Kimi for williams 2012 ?

Frank Bullitt

This shares thing with Williams, it seems quite odd really, it also looks like it might ruin the talks if it keeps up, there was meant to be an announcement before the last GP.

His managers were in Abu Dhabi but they are based there with their shipping company.

Would love to see him in F1 again but if he is serious about it then it should be simple enough for him to agree.

rua1972

F1 is never simple when it comes to contracts. Wonder if they could introduce a transfer deadline like they have in soccer.

amacachi

Everyone involved knows if it's happening or not, it's down to how much money either party is willing to put up with.

Jordan 199

If Williams take on Kimi, they might hire him on a race-per-race basis. If Williams do that, they may pay him a basic wage per race and give him a bonus if he gets in the points, qualifies in a certain position etc.

vectra

Jordan 191 wrote: »

If Williams take on Kimi, they might hire him on a race-per-race basis. If Williams do that, they may pay him a basic wage per race and give him a bonus if he gets in the points, qualifies in a certain position etc.

You think Kimi would accept that deal considering where Williams are this season?

Jordan 199

vectra wrote: »

You think Kimi would accept that deal considering where Williams are this season?

If Kimi returns to F1 with Williams, it might be the only deal he gets. Williams would be taking a gamble on him and hiring him on a race to race basis would be a good thing to do.

vectra

Jordan 191 wrote: »

If Kimi returns to F1 with Williams, it might be the only deal he gets. Williams would be taking a gamble on him and hiring him on a race to race basis would be a good thing to do.

I think that should be the other way round,
Kimi would be taking a gamble on Williams.

vectra

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Another Kimi thread and another delusional statement. Williams already have a vastly more experienced driver and a rookie driver who has his ups and downs. Kimi hasn't driven the current F1 car and has no experience of KERS/DRS or the tyres. He also hasn't been in a F1 race in years. Williams would be the ones taking a big gamble.

You mean in the same manner as Mercedes took a gamble on Schuie as he had absolutely no experience whatsoever with modern cars
At least Kimi ran kers and did a damn good job with it in a bad car.

Jordan 199

vectra wrote: »

I think that should be the other way round,
Kimi would be taking a gamble on Williams.

No. If Kimi wants to drive for Williams, it will be Frank Williams setting down the rules, not Kimi.

vectra

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Schumacher was racing in F1 when Kimi was was still in school. He has vastly more experience in nearly all forms of cars. Kimi has spent that last number of years keeping the spare parts departments in business at Citreon. I rate him as a driver and IF he turns up and is interested he might do well.

Not disputing the fact that Schu is way more experienced than Kimi.. But on that note isn't Rubens the most experienced driver on the grid right now.. Does that mean he is a better driver than Schu??
I think not

Jordan 191 wrote: »

No. If Kimi wants to drive for Williams, it will be Frank Williams setting down the rules, not Kimi.

I may be wrong but I could almost certainly guarantee that should Frank try to offer Kimi a below expected salary or whatever means of payment in a contract Kimi will walk away.
He will not come back for the sake of driving for Frank.

But as the story goes..Time will tell.

vectra

LIGHTNING wrote: »

What Williams need right now is a very experience driver somebody who can help develop a car (Rubens). What they don't need somebody who has been out of the game for a while.

You could be right, But isn't Rubens with them with 2 years now and they appear to have gone downhill.. What has his vast experience done for them?

What Williams need is to develop a good fast car and a good fast driver.

Neither of which they have right now.

Frank Bullitt

From Twitter a few minutes ago

An Italian source has revealed that the Kimi Raikkonen-Williams deal is off. And Rubens is most likely to be replaced by Valtteri Bottas

The bloke is unbelievable if this is true, no one will want him if he misses another year. And he doesn't deserve to be in F1, give the seat to someone more deserving.

Bye Kimi.

amacachi

Straight from GP3 to F1? Did he do any actual driving this season for Williams?

Frank Bullitt

amacachi wrote: »

Straight from GP3 to F1? Did he do any actual driving this season for Williams?

Did the young driver test.

Frank Bullitt

I really hope its wrong anyway, I want Kimi in F1, but more than that I would like him to be serious about it. I hate this showing of interest then it falls apart (like the McLaren and Merc deals in 09) then say he was never interested.

