It’s a shame that his McLaren years were riddled with poor reliability, else he would’ve easily won one maybe two championships. McLaren Kimi was one of the fastest drivers I’ve ever seen in Formula 1.
Kimi got his WC and at that point he was just there for fun. It was fun but hard to tell if kimi actually gave a shit or pushed the limits cause its kimi
Tin foil hat time: Kimi would've won the 2008 championship as well if Ferrari hadn't basically sabotaged his car (changing the suspension without informing him and pushing the car development to favor Felipe) and pushed him out to get Alonso in along with that sweet Santander money. Ferrari would've looked like idiots if they'd sack a back-to-back WC so they sacrificed Kimi and they're still cursed because of that
They also treated him horribly during his second stint, favoring Vettel in both strategy and development. The guy wasted his time with Ferrari. I never want Ferrari to win anything for another decade.
“Sauber has 0 wins under their belt” depends on what you count, in 2006, 7 and 8, the bmw engines were insane. robert kubica got 1 win for sauber at the 2008 canadian gp. they were also pretty close in the title fight.
Yea your right, the way I see it though, since BMW pretty much outright owned Sauber for that period it's like it was a different team, that's what the stats say online. But like you said, it depends on how you look at it.
Kimi earned his seat in f1 by proving it, he would have 3champs - i agree with that. I started watching f1 at 97 up to this day, Kimi is the 1st most interseting rookies i've seen, then came lewis, then seb, and then max and charles but these guys had their own stories. I was a fan of schumacher that day, and i feel awful for the young kimi everytime he suffers car issue.. so disappointing.
He was really good in Lotus too until the tire compound change. He's a driver with extreme feel for the car and tires have always been the key to his being fast or not so fast. Even after Mclaren, his performance dipped because Ferrari was using bridgestones as opposed to Michellins in Mclaren. He was still fast but did not have the same confidence in the car. It's hard to explain to normal viewers but you can feel the difference in road cars too when you change the tires, so imagine F1.
You forgot to mention that he almost bankrupted the Lotus team because he was too good for that team. He had a contract bonus for every point he score he get $50 000 and he scored 390 points with 2 wins and 13 podiums.
Kimi at McLaren was definitely one of the fastest drivers EVER in F1. "Experts" don't know this but that's what Ron Dennis said, actually. But what does he know... only had amateur drivers like Senna, Hakkinen, Prost and Lauda in his team. LOL.
Modern fans compare how many WDC win, argue about records their fav drivers holding. They didn't know much about the thrill feeling of watching a great drive even we just watch on the screen.
I think Kimi is the best driver ever if giving him nicely understearing car with easily warming tyres. It worked perfectly with mclaren and michelin. But with Ferrari and bridgestone he wasn't that fast. With Mclaren cars Kimi was the best pilot to driver through the corners fast gently without destroying tyres. When there was only 1 tyre manufacturer tyres became harded (maybe because there was now competition to reach the limits) which helped drivers with more destructive drivingstyle. They didnt have problems to make tyres to best temperature and Kimi had difficulities to make those tyres warm enough. T think this can been seen on statistics. Kimi was not good one lap driver after mclaren times and he's first laps of the races were not that good. But still he shares the hightest number of fastest laps in a season with schumacher. I think Kimi's best race is 2009 Spa with poor ferrari. There are drivers like Alonso and Hamilton who can change their driving style and adapt to new car but when Kimi gets his car he is the fastest.
Why it is important now? It was discussed like a lot of times. Kimi retired and not getting back. He is champion and that's all. Who says he is underrated? Where do you found such info?
@@arthurradz3083 I was looking on forums online, where people discuss who they think some of the greatest drivers drivers are, and very few people talked about Kimi Raikkonen. That means a lot of people overlook Kimi, so therefore I think he's underrated by a lot of the fans.
@@theformulalab well yes and no. If you ask the same on Finish website the result will be other. Diffucult to argue here, but do not forget Mika Häkkinen. And let us do not forget there ARE drivers greater than Kimi, for example Lauda. Of course Kimi will not be on the bottom of the list but lets be honest with ourselves here, he is not TOP-3 greatest F1 champions.
@@arthurradz3083 Kimi is top 10 or top 15 at the very least. He was as fast as anyone. If Kimi had won 2003 and 2005 you'd probably say he's better than Lauda.
McLaren Kimi was the fastest driver ever IMHO. Perhaps on par if not even faster than Senna, definitely faster than Max. He could have maintain that performance but it's not a secret he puts in minimum effort. But that's simply how he is, and had he worked as hard as Schumacher, Hamilton, Vettel or Max, he's not the Kimi we know. If there's any driver that matches him the most, it is definitely James Hunt
It's strange because the stats say Sauber have no wins to their name, I think it's because since BMW bought Sauber in 2005 the team became BMW Sauber and it technically counted as a different team.
