Do you remember the old Kimi??

[david1275]

Do you remember the days when Kimi could switch it on??

[SennaMan]

I do David and I am sad to see all that hungry and brilliant fire-in-the-belly is just not there anymore

felipe is kicking KR's butt - for over a year now

so sad

perhaps too many late night parties and he has been described as "....having the work ethic of a 1970's hippy!"

what goes 'round comes around I guess

[lkjohnson1950]

In his defense, at McLaren he was #1 and got what he wanted in terms of  set-up and development. I think at Ferrari he feels they have taken the cars more to Massa's taste than his. He doesn't broadcast it like Rubens but I think he's feeling slighted by the team.

Lonny

[Jericoke]

In his defense, at McLaren he was #1 and got what he wanted in terms of  set-up and development. I think at Ferrari he feels they have taken the cars more to Massa's taste than his. He doesn't broadcast it like Rubens but I think he's feeling slighted by the team.

Lonny

I think having Michael Schumacher around sort of turned Kimi off at first.  He wasn't ready to be in Schumi's shadow, and that just threw off the chemistry.  Massa, on the other hand was happy to worth with Schumacher, and so of course the car would suit him better.

I guess it's a shame that Kimi's talent was wasted on bad chemistry.

At least Alonso knew enough to realise his chemistry was better with Renault than McLaren.  Is he going to make the mistake again?

[lkjohnson1950]

Alonso wants to be WDC again. Renault has produced two very uncompetitive cars in a row. You can't wait till late in the season for it to come right, you have to be ready to compete out of the box. He will go where he thinks he can get the best car to win races with.

Lonny

[Jericoke]

Alonso wants to be WDC again. Renault has produced two very uncompetitive cars in a row. You can't wait till late in the season for it to come right, you have to be ready to compete out of the box. He will go where he thinks he can get the best car to win races with.

Lonny

He had a championship car with McLaren.  It wasn't the car, or his skill that let him down, it was team chemistry.

If Alonso jumps to Ferrari, I forsee the same problems Kimi had of joining Schumacher's team, rather than Ferrari becoming Alonso's team.

Of course, Ferrari might do some housecleaning after this season, and who knows what kind of chemistry will be present if/when Alonso shows up.

[david1275]

I think the Schumi days are coming to a close. I have even read reports / rumors that he his talking to his old friend Ross Brawn. This would leave the way open for Alonso to come in and make himself at home. I never liked the guy (probably because of his success in beating Ferrari over the years), but if he can do good for the Scuderia and make them championship contenders again, then that's good enough for me.

I agree too that Michael's presence in the team did not help with Kimi making himself at home, and the fact that Massa was more open to this help him to his recent and welcome success.

[John S]

I agree too that Michael's presence in the team did not help with Kimi making himself at home, and the fact that Massa was more open to this help him to his recent and welcome success.

IMO it's Kimi's manager and Kimi's own high wage demands and laid back attitude that led to his not getting number 1 status. If he and his manager had focused a bit more on what support he would receive from the team in his contract, rather than the maximum wage and if Kimi had engaged more with all the boys at Marranello, we may well have seen the team treating him as the leader rather than a just an expensive playboy driver.

Remember the Enzo philosphy of the engine first, the car, and then the team, with the driver being the least  important element. This I would suggest is so ingrained deep in the Ferrari psyche that a driver who appears to lack passion, involvment and commitment is always in danger of losing the full support of the team.

[lkjohnson1950]

Well said John. Wish I had said that.

Lonny

[david1275]

I'm with Lonny there too John. Wish I had thought to say something that makes that much sense.