Call me oldfashioned but I still have a few principles in my job. One of them is, unlike some of my colleagues have, not to claim having some 'inside information' when I haven't. I emphasize that the following text is more or less speculation.
After the disclaimer I must immediately ask why Kimi Räikkönen's name jumped up like a blobber again in the F1-speculations?
I disagree with Lauri Hollo who writes in his blog that every statement is twisted and turned into Kimi's possible comeback. Usually this is the case. Not this time. Now it's serious. Räikkönen's manager has admitted having discussions with Renault. Renault on the other hand has confirmed it.
Why now? Didn't Kimi just recently say as straight as one can say without saying: I've seen F1. I believe that Räikkönen didn't go to rally for only one year to begin with. All the side remarks about winning the championship in rally indicated that.
What if he has had enough of it in Japan? Räikkönen has drove off quite many times and the offs have not been under any top speed. Even though he has the talent for rally also, was it enough for Kimi? Did Räikkönen think that his pace will never be fast enough to stay up with Loeb, Latvala and Hirvonen?
Another theory: What if the co-driver has had enough?
Did the experienced co-driver Kaj Lindström get bored with getting a sore neck in almost every rally? Maybe with Kaitsu's age the job isn't that important anymore. What if he has got some remarks from his home frontier? Don't imagine even for a moment that human matters wouldn't influence in these things.
The third and most interesting theory: Did Red Bull get enough?
Helmut Marko's comments about Red Bull not getting market-wise what they wanted from Räikkönen's rally project would indicate that. What does it mean?
- If there is some sporting success then the market value is also in place. These things go hand in hand, Marko commented.
One might interpret the comment so that Red Bull doesn't want to put money in Kimi's team seat. In rally.
I predict that the next speculation will be Kimi's comeback to F1 especially to Red Bull. In F1 Kimi is a certain successor if the car is even nearly to his liking.
I see Räikkönen's comeback to F1 even more probable than a week ago. I hope Kimi returns. I still don't fully believe in it.
What about the other Finn's continuance who has also has been under Renault-speculation? I guess that Heikki Kovalainen's continuance in Lotus will be announced in Singapore. And it isn't necessarily any bad option in the long run.
At the moment there are two Finns applying for Renault's seat. That is a fact, no matter what Hollo says. On the other hand my wife is from Turku so maybe my perspective is twisted.
Courtesy: Nicole