@@theformulalab yes I meant kimi prime was very small...whereas alonso has been in his prime.since day 1 in his minardi days...and his longitivity and his magical performances.. his consistancy is the greatest ...and he is the most adaptable driver in the world...not only in f1 ..but what he did in indy which he almost won and le mans 24 ...dakar...is a god level performance....many drivers dont even have b@lls to try indy ......😅😅😅..and I am an indian ....thats why I can connect with alonso...because the passion level of a real indian f1 fan and spanish is very high...we also wear our heart on our sleeves...I have been a fan of alonso since 2005..and I am just 26 🙂...he is my idol too .
Mclaren never was fast. You have to compare to the driver in the team. DC was fast but what Kimi did was not about the car. Alonso's Renault was fast and that you can see comparing seasons leading to the 2005/2006 as where Alonso really was with the driving skills and speed. Renault was in average 0.7/lap faster. Kimi was +1 second /lap to the car that took him beating Montoya by almost a lap and Alonso by 20 seconds in a full race distance. Yet the cars reliability took away the titles. Ferrari 2007 you are very right it wasn't Kimi's greatest. Reason for this is Massa and his support and money behind him. Kimi never was nothing more than second in team. 2007 was a slip up from Ferrari. Kimi's job was to make Massa look good. So as soon as Alonso/Santander came along Kimi was given a sabbatical to end his F1 curries. Kimi was just too good and no real money was behind Kimi. Like always born in a wrong country too small to give support against the likes of Alonso/Santander that was worth +4 billion to Spanish economy alone. Lotus was another great show from Allison/Raikkonen pairing that took the fight to the RB 2013 and beating Ferrari. This had consequences. For one the huge pay for Kimi almost bankrupted Lotus and Ferrari had to break this pair. So much money was instate. So 40 million to Kimi and Allison also went to Ferrari. Ferrari never gave either a chance to put their skills to the test. Ferrari has never been about winning as it was here all that was Alonso/Santander huge pay day. Ultimately this broke the pairing of Allison and Kimi. Kimi was kept as he was just too good to be let out to be raced against. Alonso and Vettel both come and gone but even when manipulated Kimi was always there. Alfa Romeo was just another step of Ferrari control that in the end there was no real motivation anymore when Ferrari controlled the one and the speed of the cars where again Kimi was given the raw deal against Giovinazzi. The reality is Kimi in Mclaren could have had 3 titles. 2007-2009 all could have been an easy title. Sabbatical year also. Lotus 2013 maybe without Ferrari contract and "tiregate". 2017/2018 Ferrari also was Ferrari to loose. When you start to count the success and skill would have been huge if without Ferrari greed and reliability problems of Mclaren. February 2024 is this all we will see from Kimi? Maybe not. Hamilton just signed a contract to Ferrari. Bono is also going with more of the key figures from Mercedes. This is actually funny if this happens. In my eyes Mercedes has no other choice than to give Hamilton and Bono with the others that are leaving a sabbatical to protect the Mercedes tech and information going to Ferrari. So where does this leaves us? All of the drivers on the grid are signed. Inside Mercedes there is only a very young driver that is not ready and Mick Schumacher that is not good enough to get Mercedes out of this hole. Russell is also not experienced enough for team leader. There is only two choices outside Mercedes that could drive come February 21st. Vettel but Toto has already indicated that this is not an option and Vettel is not interested on driving. Vettel's interests are on environment and being a team boss. Plus in my opinion Vettel never was the brains behind a car development. And then there is Kimi Raikkonen. Now that Allison is the leading force in Mercedes I can't think anyone else that even comes close. That's of course if Kimi is willing and Mercedes would give full support and freedom to race. There will be a rule change 2026 so I think this might give Kimi and Allison the revenge they need over Ferrari. I think it would be personal. So the chapter of Kimi Raikkonen might not be over yet.
it is actually crazy how many people don't know how good he was in his mclaren era
It’s a shame that his McLaren years were riddled with poor reliability, else he would’ve easily won one maybe two championships. McLaren Kimi was one of the fastest drivers I’ve ever seen in Formula 1.
Kimi got his WC and at that point he was just there for fun. It was fun but hard to tell if kimi actually gave a shit or pushed the limits cause its kimi
Wrong.
Ferrari sabotaged him on purpose in 2008. If they backed Kimi, he would have walked the title, easily.
