Does Kimi Raikkonen deserve to be No. 1 at Ferrari even if Sebastian Vettel joins him?

Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel – the preferred man for Ferrari?

As soon as the news broke out, although, not officially, that Fernando Alonso would be leaving Ferrari, and Sebastian Vettel, would be joining Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen’s future for the 2015 season was cast into a shadow of doubt. Although, he will remain at Ferrari, nobody knows who Ferrari will prefer, among Raikonnen and Vettel, as they have a long-standing policy of backing a single driver for the championship, rather than having an intra-team rivalry. Considering Raikkonen’s disastrous 2014 campaign, it would be wise for Ferrari to prefer Vettel, but we should never doubt the talents of the Flying Finn.

Ferrari got word that its driver, Alonso, who is arguably one of the best in Formula One, could be leaving to join rival McLaren. While many people saw this coming, many fans of Ferrari did not. Many thought Ferrari could hold him by offering more money, but losing for five-straight years will likely cause him to jump ship.

Ferrari did not take long to recover though. They filled the void very quickly. Ferrari went out and got the man they think can win, and he has proven that before. Vettel announced that he is leaving Red Bull, where he won all driver championships, to join Ferrari. Vettel will be the first German to join Ferrari since Michael Schumacher, who won five drivers championships in a row from 2000 to 2004. Vettel will have big shoes to fill, but he has proven he can win and maybe even challenge Schumacher’s run at Ferrari.

Raikkonen can challenge Vettel

Personally, Ferrari may need to watch out for Raikkonen, who has historically known to not get along with his team’s other driver. Clearly, Vettel will be the number one on Ferrari’s list to win the championship, but that does not mean Raikkonen cannot challenge Vettel. Having won the championship in 2007, he has enough experience of dealing with the pressure and two bad seasons for the Prancing Horse is something he would not like, to end his career on. The hunger and motivation remains, although he’s been clearly been a shadow of his former self.

Ferrari needs to put a car out that that can compete with Mercedes, which this year, no one did. We all know how competitive Raikkonen can be if he has the right car underneath him. He is still good enough to win races and challenge for podiums. Consistency is a key element, and the 2007 championship win was based on his consistency through the latter part of the season. With the addition of James Allison, next year’s Ferrari is bound to be superior to this year’s car, and maybe, this might lead to a change in Kimi’s fortunes. Having Vettel as his teammate, he will have to be on top of his game, otherwise a poor run of results, may quickly lead to him playing second fiddle to Vettel. All along Kimi has maintained that he still loves the sport, and he would only stop the day when he doesn't enjoy it anymore.

2015 season is crucial for Kimi

If at all we need to see a Kimi resurgence, next season would probably, have to be it. He might have had a lacklustre 2014 with an under-performing car, but challenging Vettel would be something. Based on this season, I don’t think he deserves to be No.1 at Ferrari if Vettel joins him, but maybe, Ferrari should give it a few races, and then decide as to who they would back, if either of them is in the championship hunt.

Raikkonen's pithy comments and antics have made him a cult icon among F1 fans, and it would be a pleasure to see him racing at the front of the grid soon, irrespective of whether he is No.1 or not.