Stop acting the maggot and get in the car ya sap.

vectra

Nothing official there really is there?

Frank Bullitt

Nothing official on either side, and I feel that the more this drags on, the less likely he is to return.

I can't understand, if he actually just wants to return to F1, then why must he try to get a share in the team?

vectra

Gintonious wrote: »

Nothing official on either side, and I feel that the more this drags on, the less likely he is to return.

I can't understand, if he actually just wants to return to F1, then why must he try to get a share in the team?

I agree,
I honestly cannot see this happening but still would like to see him back. If for nothing else I would like to know if he actually lost his ability and interest towards the end of his Ferrari days or was it in fact a $hit car he had.

Frank Bullitt

vectra wrote: »

I agree,
I honestly cannot see this happening but still would like to see him back. If for nothing else I would like to know if he actually lost his ability and interest towards the end of his Ferrari days or was it in fact a $hit car he had.

Well it will be hard to judge his abilities in the Williams, I think they will improve as they have actively made efforts to change the running of things to get back up the grid.

If Frank Williams wouldn't give Adrian Newy a share in the team, then I can't see him giving Kimi or his managers anything.

vectra

Gintonious wrote: »

Well it will be hard to judge his abilities in the Williams, I think they will improve as they have actively made efforts to change the running of things to get back up the grid.

If Frank Williams wouldn't give Adrian Newy a share in the team, then I can't see him giving Kimi or his managers anything.

Understood about the williams car not being good. But it will show if there is any fight in his driving or is he just back for the sake of it

twincamman

i think kimi taught the wrc was easier than the f1 and he could be successful.how wrong could he be

vectra

twincamman wrote: »

i think kimi taught the wrc was easier than the f1 and he could be successful.how wrong could he be

I wouldn't think that is the case.
F1 was second nature to Kimi but hated the publicity to go with it.

Frank Bullitt

vectra wrote: »

I wouldn't think that is the case.
F1 was second nature to Kimi but hated the publicity to go with it.

I think he did believe he would have been better at it, and maybe he now realizes that its not as fun as it seems.

His main issue is the pace notes, during testing with the other drivers he was the fastest, even quicker than Loeb and Ogier, but he knew where he was going then, the same corners over and over, just like a track. Once pace notes came into it he was never on the same pace as them.

He is a track driver through and through, but its F1 or nothing if thats the case, nothing else would suit him, he was quite critical of the LeMans car he drove earlier this year.

twincamman

i think he did enjoy the rallying to be fair because he talked more to the media and we got the odd smile but ya he is a track driver to be fair but i think he wil give rallying a go again when the f1 finishes

Frank Bullitt

Looks like the Williams deal has failed, Suitil is the strong fav now. Apparently Kimi and his management wanted €12 for just 2012, so that talks were called off last week.

He is said to be in negations now with Renault/Lotus, so its that or nothing it seems.

Frank Bullitt

They were talking about it on BBC, its all over twitter now as well.

Kevski

Jamesallenonf1: #f1 Sources telling me F1 fans should keep your eyes on Twitter and websites this evening for Kimi Raikkonen news....

Rumour has it that Raikkonen to Lotus is to be announced imminently...

losthorizon

Kevski wrote: »

Rumour has it that Raikkonen to Lotus is to be announced imminently...

money, money, money

Frank Bullitt

Would like to see him there actually, apparently Nokia are involved with money but they just let 17,000 staff go last week?

Frank Bullitt

Twitter is flooded with the story now.

Jordan 199

Nokia, backed Tyrrell in 1995 when Salo drove for them.

I think if Kimi brings a truck load of money with him from Nokia, he'll get the gig at Lotus.

Frank Bullitt

Jordan 191 wrote: »

Nokia, backed Tyrrell in 1995 when Salo drove for them.

I think if Kimi brings a truck load of money with him from Nokia, he'll get the gig at Lotus.

My point about Nokia is that they are financially in a bit of bother, so why spend money on F1 over their survival?

He might have other money with him, maybe that 30 million Ferrari gave him to crash rally cars?

Jordan 199

Gintonious wrote: »

My point about Nokia is that they are financially in a bit of bother, so why spend money on F1 over their survival?

