Raikkonen surprised by Domenicali departure

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: Three races into his Ferrari comeback, Kimi Raikkonen admits his surprise at seeing Stefano Domenicali leave the team.

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‘Life goes on’ for Kimi despite changes (ESPN)

“Everybody was a bit surprised but obviously that was Stefano’s own decision as I understand. If he felt like that then fair enough and life goes on.”

Fernando Alonso’s reaction to new Ferrari team principal betrays turmoil (The Guardian)

Luca di Montezemolo: “I’ve decided to go for a young manager I strongly believe in, and on a person from the Ferrari family, thus avoiding me going around the world looking for some mercenary. Let’s look ahead. We all must roll up our sleeves in order to be competitive again.”

Ferrari president guarantees success (The Telegraph)

“The first person at being not satisfied at the moment is me. But don’t worry, I’m putting myself on the line: Mattiacci is the right choice, we’ll get back to winning ways very soon.”

Nico Rosberg confirms clear-the-air talks with Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton after thrilling Bahrain battle (The Independent)

“That one incident was the only example where I thought it was above the limits. All the other examples were really tough racing, but with the necessary respect.”

Rosberg: ‘No dodgy dossier’ (Sky)

“It is completely normal for teams after races where a lot has happened that you sit down and discuss what has happened and we will do that – we are going to do that today.”

Maldonado: penalties will ruin racing (Autosport)

“Ten years ago everyone was fighting and touching each other, because there were no penalties. Now we need to adapt ourselves.”

Maldonado clears the air with Gutierrez (Reuters)

“He (Gutierrez) said ‘I didn’t see you’ because – it’s difficult to say – because the image is not that clear depending on which perspective you see.”

Red Bull no longer F1’s benchmark: Webber (The Age)

“They’re not the benchmark either, any more. The team’s under a little bit of heat early in the championship. They’re a quality team and they’ll be back, under the leadership of Adrian Newey – particularly on the design front.”

Susie Wolff ready to make F1 history as first woman in a weekend line-up for 22 years (The Mirror)

“I don’t think some of them react well to being beaten by a woman. I had a team mate who would be in tears if I beat him in qualifying.”

Mercedes 2014 power unit – side view (F1)

“Unlike Renault, Mercedes have separated the hot side of the turbo (in red) from the cold side (in blue) and have the MGU-H mounted in the ‘V’ of the engine between the two parts of the turbo.”

A history of Ferrari’s sporting directors (MotorSport)

“With a strong family connection to Lancia, a degree in Political Science and a long history of success in top-level rallying, [Cesare Fiorio] seemed well suited. Yet he fell out with Alain Prost and was kicked to the kerb after Monaco in 1991. It’s a demanding job that has chewed up and spat out many good people.”

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Comment of the day

What should be job number one for new Ferrari team principal Marco Mattiacci? Riccardo has a view:

I believe one of the first priorities for the new team principal will be to keep Alonso at the team.

I mean, McLaren may be a gamble, but as he’s nearing the end of his career he may want to change if another team looks a better shot at the title.
Riccardo (@Donuts)

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39 comments on “Raikkonen surprised by Domenicali departure”

  1. Todd (@braketurnaccelerate)
    18th April 2014, 0:07

    Oh Maldonado……

    1. I can’t understand his reasoning… Pastor still thinks he was not to blame.

      1. Todd (@braketurnaccelerate)
        18th April 2014, 2:05

        He’s never to blame.

      2. He’s become the Dick Dastardly of F1. I heard on the Sky F1 show that he’s actually a nice guy in person. Weaponising his car, his accusations cast at Williams and now his refusal to admit responsibility for his dubious manoeuvre on Esteban makes me doubt that somewhat. Maybe Pastor needs a season in Indycar?

        I watched the Indycar race at Long Beach and a few drivers made mistakes including Will Power who came second and had won at the previous round. Also Ryan Hunter-Reay caused a multiple car pile-up. These guys are holding their hands up, showing humility and admitting the fault lies with them. Will Power went so far as to say he couldn’t understand why he wasn’t penalised. A stark contrast!

        1. There is a driver named “Will Power”? Seriously? Oh my, only in ‘Merica!

          1. He is an Australian driver ;)

    2. No one got penalties 10 years ago? Yeah right…

    3. “He (Gutierrez) said ‘I didn’t see you’ because – it’s difficult to say – because the image is not that clear depending on which perspective you see.”

      you damn right he said that ………just to avoid getting punched in the face from you.

    4. Well, he managed 2 races before complaining about the penalty points system, so maybe that’s progress…. But perhaps he should have another look at the racing in Bahrain and see how the likes of Hamilton, Rosberg, Perez, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Massa, Ricciardo etc managed to race wheel to wheel cleanly without any contact. They didn’t look too worried about racing did they?

      This is the worrying thing about Maldonado, he honestly doesn’t seem to understand when he makes a mistake. Hopefully the points system will force him to change even though he won’t agree with any of the penalties.

      I have to admit at the end of that article he has a point, there was not much difference between his incident and Bianchi’s, so maybe the penalties should have been the same. As i said yesterday, i think drivers should be penalised based on ‘how big a mistake was made’ rather than ‘how big the accident was’.

      Offtopic – Gutierrez flipped because the tyres made contact, it was nothing to do with the low lose. Surprised no-one has explained that to him….which makes me wonder whether the team have really discussed the incident with him. They need to take some responsibility for their drivers too….

  2. Alonso has been an invaluable asset to the team. Had Ferrari not had use of his services, they would have been reduced to total obscurity and mediocrity in 2012.

    1. Pretty sure you just contradicted yourself there…

      1. @f1freek No he didn’t. English is crazy – invaluable has the same meaning as valuable.

