gear, then criticise, but he is.

    1. @geemac – Some people will take whatever opportunity, no matter how thin, to criticise him.

  13. Karthik Mohan
    2nd January 2014, 6:52

    Completely agree with Keith! Even Nico Rosberg posted pictures of him skiing and it was hardly even noticed! Some people would just take about anything to take a dig at Lewis! Getting real tired of this!

  14. Lewis’ photos are of cross country skiing, a very different sport to downhill skiing.
    A helmet is certainly not needed as it generally takes place on the flat with no real assistance from gravity.

  15. This is what I want for 2014:

    Lewis and Vettel going for the title both winning a proper amount of races. Who wins doesn’t matter.
    Meanwhile RAI and ALO manage to rack up the podiums with the occasional win to win the constructors. Together with the above we see Grosjean taking his maiden win in Bahrein, Ricciardo in China. The Force India is good enough for Hülkenberg to be in the top 4 on several occasions as Perez proves he is no total idiot with some good drives but really is int he shadow of his teammate. Magnussen meanwhile manages to take his first win in Hungary and possibly a second one later in the season. Button on the other hand struggles with the new engines and retires towards the end of the season to be replaced by Vandoorne (Yes I’m a belgian). Williams is not yet in form but manages to be a regular top 10 finisher with some top 5s for both drivers. Sauber is nowhere as they both lack in talent and a fast car. Caterham and Marussia share 19th-22th positions but there is no clear favourite for 10th position untill Brazil.

  16. Justin Bieber performs on stage two days after Michael Jackson’s death

    Justin Bieber has angered the online community after performing on stage just days after Michael Jackson’s death.

    One instagram user wrote “you stupid ****, you can’t sing! Stop trending on Twitter, ****!”, while another said “All Beliebers are **** because I happen to enjoy a different kind of music”.

    Others simply abused the pop musician, with many comments removed.

    The singer had already written on Twitter that his prayers are with his family.

    Sigh

  17. Jack (@jackisthestig)
    2nd January 2014, 9:03

    The only offence caused is to the readers’ intellegence when well established newspapers start cherry-picking quotes from random Instigram users.

  18. Luca must have said this this way on purpose.
    “I think that Fernando knows that he drives not for himself but for Ferrari. And Raikkonen knows that he is in the second half of his career, two very important years for him, with experience and responsibilities.”

  19. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
    2nd January 2014, 11:05

    I simply don’t get the way Hamilton is perceived at the moment. OK, he has transitioned from the innocent young megastar, Senna reborn to some, to a “blinged up” fan of rap music, tattooes and “expressin’ himself”, but isn’t that his prerogative? Why should his every move be criticized for that? Isn’t that “in” with youth of this world? I can’t help but think that the F1 community, of which I mean the fans and the journalists, are becoming somewhat snobby. Is that why the “Frome charmer” has got more fans than “hip-hop Hamilton”, even though Button is unquestionably not on Hamilton’s level behind the wheel? But then again surely Raikkonen’s popularity is solely based on individuality, so why is Hamilton persecuted by the media for that same individuality? All I see in Lewis is a well-rounded, if complex, young man with a well-measured, if emotive, head on his shoulders.

    1. @william-brierty Maybe because Raikkonen’s individuality remained unchanged over the years, that is his personality, he’s not playing any roles but himself. And that’s what many people (unconciously maybe) appreciate in a person – simplicity and being natural. Hamilton on the other hand is like that teeneage kid who desperately tries to affiliate himself with a ‘group’. Back in 2008 he was doing the ‘good boy Senna wannabe’, telling the media how he fells like a role model for youngsters, now he’s playing the ‘hip-hop tatooed guy’ and he’s probably yet to decide between a goth and an emo in the future :) Of course he has the right to his life choices (and who are we to judge him) even if sometimes these sudden shifts look ridiculous to some people.
      Don’t mean to be hateful towards Lewis, it’s just the way I perceive his personality at the moment.

      1. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
        2nd January 2014, 15:38

        @klaas – I don’t agree at all with the way in which you assume Lewis’ new persona is anything other than truly natural. Why would it not be? What motive did he have to abandon his former innocence, other than a pursuit of personal interests and goals? F1 drivers are not music stars, they’re are not sculpted to suit a certain audience demographic, they are simply honed to go faster, so it seems fanciful to me to assume that what Hamilton is is anything than what he wants himself to be.

        Yes, consistency in a personality can be appealing for fans in order for them to put drivers into character boxes, although on that basis you must remember that Raikkonen hasn’t always been his direct, monosyllabic, unsociable and sometimes rude self. That only really emerged after the media attention started to grate against him following his championship win in 2007, but before that, yes, he was quiet and preferred to say little, but he was not in the least bit rude. I think the only dynamic factor in the driver’s personalities other than shifts in interests are fluctuations in media attention, as graphically demonstrated by Alonso following his 05/06 championship wins, or by Webber in his competitive Red Bull years. The very fact that Button managed to prove that heightened media attention doesn’t necessarily translate into an insular personality is much to his credit, and definitely a factor in his popularity.

