F1 Madness

Tag: peter sauber

  • [Review]: The Unknown Kimi Raikkonen

    [Review]: The Unknown Kimi Raikkonen

    The K1 grandstand on the outside of turn 1 at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit roars to life with an all-mighty cheer. It means only one thing – Kimi Raikkonen has just driven past in his scarlet Ferrari. I know this because I am sat right in the heart of the K1 grandstand. Of all the moments that author Kari Hotakainen could have chosen to start his biography of Kimi Raikkonen it seems almost incredulous that he would choose the very race I attended in 2017.

    If you follow F1 you’ll know of Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen and his approach to the sport – no bullshit, just driving. Famously reserved with the press in the racing car however is where Raikkonen has always shone and comes alive. The biography details his childhood years as an up-and-coming racer and his subsequent years in the world’s premier racing series, Formula 1. However, this isn’t as much a book about Raikkonen’s Formula 1 career than it is focused on the person. Raikkonen’s comfort zone isn’t sharing any- and everything about himself. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite. And that makes this glimpse behind the curtain all the more intriguing.

    If it wasn’t obvious from observing Raikkonen throughout his years in F1 in the book it’s evident that Kimi Raikkonen oozes authenticity. There’s nothing made up or manufactured about the man. Perhaps that is why he is so beloved the world over – his authenticity. What is more evident is that despite being a celebrated Formula 1 champion Raikkonen is a fairly average guy who doesn’t think himself a superstar unlike his legion of fans. Instead he is revealed as a deeply loyal friend and wholly committed family man. He also just happens to have an extraordinary talent of driving anything with wheels very quickly.

    For the enigmatic Finn his family has always been the most important. “He was being offered $500,000 a year and $50,000 for every point earned. The man doing the signing came from a house with no inside lavatory. Soon there would be. He wanted to repay his mother and father, who had initiated this made it possible,” writes Hotakainen. The closeness of the Raikkonen family is unmistakable which makes the passing of his father, in late 2010, all the more poignant.  

    Kimi-SauberHotakainen’s fly-on-the-wall style of writing translates well and injects the reader into the moments being described. It reveals the rocky road to F1 and several other fascinating stories. An example being that at the age of two Kimi’s parents had him medically tested, as he hadn’t yet uttered a single word. The results revealed a child of above average ability but without any real motivation for words.

    Later on he describes a 21-year-old Raikkonen’s first day testing the C19 Sauber at Mugello in Italy. “The slight young man lowers himself into Sauber’s C19 car. He faces his first test lap in a real F1 car. The young man is scared – not of driving, but of failing,” Hotakainen reminisces. “He starts the car. A terrible, ear-splitting noise follows. The first straight isn’t important; anyone can drive on a straight with their foot down…The young man turns the wheel; his neck hurts, his hands tremble. Every instance of braking and every bend pummels his body”. It is said, and written in this book, that then team owner Peter Sauber was walking on air when he saw Raikkonen’s ability. Even Michael Schumacher wanted to know you the “young and fast” driver was. The over 250 pages is full of similar moments that together fill the picture of who Kimi Raikkonen truly is other than an F1 champion.

    There will be those who would have wanted an even more in-depth portrait of Kimi Raikkonen. But there aren’t any bombshell stories or profound declarations and they aren’t missed. Instead it’s a book about a man’s life that happened to be an exceptionally fast racing driver. It is, like Kimi, an unpretentious, succinct, and deeply authentic portrait of a generous family man.

    Get your copy from Raru

     

  • F1 2013: Japanese GP Review – Seb Rules Suzuka

    F1 2013: Japanese GP Review – Seb Rules Suzuka

    Demanding or easy, big or small Sebastian Vettel will win them all. The Red Bull driver has increased his tally of victories for the 2013 season to nine with another fine victory in Japan.

    Saturday qualifying delivered a first pole of the season for Mark Webber but the Australian couldn’t quite manage to seal the deal on Sunday. However, AussieGrit gave it a good go in a race defined by strategy and patience.