      2. @f1freek No he didn’t. English is crazy – invaluable has the same meaning as valuable.

        1. @pielighter Almost the same meaning. Invaluable is closer in meaning to indispensable; to be so valuable that you couldn’t do without it. But I agree, English is crazy.

          1. Ah, I always thought they were interchangeable. But the point still stands. :)

          2. There is a subtle difference there, invaluable meaning akin to priceless, where valuable is just that. Not like flammable and inflammable, though (call health and safety, I’ve burnt my eyebrows off!)
            ;)

        2. @pielighter Not quite. It means priceless or beyond valuable hence the prefix in.
          And, +1
          @vettel1

    2. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
      18th April 2014, 11:39

      Well, as a tifosi I more or less agree with you. But remember they had a very reliable car, even though their second driver and development rate was abysmal.

      1. Oh the car was fundamentally okay following the opening four rounds – it did have some inherent speed without question – but not enough to beat the McLaren, even with their reliability woes. Alonso was the one to make up the difference in that regard, being all but faultless (the only errors I can recall are his spin in Australia qualifying and running off the track at the Senna Esses.

        1. Forgot to tag @il-ferrarista and close the bracket :P

  3. yes Pastor they were touching but they weren’t flipping cars around.

    1. What a Berkshire hunt mr Maldonado (poorly gifted?) is!

  4. I’ve decided to go for a young manager I strongly believe in, and on a person from the Ferrari family, thus avoiding me going around the world looking for some mercenary

    Mercenary? As if Ferrari’s philosophy is equal to sainthood!

    1. I took it more that he is saying he’s going to need someone to take on a huge role having to parachute in for this, and easier to hire from within, someone who is at least a familiar face, a smaller parachute, as they hand him a pile, and ask him to save them.

      1. Yes but using the word ‘mercenary’ is a harsh word in my opinion.

        1. ‘Mercenario’ can also be translated from Italian as ‘hireling’.
          Not such an emotive word, but still a bit demeaning.

  5. Just when I think Maldonado can’t possibly sound any more daft, he decides to go and open his mouth one more time.

  6. I think Maldonado is becoming the new Raikkonen:
    Every quote guarantees laughter!

    1. Yes but Kimi is tongue in cheek / Nordic economy of language that makes it funny. Pastor is just a fool saying foolish things. :)

  7. I had a team mate who would be in tears if I beat him in qualifying.

    Chances are that the team mate would break into tears since he would be beaten by Susie rather than a woman specifically! :)

    1. I’m not too keen on very selective ‘personal experience’ quotes as well. I’m a rather heavy guy, always have been, but always did well in P.E. in high school. Some people dealt with it fine, some got mad. I did not extrapolate that to ‘thin people do not like being beaten by heavier people’.

      Sure, some people will get their panties in a bunch because they’re beaten by a woman driver; but those people are probably lost as far as having an open mind goes. I’d rather focus on the people who say ‘it can’t be done’ than the people who are going to get pissed when it does happen, but then, who am I.

  8. I’d like to know what races Maldonado watched in 2004, because I remember pretty much every race being Ferrari (some seconds) BAR/Renault (another gap) Williams/McLaren (another gap) Sauber (another gap) Jaguar/Toyota (a lap or two) Jordan/Minardi. I vaguely remember some battles between Button and Alonso, Kimi and the Williams cars and maybe some backmarkers, but no touching. Or it being normal.

    1. Maldonado needs to have a book of his quotes published. He is in a different sort of bizarro reality, sheltered from the rest of the world.

      It was a “soft crash” on Gutierrez, that dangerously rolled his car, btw. It was a “misunderstanding”. It was “normal race contact”.

      “You cannot race” (because of the penalties). It’s not his fault on that one really. From where he was he didn’t have a good view of Rosberg and Hamilton’s dueling.

      “I think in my car somebody is playing with the pressure and the temperatures,”

      “You need to ask the team, the guys that are working on the car, it is quite clear.”

      Of course, those two quotes aren’t so humorous.

      The next incident with Maldonado, which will happen, I will gladly eat my words when he takes his full share of responsibility. I don’t dislike him, just feel a bit sorry for him. The first step to get past a mistake is to own it. It will neutralize most of the negativity. His audacity in blaming everything and everyone else is a marvel to behold.

  9. No wonder there are so many articles in this roundup about “clearing the air”. We’re racing in Shanghai this week.

  10. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    18th April 2014, 1:10

    a person from the Ferrari family, thus avoiding me going around the world looking for some mercenary.

    Yes, I mean, why bother looking for someone who’s proven themselves in F1, when you could go for someone close to home who has zero experience, and could turn out to be an utterly terrible decision?

    Don’t get me wrong, I wish the new guy all the best, and hope he’s successful, but it couldn’t have hurt Ferrari to at least shop around.

    1. Maybe Brawn doesn’t want to think of coming out of retirement before next year.

      This team principal choice seems so interim. There are more qualified people already on the team who could have filled this job, even on an interim basis.

      By shedding Domenicali now, it seems the focus is more on 2015. What can the new guy offer other than spending much of this season observing how the race team is being run and offering up management suggestions. It is difficult to fathom what he could offer to make the current chassis and power unit go faster.

  11. Neil (@neilosjames)
    18th April 2014, 2:17

    Had a little laugh at Maldonado complaining about penalties, but… I do miss the ‘racing incident’. Seems to have all but vanished in the days of the avoidable accident.

  12. Susie Wolff-

    “But I don’t look down on girls who do that. Danica Patrick did it in the States and it helped her career a lot. Good on her. But it’s not in my character to want to take my clothes off.”

    So what does she call that photo-shoot she did for the AMG ad? It was practically the same amount of clothes as Danica Patrick.

  13. Pastor should’ve been a boxer, thus he could spill his agression.

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