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For the last couple of months, certainly from when Mark Webber announced his retirement, Kimi Raikkonen has been tipped to take up the seat alongside Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull in 2014.
There have been mutterings, rumours and whispers circulating around the tight-lipped Finn, who is currently on a 26 consecutive race run in the points, saying that Raikkonen will be off to Red Bull at the end of the year, to replace the outgoing Webber. In this post, I will look at whether this is a good idea for him, for Red Bull and indeed for their triple world champion Vettel.
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First, it must be said that Raikkonen has done exceptionally well in his comeback, after taking a two year break from F1. Last year, he was only out of the points once, which was the Chinese race, and he has been in the points ever since that race.
In the same year, he drove every lap, bar the last one at the Brazilian GP because he was lapped after his little off-track excursion, a feat nobody could match. He has a consecutive race finish record of over 30 races, which stretches back to his first F1 stretch, which ended in 2009.
Since his comeback in the 2012 season, he has two wins to his name (Abu Dhabi 2012 and Australia 2013). He also has several second and third place finishes, with him having a chance of winning at least half of them.
There can be no question that Raikkonen is a supreme driver, amongst the best on the grid, and unbeatable when he is at one with the car, but is he right for Red Bull and, more importantly, is Red Bull right for him?
Let’s get the brutal truth out of the way right away: Lotus simply do not have the staying power and budget to compete truly with the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull for the championship. Sure, they may get close, and with a driver like Raikkonen on their roster, they have a great chance, but I don’t think they will ever achieve it, especially with the competition being so strong in recent years.
This has been proven on many occasions, with Kimi perhaps missing out on several other victories since his comeback, but is he truly happy there? The car underneath him hasn’t always been there for him, which he is no doubt frustrated by.
Of course, he doesn’t have the reliability issues that have thwarted him of two extra championships in his career during his time at McLaren in the early to mid 2000s, but the car (apart from on a few occasions) has never truly looked to compete with Red Bull, which may help him make his decision.
Will he want to be partnered by the ruthless – some would say selfish – Vettel next year, though? Who can say but Kimi. But I would be wary if I were him.
Vettel has proven himself to be a selfish driver over the last few seasons (Malaysia 2013 springs to mind), and not particularly happy to follow team orders. The worst part of that debacle was that he didn’t seem to be punished by the team, which undermined their authority; they did not want to upset their golden boy.
Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel
I don’t think Kimi will be too happy going to into a team where he will almost certainly be the number 2 driver, and if he outperforms the German, he won’t be able to fall upon the team for assistance. I can’t imagine Vettel would like someone coming into his team, and then outperforming him.
Admittedly, they are friends away from the track, which may help sway the decision for all parties, but how long can friends stay friends when they’re directly competing against each other in the same car, fighting for race victories and championships?
The Toro Rosso drivers, both in the Red Bull young drivers program, are also tipped to potentially take the vacant seat at their parent team next year. Sebastian Vettel came to Red Bull from Toro Rosso after a few good performances, and Daniel Ricciardo in particular has driven very well in the last few races, perhaps ignited by the chance of driving the best car on the grid.
Taking one of the Toro Rosso drivers would be a risk by Red Bull, especially if someone of the prestige of Raikkonen is available. This move may devalue the young drivers program adopted by Red Bull, but they cannot hire a driver just because he is in the younger, junior team, when a better driver is available.
To conclude, I am not entirely sure whether I want my favourite driver to go into the lion’s den (or is that Bull pen?).
Vettel is a brutal competitor, as you have to be to be as successful as he is, I suppose, and I don’t think Kimi would appreciate that much. However, Kimi can give as good he gets and has proven to be a race winner, as well as a world champion.
Will Kimi stay loyal to the Enstone-based Lotus outfit, the team that gave him a seat when he wanted to come back into the F1 circus? Or will he traverse the 39 mile distance to Milton Keynes, to join Red Bull, and win a seat in a car that will give him the best chance to win another championship.
I will be happy with whatever decision The Iceman decides, and hope that he gets his deserved chance to win many more races and championships.
Vote below if you think Kimi should go to Red Bull next season:
