Rallydriver Kimi Räikkönen's market value isn't as high as the F1-driver Kimi Räikkönen's market value is on the international sponsor-fields. He was for 8 years TAG Heuer's "face" but when Räikkönen left F1 his sponsor-contract was ended. - Our brand is focused on F1 but Kimi will still remain as our friend, Sponsorship Manager Yann de la Fouchardière from TAG Heuer says.
- TAG Heuer's and Kimi's contract wasn't terminated because of any problems, Dan Taavitsainen from TAG Heuer says and ends the wild paddock rumours about the star driver's bad attitude towards his sponsor's needs.
Yet nobody denies that Räikkönen wouldn't have looked quite pissed at times while starring his sponsor events - 15 minutes in his sponsor's guest events have often been 15 minutes too much for Räikkönen.
- Kimi's persona has a lot of attracting features, Taavitsainen reminds and refers to the Iceman's silence that is appreciated as something exotic in Middle Europe whereas in a Finn's eye it's seen as being grumpy.
- Our brand is Formula One and not rally and that's why the contract was ended, Taavitsainen says.
Kimi Räikkönen seems to have dropped from international sponsor-deals of millions to smaller and national sponsor-levels.
His latest supporter is the domestic phone company DNA. They haven't published his contract's financial value but it can't be more than tens of thousand euros.
Working as the 'face' in watch- and sunglass -business meant for Kimi Räikkönen, David Beckham and Brad Pitt over one million euros financial compensation per year.
They still believe in Räikkönen's market value in Maranello. Ferrari's shop is still selling Kimi-stuff with full price although the F1-season starts this week in Bahrain without the silent Iceman.
[NOTE: this news is from the beginning of the season... as you can tell]
Source: Tommi Aitio
Courtesy: Nicole
