Home

F1

Raikkonen is Uncompetitive, His Retention a Shame: ex F1 Driver

Published 09/17/2018, 4:57 AM EDT

Follow Us

via Imago

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer recently spoke about Kimi Raikkonen and his switch to Sauber. The Briton believes that it would have been better if the veteran Finn simply retired.

He said, “There are 20 seats available in F1, to have one taken up by an underperforming 38-year old seems a bit of a shame. Raikkonen had his chances.”

However, it is worth noting that Raikkonen has done anything but underperform. The Finnish veteran sits 3rd in the championship and has been very consistent this season.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

via Imago

Further backing this statement is the fact that Raikkonen has been on the podium in six of the last seven races. If anyone is to question his speed, they must cast their mind back to Monza where he scored pole position. The 38-year old even led for most of the race until fading tyres allowed Hamilton to surge ahead.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Now, Kimi has signed a 2-year deal with Alfa Romeo-Sauber for next season. But Palmer feels that the seat was better suited for a younger and faster driver. According to him, Raikkonen should have just retired rather than prolong his career.

However, one can make the argument that if Raikkonen feels that he can still compete, he should stay on. An example is MotoGP legend and 9-time world champion Valentino Rossi. The Italian is now 39-years old but is still going strong. Many were of the opinion that he should quit while he is ahead, but Rossi kept proving why he needs to stay.

Raikkonen could be taking a page out of Rossi’s book and showing why he deserves to stay in F1. This season, Kimi has always been there to pick up the slack whenever Vettel floundered. In addition to that, both he and Vettel get along pretty well with each other. With Charles LeClerc declaring his goal of achieving the 2019 crown, he and Seb could end up butting heads.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

At least with Kimi, he knows how to play the team game when he needs to. Some even fear that the Vettel-LeClerc partnership could end up like the Alonso-Hamilton partnership.

via Imago

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Dhruv George

14,311Articles

One take at a time

Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
Show More>