I was looking at it more through Ferrari's eyes than Raikkonens. People who drive for Ferrari are supposed to do it primarily for love. And Kimi has history with Luca.
What are Ferrari thinking ? It is virtually impossible to successfully manage a team with two ex-champions in it. It's not possible to have two "number one" drivers and actually achieve anything meaningful... Kimi is great, I'm a big fan, but I don't see it being beneficial to him or Ferrari for him to go back there...
He hasn't been paid from Lotus, so of course he's going to Ferrari for the money, he aint getting any at Lotus so the fact he's turned up and driven his ass off race after race is testament to the man I reckon. Anyway, Ferrari needed to sign him, Massa is simply off the pace all the time and Fernando blows hot and cold with regular toys out the pram, he could walk at any second by the sounds of it (possibly to maclaren) At least both these boys are proper racers though, not like some of the other 'pay to drive' boys who just make up the numbers and lack real skill.
the construction of the cars is impressive, the engineering, no? View attachment 19829 View attachment 19830 View attachment 19831
"It's not as good as it was in the old days... Used to be proper racing drivers then... Drove in short-sleeved shirts and goggles... Stirling Moss... Fangio... Blah blah old fart blah !"
Alonso to McLaren? Not a chance in hell after the way he dropped them in the shit when he was there with Hamilton who was the only "team mate" to beat him. Some very deep scars there me thinks. Could go back to Lotus (Renault) though will probably stay put as he would have a lot of respect for Kimi and will probably get the upper hand (just!). Would be interesting to watch. 2014 could be the year dominated by whichever engine manufacturer gets the new small turbo working best. Renault will surely be a good bet and with Honda back in 2015 after a year to just watch and develop without distraction, should be good for McLaren. Boring? Singapore night race? I'll be glued to it.
But who would have thought of Raikkonen going back to Ferrari, and the whole McLaren / Alonso story is now being played down. For some time now aerodynamics, and how that interacts with the tyres, has been the main performance differentiator so who knows how the new small turbo will affect performance, with limited fuel it certainly won't be like the last turbo era.