Looking back at Kimi Raikkonen's curious 2014 season so far

It’s time to delve into Kimi’s 2014 season. Now this is not going to be some sort of apologetic post, although some will probably perceive it as that. I simply want to go through his season, race by race. Basically, to try and understand what the hell is going on. Because there is no doubt that the season has been abysmal so far. It’s kinda like a nightmare that you just want to end. Hence my lack of motivation to write the normal amount of reviews like I usually do.

Has Kimi been underperforming? No, I don’t think so. He has looked less than impressive in a race or two – Canada comes to mind here. But we sometimes need to look past the race result itself. He has had his fair share of issues and incidents that have hampered his races and results, and we need to include these factors in the equation.

10 years ago, Kimi actually had a season similar to this one. After 10 races in 2004, he had 28 points using today’s points system. The main problem was not the car being inferior to the mighty Ferrari that year, but its horrible reliability. In 8 out 18 races Kimi retired because of technical problems. (Yes, even Germany was technical, as his rear wing broke off and caused the accident.)

The only saving grace for McLaren that year was Kimi’s stunning victory at Spa from 10th place. A feat he would repeat in 2009, saving the face of another team that had given him a dog car.

But this is 2014. So what do we know? Ferrari have managed to not only produce a vastly inferior engine to the Mercedes, but also a very tricky car to drive and set up. Kimi had his fair share of problems in pre-season testing, which gave him a whopping 1000 km less track time compared to his teammate. But let me just do a quick rundown of his races this season.

AUSTRALIA

Qualified 11th. Race finish: 7th. 6 points.

Issue: Traffic every lap in qualifying. He spun into the wall but that had no effect on his final qualification result.

He then got a hefty bang from Kobayashi during the start. He also suffered from unpredictable and changing handling throughout the race. A lot of that came from the brake-by-wire system that was far from being perfect at that point. And it would plague him for several races to come.

MALAYSIA

Qualified 6th. Race finish: 12th. 0 points.

Issue: Kimi was 2nd and 3rd in all practice sessions but when the rain came in qualifying, he could only manage 6th.

Kevin Magnussen drove into the back of Kimi on lap 2, giving him a puncture. This dropped him to the very back of the grid and he spent the rest of the race fighting his way up to 12th position.

BAHRAIN

Qualified 5th. Race finish: 10th. 1 point.

Issue: Good qualifying. But he got another hit from behind from Kevin Magnussen on lap 1 of the race. There was no visible damage or puncture this time, but the nature of the Bahrain track highlighted just how underpowered the Ferrari was compared to the Mercedes cars. And he dropped back to 10th as he was out-tractioned and out-accelerated by several cars.

CHINA

Qualified 11th. Race finish: 8th. 4 points.

Issue: Lots of different problems in practice sessions. Gear change problems in Q2 stopped Kimi from going to Q3.

In the race, he had to back off in the final parts over concerns about high fuel consumption. He complained over an unusual lack of grip during the race. Low temperatures combined with Kimi’s over-easy smooth driving style was likely a big reason for that.

SPAIN

Qualified 6th. Race finish: 7th. 6 points.

Issue: Ferrari politics. The presence of Santander CEO, Emilio Botin at the race saw Ferrari switch the pit stop strategies for Alonso and Raikkonen so that the Spanish Santander backed driver could finish in front. Also, it was part of a plan and effort from Ferrari to try and persuade Alonso into staying at Ferrari.

The power of Alonso’s car was also turned up for qualifying in an attempt to make sure that Alonso qualified ahead of Kimi. (FIA requested after qualifying that the power was turned down only on Alonso’s car, not Kimi’s.) When that didn’t happen, action had to be taken during the race. It was a sham and a farce that not many people in the public know about. To quote Kimi in the team radio after the race: “I didn’t come here to be the second choice. You should explain me this shit!”

MONACO

Qualified 6th. Race finish: 12th. 0 points.

Issue: A great start and Vettel’s retirement saw Kimi running 3rd behind the two Mercedes cars. He was nearly on the same pace as the Mercs and was all but set for a podium finish. But the clownish Max Chilton managed to run into him during a safety car period, giving him a puncture. After stopping for new tires, this dropped him way back and he could only manage 12th on the near impossible-to-pass streets of Monaco.

This horrible misfortune was highlighted by the fact that Kimi was not informed over the team radio during the SC period that backmarkers were about to unlap to get back on the same lap. If he had been, the collision with Chilton would not have happened.

CANADA

Qualified 10th. Race finish: 10th. 1 point.

Issue: Lack of running in practice. Kimi complained about the car sliding around more than usual on super softs during qualifying.

There were some brake problems at the beginning of the race. He was always stuck behind cars during the race, particularly Kvyat’s Toro Rosso. There was still more inconsistent handling. The lack of oomph of the Ferrari engine made it very hard to pass even if the pace was much faster. In general it was a very unimpressive race to watch for a Kimi fan. His single point only came due to the crash between Perez and Massa.

AUSTRIA

Qualified 8th. Race finish: 10th. 1 point.

Issue: Made a small mistake in qualifying that cost him 1 or 2 places.

In the race, his brakes started overheating on the 2nd lap, forcing him to slow down. Ferrari let him stay out for 3 or 4 laps too long before his pit-stop, making him lose 3 race positions. He lost 1-2 seconds a lap and was still not brought in. These kind of calls boggle the mind.

BRITAIN

Qualified 18th. Race finish: DNF. 0 points.

Issue: Wet/dry qualifying session. It was a golden chance for Ferrari to take advantage of, but they failed miserably with both drivers.

Kimi had a horrible monster-shunt on the first lap. He ran wide at the exit of turn 5, hit a dip before re-entering the track which made him lose control of the car and crash heavily into the guardrail. It was race over for Kimi, and Bianchi stepped in as test driver as a precaution for the test sessions the following week. Otherwise and thankfully, Kimi was okay to race in Germany.

GERMANY

Qualified 12th. