Raikkonen: For my comeback I have a good car but Schumacher did not
5 April, 2012
Kimi Raikkonen says a good car has helped his return to F1
Apr.5 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen has a simple theory as to why his return to F1 has been much smoother than that of fellow former champion Michael Schumacher.
Michael Schumacher knew from day one during the off season test at Barcelona
After two less competitive seasons in 2010 and 2011, seven time title winner Schumacher, 43, is finally back up to speed this year.
Finn Raikkonen is more than a decade younger than his German rival and he was off the grid for only two years, not three.
But he thinks there is a simpler explanation as to why he has returned immediately to the pace, while Schumacher took more than two full seasons.
“It’s just about whether you have a good car or not. It has made life much easier for me,” said Raikkonen, who has returned to the grid, with Lotus.
“He ([chumacher] was not so lucky,” the former McLaren and Ferrari driver told Sport Bild.
“The (Lotus) car is good,” the 2007 world champion added, referring to his black and gold E20. “Whether it’s good enough for victory or not, I don’t know.
“At least we are not far away from the top.”
Kimi and Michael in 2006
Raikkonen insists not much has changed in F1 since he left for a world rallying foray at the end of 2009 – not even his friendship with Sebastian Vettel.
“He has won two titles since then but it didn’t change him,” said Raikkonen.
“Sebastian is a great racing driver but he’s also a really nice guy,” he added.
As for himself, Raikkonen insists he is just the same.
“Maybe people see me as more relaxed, which I think is down to the [Lotus] team,” he said.
“It’s a different atmosphere to what I’ve experienced before.”
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- Raikkonen returns to F1 with Renault in 2012
- Alesi on Raikkonen, Brazil and 2011 season
- Schumacher: Greatest sports comeback ever
Kimi has a good point. When you have a good car it’s much easier to go fast.
And to TeamRosbergRaikkonenKobayashi, before you call Schumi a cut throat, think again. When he left Ferrari he wasn’t in any other competitive auto race. He was already OLD (for an athlete) when he returned. And F1 cars are NOT like any other race cars, they are the fastest, and once you leave it’s VERY hard to get up to speed again, very hard to get the feel back.
It’s like playing racing games. Try playing GT5 or FM4 now, then quit playing video games completely for 3 years. Then try playing again. You think you could be as fast as you were?
Typical Schumi hater. I’m no fan of him either, but I must agree he’s the best. You don’t win 7 titles by being a “cut throat”.
he is never afraid of speaking truth
?
watch closely the last 4 secend of austria 2002 schumi was surpriesed wat barichalo did.. it was the team order after race team admited that schumi had nothing to do with it.
@usman fasih, watch Austria 2002, even if he fought hard for his other wins, it’s still not 91.
a man can be lucky 1 2 3 or 10 times not 91 time, go and watch spa 1995 , 3 wins of 1996 with ferrari, in 2003 ferrari was 4 fastest car because of bridgestones, at that time u should be in pampers. kid
I can appreciate the comradery here but I have to disagree slightly with Kimi because on Shumi’s return the car wasn’t all thatttt bad, Nico was on the podium 3 times and qualified well consistently, Shumi is no legend, he is just a cut throat competitor who had luck on his side.
as always, iceman roxx………
exactly to the point……
The ICEMAN say’s it as it is, nice to know someone can see the Merc was not up to scratch