Kimi Raikkonen in 2018: Occasions where the Finn was compromised by Ferrari

Apart from being celebrated as the 'Iceman', Kimi Raikkonen has also been recognized as one of the more polarised drivers in contemporary times in Formula 1.

There have been occasions where he has united fans across myriad spectrums like few others can. And there have also been occasions, where most have felt sorry for Kimi, often because of being treated a bit like Massa to Alonso at Ferrari or one could say, Webber to Vettel in their Red Bull years.

It's not hard to see the respect that Kimi commands in the sport. At the same time, it's not hard to see him dejected on more occasions than he's seemed cheery donning the reds.

Also, what appears to be certain, given the paddock rumours at this point in time, is that, Ferrari are soon going to announce Leclerc as the replacement to Kimi for the next year. This will surely leave the Iceman out in the cold.

But regardless, it doesn't help one bit to note there have already been a few occasions where Raikkonen's been left to fend for himself. This has resulted in some of his races being compromised out of the need to follow clear team orders, orchestrated in a bid to help Vettel combat Hamilton effectively in the wake of the 2018 championship.

That said, this isn't exactly a brand new phenomenon, one has already seen what Kimi was made to endure, at different junctures in 2017, one's got to factor in the truth that, Kimi's races have got affected in the end. Haven't they?

Well, there seem to be some clues.

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#1 A compromising strategy in Chinese GP

Kimi managed a lucky podium at China

Kimi Raikkonen took the second of his ninth podium thus far at China. The contest was held earlier in the year and was only round three of the 2018 Formula 1 season.

Though Raikkonen began from a solid second, stacking his Ferrari right behind his pole-sitter teammate, Sebastian Vettel, come the race-day, it seemed early on that his Ferrari would struggle.

Initially, Sebastian Vettel got away to a flier, not before cutting across to defend from second-placed Raikkonen, immediately before Turn 2.

Thereafter, Bottas would pass Raikkonen and the likes of Hamilton and the Red Bulls came chasing after him.

Even before lap 2, Verstappen would pass the Finn to put himself up into third.

But soon after, Raikkonen would fight back and seem certain to break into the top three ahead of him. He would hang in there, having fended off brilliantly from Lewis inside the opening laps.

Later on, in a clear strategy to make the overcut work for them, Ferrari let Sebastian dive into the pits for a compound change while Raikkonen was asked to serve a longer stint than what was expected or perceived.

Fundamentally, this seemed a clear failure. As Vettel, who was second when he pitted, would emerge behind Bottas, in third.

By then, right at the front, Raikkonen, although the race-leader, was losing traction and also suffering from tyrewear. Luckily, in the face of Sebastian Vettel's sudden accident-marred moment all thanks to Verstappen clipping into his Ferrari, Kimi would go ahead and finish third.

But imagine if Raikkonen would not have benefitted from the incident that compromised Sebastian's race, seeing the German finish not better than eighth? Surely, Ferrari were eager to play him down, weren't they?

#2 Asking Raikkonen to let Sebastian go ahead at German GP

Kimi was leading Seb at Hockenheim before he was ordered to let Sebastian pass

Truth be told, the only way that Sebastian Vettel was going to lose out the German Grand Prix, his home race, was by virtue of spoiling his own race.

Surely, given Ferrari's menacing race-pace, as evident on Saturday's brilliant qualifying session and till the middle stages of the race on Sunday, there was no way that Mercedes could've enforced an error from the Scuderia.

And guess what, that is exactly what happened. But Raikkonen was once again involved in seeing his race compromised by his own team. Or at least, that is what it seemed.

Kimi, who held on to the lead of the race, hadn't yet pitted and was asked to stay out. This was, once again, a longer stint for the other Ferrari, perhaps the phrase avidly explaining Raikkonen's own standing in the team.

Isn't he the other driver and not the lead driver for the Scuderia?

That said, it took a complaint from Vettel to the team to ask Kimi to let him go, in order to let him occupy the lead of the race. Soon, post after the mid-way stage, Raikkonen was told on the radio to let Seb through.

Even as this was a clear indication of Ferrari trying their level-best to enable Sebastian counter Hamilton, who clearly looked in no position to win, it didn't really work out. Did it?

In the end, anyone who defends Vettel, having spun out under rain probably is undermining Hamilton's ability to attack despite inclement weather, an excellent example of which the Briton served in the German's home track to win in the end.

#3 The Pit blunder at Spa-Francorchamps

What went wrong for Kimi in the pits at Spa?

The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps has resulted in Kimi Raikkonen mustering 4 epic wins out of the 20 he's managed in his career.

Perhaps that standalone statistic alone suffices to explain the importance of a track where Raikkonen has enjoyed some of his famous moments and where he's also hailed as the 'King of Spa.'

But that said, 2018 Belgian Grand Prix wasn't the best possible contest for the Iceman. This is both surprising and sad- particularly from the standpoint of his fans- who would've expected perhaps an easy podium, considering till the second practice run during the qualifying, the Finn was flying.

He had topped the second practice and looked confident to start well, if not manage a win at the end.

That said, come the race-day and bad omens would immediately truncate the little run of good form that he had enjoyed a day prior. Resulting from the opening-lap skirmish that was triggered by the Renault of Hulkenberg, colliding into Alonso, only to see other cars on the track get pushed around, the Red Bull of Ricciardo clipped the right-rear of Raikkonen's Ferrari.

It wasn't a great sight to see Kimi limp into the pits for fresh rubber, but only after having fallen back to the end of the grid. Therefore, by lap 2, he was seventeenth on the grid, after the likes of Nico, Alonso, and Leclerc had retired following the opening lap drama.

That said, while Raikkonen's race was a compromised one at the start and for no fault of his team's, at least at that point, once he was into the pits, the team did not properly check on his car.

This is now clearly established since a series of racing media outlets have gone on to cover Raikkonen's woes extensively at Belgium in the aftermath of Spa.

It's said, by the time Raikkonen first arrived into the pits, the DRS wing of his Ferrari was open. It probably had something to do with the accident on the opening lap. And that is where one wonders what might have happened had Raikkonen's wing been attended to and in the best possible manner? Surely, there would've been something better that Kimi might have been able to deliver.

#4 The evident favouritism

Ferrari have been kinder to Seb, on occasions!

While F1 can happily write eulogize about Alonso's career, one also knows that what El Nino can deliver if he's put in a car of the power and abilities of a Ferrari and Red Bull today. Surely, the same way it doesn't help the established wingmen of the class and repute of Alonso in a McLaren, it also doesn't help the likes of Raikkonen, being treated as a second-rate driver at Ferrari.

While social media fans can endlessly debate whether that is truly the scenario for Kimi or not and even the fact whether he deserves to be in F1 anymore, one clearly knows that it's Vettel who's been getting the fair treatment, only to see Raikkonen lose out in the end.

What this has done, in the end, is that it's clearly given Ferrari the understanding that Raikkonen, a more experienced hand at the Italian team is there to be played out, often into the team's hands, in the wake of enabling Vettel to emerge with an advantageous result.

Surely, Sebastian is a multiple world champion and has proven his excellence at different circuits but in the end. But even as Raikkonen has aided him by following team orders, a phenomenon one wasn't a stranger to in 2017 - picture the Monaco Grand Prix - it hasn't essentially played into Ferrari's hands.

While Sebastian has thrown away some chances at Hockenheimring, Baku, Monza, it also hasn't enabled Kimi to enjoy his moments under the sun.