Kimi Raikkonen’s Future in F1

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were impressive in the Spanish Grand Prix on August 16th but another Formula 1 active world champion also shined. Like Hamilton and Vettel, Raikkonen’s future in the category is far from certain.

Raikkonen’s glory years when he won races and lost championships in breathtaking fashion at McLaren are gone. As well as those days in 2007 when he won the title with Ferrari, after finishing with 110 points to stun bigger teams.

Last year Raikkonen scored 43 points what can be described as an up-and-down midfield season. The start of this season has been very tough too.

“Obviously we are too slow,” Raikkonen said regarding Alfa Romeo’s start to the year and the problems with the C39 ahead of the Spanish GP. “Where did we go wrong? I guess the design of the car.

We hoped that we were where we started last year, we were obviously a lot better off compared to other teams. This year [is] definitely not where we were hoping or expecting to be so there has been something going wrong.

Obviously we need to improve the downforce, having efficient downforce. The engine as well but it is what it is. If we have the best car, the best chassis, we should be up there but obviously we don’t, so we need to improve on that side. The difficult part is always that it’s not an easy fix, it’s not the quickest fix – it takes time. But hopefully step by step we can turn it around.”

The season has had only six races so far, so it is a good time for him to hit fine form, as his initial Sauber contract expires when this season ends.

Starring performances from now on can make Alfa Romeo decide to extend his career instead of giving the spot to an outsider. What Raikkonen truly wants will obviously help determine what happens. Does he want to keep going? He is the kind of person who doesn’t waste time on tasks he is not enjoying. Is Formula 1 that?