That win in suzuka 05 really proves how good of a driver kimi was in mclaren
Tin foil hat time: Kimi would've won the 2008 championship as well if Ferrari hadn't basically sabotaged his car (changing the suspension without informing him and pushing the car development to favor Felipe) and pushed him out to get Alonso in along with that sweet Santander money. Ferrari would've looked like idiots if they'd sack a back-to-back WC so they sacrificed Kimi and they're still cursed because of that
They also treated him horribly during his second stint, favoring Vettel in both strategy and development. The guy wasted his time with Ferrari. I never want Ferrari to win anything for another decade.
2003 & 2005 Kimi was a diferent beast
Only those who witness it know ;)
Sadly I couldn't witness it, but thank God we have the internet.
@@hassoun2052 Thank you so much bro! 🙏
“Sauber has 0 wins under their belt”
depends on what you count, in 2006, 7 and 8, the bmw engines were insane. robert kubica got 1 win for sauber at the 2008 canadian gp. they were also pretty close in the title fight.
Yea your right, the way I see it though, since BMW pretty much outright owned Sauber for that period it's like it was a different team, that's what the stats say online. But like you said, it depends on how you look at it.
Kimi earned his seat in f1 by proving it, he would have 3champs - i agree with that. I started watching f1 at 97 up to this day, Kimi is the 1st most interseting rookies i've seen, then came lewis, then seb, and then max and charles but these guys had their own stories. I was a fan of schumacher that day, and i feel awful for the young kimi everytime he suffers car issue.. so disappointing.
Kimi is the most talented driver for me. If we are talking about Raw talent Kimi is the GOAT.
He was really good in Lotus too until the tire compound change. He's a driver with extreme feel for the car and tires have always been the key to his being fast or not so fast. Even after Mclaren, his performance dipped because Ferrari was using bridgestones as opposed to Michellins in Mclaren. He was still fast but did not have the same confidence in the car. It's hard to explain to normal viewers but you can feel the difference in road cars too when you change the tires, so imagine F1.
You forgot to mention that he almost bankrupted the Lotus team because he was too good for that team. He had a contract bonus for every point he score he get $50 000 and he scored 390 points with 2 wins and 13 podiums.
Kimi at McLaren was definitely one of the fastest drivers EVER in F1. "Experts" don't know this but that's what Ron Dennis said, actually. But what does he know... only had amateur drivers like Senna, Hakkinen, Prost and Lauda in his team. LOL.
Modern fans compare how many WDC win, argue about records their fav drivers holding.
They didn't know much about the thrill feeling of watching a great drive even we just watch on the screen.
Totally agree. I always said so. Bu to be honest, dunno if 2003 or 2006 was his prime...
1:09 giga kubica
Good video,though you’re wrong.Sauber actually has 1 won,by Robert Kubica
I think Kimi is the best driver ever if giving him nicely understearing car with easily warming tyres. It worked perfectly with mclaren and michelin. But with Ferrari and bridgestone he wasn't that fast. With Mclaren cars Kimi was the best pilot to driver through the corners fast gently without destroying tyres. When there was only 1 tyre manufacturer tyres became harded (maybe because there was now competition to reach the limits) which helped drivers with more destructive drivingstyle. They didnt have problems to make tyres to best temperature and Kimi had difficulities to make those tyres warm enough.
T think this can been seen on statistics. Kimi was not good one lap driver after mclaren times and he's first laps of the races were not that good. But still he shares the hightest number of fastest laps in a season with schumacher. I think Kimi's best race is 2009 Spa with poor ferrari.
There are drivers like Alonso and Hamilton who can change their driving style and adapt to new car but when Kimi gets his car he is the fastest.
Kimi likes oversteer.....
Sauber won canada with rob kubica
Why it is important now? It was discussed like a lot of times. Kimi retired and not getting back. He is champion and that's all.
Who says he is underrated? Where do you found such info?
I say he is underrated, that's what I believe.
@@theformulalab ok, agree. But why you believe it? Where you get info about he is underrated so you believe it?
@@arthurradz3083 I was looking on forums online, where people discuss who they think some of the greatest drivers drivers are, and very few people talked about Kimi Raikkonen. That means a lot of people overlook Kimi, so therefore I think he's underrated by a lot of the fans.
@@theformulalab well yes and no. If you ask the same on Finish website the result will be other. Diffucult to argue here, but do not forget Mika Häkkinen.
And let us do not forget there ARE drivers greater than Kimi, for example Lauda. Of course Kimi will not be on the bottom of the list but lets be honest with ourselves here, he is not TOP-3 greatest F1 champions.
@@arthurradz3083 Kimi is top 10 or top 15 at the very least. He was as fast as anyone. If Kimi had won 2003 and 2005 you'd probably say he's better than Lauda.
McLaren Kimi was the fastest driver ever IMHO. Perhaps on par if not even faster than Senna, definitely faster than Max. He could have maintain that performance but it's not a secret he puts in minimum effort. But that's simply how he is, and had he worked as hard as Schumacher, Hamilton, Vettel or Max, he's not the Kimi we know. If there's any driver that matches him the most, it is definitely James Hunt
Sauber 2008?