He might have other money with him, maybe that 30 million Ferrari gave him to crash rally cars?

I think they could get involved in F1 as a marketing tool for their new windows based phones. They are behind Apple and Samsung in smart phone sales and Nokia will want to grab back market share.

I couldn't see Kimi with parting any of the 30m he got from Ferrari.

The bottom line in all this is that if Kimi wants to return to the sport, he can't be looking for obscene wages.

vectra

Gintonious wrote: »

Would like to see him there actually, apparently Nokia are involved with money but they just let 17,000 staff go last week?

Obviously to cover Kimi's salary :pac:

Ghost Train

Good to see him back

Not much detail yet lol
http://planetf1.com/news/3213/7339986/The-Iceman-Is-Back-Kimi-Joins-Renault

Wonder what that means for Senna, Petrov and Kubica

20000 posts yikes

losthorizon

Poor Grosjean - He definitely deserves a place in F1.

vectra

Ghost Train wrote: »

Good to see him back

Not much detail yet lol
http://planetf1.com/news/3213/7339986/The-Iceman-Is-Back-Kimi-Joins-Renault

Wonder what that means for Senna, Petrov and Kubica

20000 posts yikes

Job done.
Looking forward to see how he goes battling with Rossberg and Schumi.

Lotus Renault has confirmed that Kimi Raikkonen will return to Formula One in 2012 after the 2007 World Champion signed a two-year contract with the team.

http://en.espnf1.com/renault/motorsport/story/65692.html?CMP=chrome

Frank Bullitt

Good to see him back, and with a decent team as well.

Myrddin

Surely then its unlikely that we'll see Kubica in a Renault then should he come back?

I'm glad Kimi is back, I just hope the car is competitive. Its bad enough seeing Schui out of the competition zone. I'd love if next year Renault, Ferrari to an extent & Merc were at least on par with McLaren.

smellslikeshoes

Anyone like to hazard a guess who they think will be in second seat next year? I personally think it will end up being Senna/Kimi driving. There is still too many questions over Kubica especially with the recent very public back and forth between his manager and Renault. I just don't think Petrov is good enough and Grosjean is just going to be unlucky and get overlooked.

losthorizon

Was watching Euronews this morning and Rubens was very Bullish about driving for williams next year.


I wonder will we see Kimi and Grosjean driving for Renault next year

G-Money

I was surprised to hear Williams were talking to Kimi but I never really thought it would happen as unfortunately, Williams are too far back on the grid. Renault are probably the best team with an open seat at present.

Assuming he fully recovers, Kubica to Ferrari in 2013 is my bet.

losthorizon

G-Money wrote: »

Assuming he fully recovers, Kubica to Ferrari in 2013 is my bet.

Sadly I can never see Kubica coming back

frostie500

LIGHTNING wrote: »

I dont think Petrov has done enough to secure his seat, Senna has impressed everybody and Kubica wont be back IMO.

YEah in his half season Bruno has done a lot to dispell the doubts that he only got into F1 because of his surname. I thought he was very impressive and really showed Petrov up in the second half of the season. With the exception of Australia Petrov did very little of note this year.

Discodog

Senna is very marketable & the Brazilian economy is doing relatively well. He is also articulate, polite & great PR material. However I predict the nationalistic trend will continue & that Renault will eventually want two French drivers.

Big test for Kimi & I am not sure that he will pass. Normally you take on a mature driver for the input that they can give the team. Kimi was notorious for hardly talking to the engineers. He will only of signed on the basis that he gets preferential treatment.

vectra

Discodog wrote: »

He will only of signed on the basis that he gets preferential treatment.

I am sure Lotus Renault said he is number one driver.

Hope they up their game next season.

cherryghost

1/4 of the grid next year will be made up of F1 world champions. Yes please!

Jordan 199

Enderman wrote: »

1/4 of the grid next year will be made up of F1 world champions. Yes please!

Great stuff isin't it!

Jordan 199

vectra wrote: »

I am sure Lotus Renault said he is number one driver.

Hope they up their game next season.

It will be interesting to see how he will perform at Lotus next year. Lotus Renault had a good start to season, then they slipped back.

amacachi

If Renault and Mercedes both didn't go ahead and start with a clean sheet a good while ago they need to fire some people.