reginos:
REALZEUS:
I am sure they will mate... that' s why Raikkonen has a 9000 km winter testing programme... they need to show him how to work with the car to make the most out of his vast talent. Cheers! Smiley
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FERRARI RULES!!!

In fact people have been very unfair with Raikkonen this year, accusing of lack of interest and withdrawal symptoms.

Actually, he is the only active driver in F1 competing for a top team able to fight fot the championship, for the 6th consecutive year. After his two near misses and frustrations with McLaren (2003-2006, 2002 doesn't count) he won the title in 2007. Therefore all this continuous pressure has inevitably taken its toll and this is the reason IMO he appeared drained this year.

With Raikkonen practically out, simpatico Massa was the only challenger but the title was beyond him.

Next year?  New rules in force,so the cards will be dealt afresh, so surprises are not out of the question.

Who knows who will benefit and who will be more ready than others?

 

Valid points indeed. I genuinely think though that Raikkonen had a problem with the car set up and the way it worked its tyres. The F2008 was gentle to its Potenzas, sometimes more so than needed. Raikkonen with his "clean" driving style could only generate heat after several laps (hence the fastest laps succession) and thus could not get a good qualifying position and was out of conntetion for wins and even podiums. This is what MS was referring to when he said that Raikkonen should have seeked Ferrari' s help in solving the set up issues that blighted him. Had he been able to work around this he would be a genuine contender. Domenicali' s laid back management style did not help either. I do not think that under Jean Todt this would have been allowed. This is the reason that Raikkonen is to clock some 9000 kilometres with the new car (I suspect under direct orders of the big boss himself).

On the issue of the rule changes, history has shown that when there is a tweak, bigger teams are favoured as they are the better funded and more technically advanced and come up with a good fundamental design first time out. On those grounds I expect Ferrari and McLaren to be the frontrunners with BMW a close third and possibly Renault thereabouts. I can almost bet that Honda is going to flop again though... what the heck is wrong with them anyway?



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FERRARI RULES!!!