    Neither of the front row starting Red Bulls covered themselves in glory as the red lights extinguished. Instead they fell prey to the fast starting Romain Grosjean. The Lotus driver blitzed both Red Bulls and sensationally snatched the lead of the race.

    The start of the Japanese Grand Prix at SuzukaThe merest of touches between third placed Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel at the start of the race completely wrecked the Brit’s afternoon. A trip into to the pits with a right rear puncture only postponed the inevitable as Hamilton pulled his Silver Arrow into the garage only a few laps later.

    The factor that added to and made the show in Japan was the unknown. For the better part of 53 laps there was no definitive certainty who the eventual victor of the race would be. Romain Grosjean had the lead of the race right off the bat and appeared to have the pace to beat Red Bull. But he is after all in the cockpit of a Lotus and though he got heartbreakingly close beating a Red Bull, much less two, is nigh impossible. Mark Webber’s three stop strategy nearly gave him enough of an undercut to take the victory from Vettel but he ran out of laps before he was able to fully exploit his astute plan. The final stint of the race on fresh medium tyres did however reward Webber with second place at the chequered flag.

    There was a third driver in this mix too. Sebastian Vettel patiently waited for his chance to make his own strategy talk. Electing to pit later than his two rivals in the first round of stops meant he would have to stick to a two stopper if victory was to be on the cards. Vettel’s unfailing ability to reel off quick laps paid dividends in the end as he took over the lead of the race from Webber.

    Finger boy, selfish, lucky – whatever you want to call Sebastian Vettel he revealed a bit more of what makes him so unbeatable in this race. Beneath that quirky, sort of cheeky, grin there is more talent and skill than we haveSebastian Vettel tosses his trophy in Japan even begun to glimpse. The regularity with which he is able to set fast laps isn’t in the repertoire of someone who is lucky, that is a skill of a champion.

    Further down the field Fernando Alonso played second fiddle for a big part of the race to teammate Felipe Massa. Alonso failed on more than one occasion to overtake the Brazilian; surprising given Alonso’s performances relative to his departing teammate throughout the years. Nevertheless, Alonso managed to get the better of Massa eventually but could not advance much further through the field.  “We weren’t as quick as the Red Bulls or Grosjean so fourth was the maximum. We recovered some of the pace we didn’t have earlier in the weekend, but the top three were too strong for us even without traffic,” Alonso concluded.

    The traffic Alonso referred to came in the form Daniel Ricciardo. The Toro Rosso driver started his race on the orange side walled hard tyres enabling him to run a good deal further into the race than those immediately around him. The Aussie was lapping three seconds off the front running pace and drivers stuck in the Ricciardo-train included both Ferrari’s and Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn ultimately finished fifth ahead of Sauber pairing Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez.

    Gutierrez is the first of the 2013 rookies this season to score points and aptly on the weekend of Peter Sauber’s 70th birthday. Nico Rosberg’s race was dealt a blow when the pit crew released him into the path of Sergio Perez; the McLaren driver had to take avoiding action and Rosberg incurred a drive through penalty but was still able to salvage eighth place. Jenson Button said a late set-up change made his McLaren quite difficult to drive and that ninth was the maximum. Felipe Massa scored the final point on offer.

    japanesegp-rosberg-perez-punctureNotwithstanding Red Bull’s dominance of the season it has taken until the fifteenth race of the year for any of the rookies to score a point. Add to this that points are awarded all the way down to tenth place, as opposed to sixth in the past; it is an indication that competition for those elusive points is a closely fought affair and more importantly that Formula 1 is healthy and highly competitive.

    It will take at least two more weeks for Sebastian Vettel to become a four times world champion. Fifth place is all the German will need to clinch the title in India. If the Japanese GP showed anything it solidified that Seb Vettel is entirely unruffled and that very little is going to keep him from making Formula 1 history, again.