It's strange because the stats say Sauber have no wins to their name, I think it's because since BMW bought Sauber in 2005 the team became BMW Sauber and it technically counted as a different team.
alonso demolished him in 2014
Indeed, Kimi couldn't make that car go as fast as Fernando could in his Ferrari days, but really, he was past his prime at that point.
@@theformulalab yes I meant kimi prime was very small...whereas alonso has been in his prime.since day 1 in his minardi days...and his longitivity and his magical performances.. his consistancy is the greatest ...and he is the most adaptable driver in the world...not only in f1 ..but what he did in indy which he almost won and le mans 24 ...dakar...is a god level performance....many drivers dont even have b@lls to try indy ......😅😅😅..and I am an indian ....thats why I can connect with alonso...because the passion level of a real indian f1 fan and spanish is very high...we also wear our heart on our sleeves...I have been a fan of alonso since 2005..and I am just 26 🙂...he is my idol too .
@@theformulalab ridiculous. That car was designed for Alonso. Kimi was incredibly fast in the immediate prior season with Lotus.
Kimi is much better/Faster than Vettel has ever been.
Fastest driver of this decade.
kimi lost by 2 points in 2003, not 3
Mclaren never was fast. You have to compare to the driver in the team. DC was fast but what Kimi did was not about the car. Alonso's Renault was fast and that you can see comparing seasons leading to the 2005/2006 as where Alonso really was with the driving skills and speed. Renault was in average 0.7/lap faster. Kimi was +1 second /lap to the car that took him beating Montoya by almost a lap and Alonso by 20 seconds in a full race distance. Yet the cars reliability took away the titles.
Ferrari 2007 you are very right it wasn't Kimi's greatest. Reason for this is Massa and his support and money behind him. Kimi never was nothing more than second in team. 2007 was a slip up from Ferrari. Kimi's job was to make Massa look good. So as soon as Alonso/Santander came along Kimi was given a sabbatical to end his F1 curries. Kimi was just too good and no real money was behind Kimi. Like always born in a wrong country too small to give support against the likes of Alonso/Santander that was worth +4 billion to Spanish economy alone.
Lotus was another great show from Allison/Raikkonen pairing that took the fight to the RB 2013 and beating Ferrari. This had consequences. For one the huge pay for Kimi almost bankrupted Lotus and Ferrari had to break this pair. So much money was instate. So 40 million to Kimi and Allison also went to Ferrari. Ferrari never gave either a chance to put their skills to the test. Ferrari has never been about winning as it was here all that was Alonso/Santander huge pay day. Ultimately this broke the pairing of Allison and Kimi. Kimi was kept as he was just too good to be let out to be raced against. Alonso and Vettel both come and gone but even when manipulated Kimi was always there.
Alfa Romeo was just another step of Ferrari control that in the end there was no real motivation anymore when Ferrari controlled the one and the speed of the cars where again Kimi was given the raw deal against Giovinazzi.
The reality is Kimi in Mclaren could have had 3 titles. 2007-2009 all could have been an easy title. Sabbatical year also. Lotus 2013 maybe without Ferrari contract and "tiregate". 2017/2018 Ferrari also was Ferrari to loose. When you start to count the success and skill would have been huge if without Ferrari greed and reliability problems of Mclaren.
February 2024 is this all we will see from Kimi? Maybe not. Hamilton just signed a contract to Ferrari. Bono is also going with more of the key figures from Mercedes. This is actually funny if this happens. In my eyes Mercedes has no other choice than to give Hamilton and Bono with the others that are leaving a sabbatical to protect the Mercedes tech and information going to Ferrari. So where does this leaves us? All of the drivers on the grid are signed. Inside Mercedes there is only a very young driver that is not ready and Mick Schumacher that is not good enough to get Mercedes out of this hole. Russell is also not experienced enough for team leader.
There is only two choices outside Mercedes that could drive come February 21st. Vettel but Toto has already indicated that this is not an option and Vettel is not interested on driving. Vettel's interests are on environment and being a team boss. Plus in my opinion Vettel never was the brains behind a car development. And then there is Kimi Raikkonen. Now that Allison is the leading force in Mercedes I can't think anyone else that even comes close. That's of course if Kimi is willing and Mercedes would give full support and freedom to race. There will be a rule change 2026 so I think this might give Kimi and Allison the revenge they need over Ferrari. I think it would be personal.
So the chapter of Kimi Raikkonen might not be over yet.
video down voted after about one second for loud clap making my speakers and ears ring...
😂 sorry about that man, I think it was a good decision to stop.