      2. Are you sure Raikkonen isnt blocking F1 from his real personality? Just like Hakkinen did?

  20. ‘Raikkonen and Alonso “could be dangerous” together’

    Yeah, they could rob a bank or something. Its not like Kimi got payed in 2013 :-)

    1. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
      3rd January 2014, 3:46

      +10 LOL

      1. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
        3rd January 2014, 3:49

        In fact, that would be really fun; Think about it, Kimi and Fernando on a bank robbing mission, – if they get thrown out by Mighty (Don) Luca M. …

  21. Do other people read LdM’s statements the same as I do, i.e. that Kimi is brought to be a better No. 2 than Massa was, but ALO must be aware that if he continues complaining Kimi would be elevated to No.1?

    As a Kimi fan I am deeply disconcerted to see this happening. In all honesty, as much as I wanted to, I see Kimi as the underdog in the season length against Alonso (we’re talking 2013, in my opinion Kimi would have won it in 2005 were it not for the unreliability of McLaren he drove), even with equal opportunity. But man it would be great if he beats him :)

    1. I think Ferrari will be mainly focused on the WCC in 2014, that’s why they brought Raikkonen on board. Don’t think they’ll start the season with a clear No 1 in Alonso. Most likely they’ll try to manage things like they did in 2008, the one with most chances for the championship gets to be the ‘rooster’ in late-season.

      1. I don’t think KR would have gone back to Ferrari if there was any hint at all that FA would still be their Number One Rooster. If KR is not expecting equal treatment on the team I will be very disappointed in him, and disappointed in Ferrari for turning a rooster into a bootlicker.

        I expect it to be at Ferrari in 2014 like it should be on all teams in F1 at all times…2 gladiators duke it out fairly treated in their team, until the math, as the season winds down, dictates that the team has to go with the driver with more points, at which point a team order or a formal designation of a number one is not needed…it just goes without saying that the one with the lesser WDC chance should not impede the teammate that does…he doesn’t have to go out there and block for his teammate….just not take points away from him wherever possible.

      2. That’s fair if they do so.
        I am a bit concerned that Kimi went to Ferrari for lack of a better choice after Red Bull opted for Ricciardo and financial problems at Lotus.

  22. Yeah I think I’m getting tired of LdM’s proclamations of how it is at Ferrari. I don’t get how a team can use a one-rooster rule and make it about one driver and then say the driver is to drive like he is driving for Ferrari, not himself. They make it about one driver so what is the one driver to think…that it is not about him?

    I don’t think any driver needs to be reminded that he is driving for his team…the ones that provide him with the equipment along with it’s sponsors. I think that when LdM talks like this he is really talking to the secondary bootlicking driver that is really the one driving for the team while the designated rooster drives for himself. SV decided to drive for himself and ignore the team in the first race last year and many revered him for it, so I think LdM must be annoying a lot of people claiming that now two roosters on the team are to be driving for the team and not themselves.

    I would have much preferred, in a two rooster atmosphere, for LdM to talk of two gladiators duking it out on the track and pushing each other to get the cars and themselves to the top, and what a shame that concept is considered potentially ‘dangerous’ rather than potentially thrilling for the viewing audience…you know, LdM…the ones without which racing would not exist.

    Sometimes I wonder why LdM doesn’t just push for single car teams so that he will have a guarantee of having a one-rooster team and a driver that has to drive equally for himself and the team, without any nasty ‘danger’ of there actually being competition between two drivers in a two-driver-per-team format in the pinnacle of racing.

    1. Just to add…I am grateful that Ferrari has taken on KR, and I expect that to mean much better things at Ferrari, so I wish LdM wouldn’t sound so concerned about it. There is a huge following of F1 fans who are not fans of one-rooster on a team, so I’m a bit surprised that LdM comes across moreso as being worried about their decision, when he could have come across moreso as being enthused and invigorated about 2014’s prospects, just as the fans are expected to be. After all, nobody likely put a gun to their heads to hire KR….so own it, LdM!

  23. “….But in Formula One… everything is potential danger.”

    I love it when a new year begins with people upping the ante on their own silliness – thank you Luca! This really begs to become a classic: “I’d rather not use the port-o-potties at the track… But in Formula One… everything is potential danger.” Not unlike this.

  24. Matthew Abbott
    2nd January 2014, 19:15

    Makes me laugh that some journalists sensationalise the fact that Lewis posted some holidays snaps when they have the audacity to impersonate a priest to gain unfettered access to Schui when he’s in a critical condition merely for exclusive access. I do hate the press sometimes!

  25. And Ferrari has many work with this.

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