Did Ferrari make a mistake by letting go of Kimi Raikkonen instead of Massa ?
@TheWizardofOz (34)
India
August 29, 2010 9:53pm CST
With this years F1 calender full of competitive, aggressive drivers and better cars, I think Ferrari would have benefited more from Kimi Raikkonen's pure passion for racing and raw speed than Massa's calm, docile drive. What's your take on the matter now that the season is almost coming to an end and the Ferrari's nowhere near the driver's or constructors championships?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@puccagirl (7294)
• Israel
30 Aug 10
Yes, I think so. Kimi would have done better, I think. But it is a shame they didn't realize it at the time. I just hope Hamilton doesn't win!
@TheWizardofOz (34)
• India
30 Aug 10
Heh he... I could believe it when they just asked Kimi to leave. Who you backing this season..?? Me with Mark Webber this time. he's shown talent and restraint.
@damned_dle (3942)
• Philippines
30 Aug 10
YES! Definitely! Especially yesterdays race on SPA where Kimi's best! But there are no hopes of coming back right? 
Massa and Alonso are already signed up for next year.... And no vacant place on Redbull too.
Massa and Alonso are already signed up for next year.... And no vacant place on Redbull too.@TheWizardofOz (34)
• India
30 Aug 10
you are spot on. Spa was Kimi's most successful circuit. I couldn't believe it when he won the race last season at spa, driving the least competitive car on the grid. Kimi did express his desire to stay with rallying next year. Btw he scored his firs fastest stage in rallying, last week, during the German rally.
@ram_cv (16513)
• India
3 Sep 10
I agree with you that Ferrari did make that mistake. But there were a lot of complications with the Kimi Raikkonen signing. There were some clauses that allowed him to get a fortune if he simply walked away from F1 for a season and he decided to take that. Ferrari did not offer him a new contract which would have taken care of that fortune, so he decided to move on.
On Massa, I feel sorry for Ferrari as he was really a promising prospect, but the accident last year has left him a shadow of the driver that he was and his risk taking has reduced significantly.
So yes, Ferrari have been left with a less than satisfactory situation.
Cheers!
Ram
@Volantary (41)
•
30 Aug 10
I don't know tbh, I don't think its as clear cut as the above posters make out. Kimi seemed to be lacking a massive amount of enthusiasm, so much so that he was being beaten by Massa in 2008 and matched in 2009 before Massa's crash. If Massa was replaced by Alonso I could see that demotivating him even more considering Alonso wants to make it his team. So even though Kimi clearly has better pace and racecraft than Massa, I don't think he'd have been any better off points wise.
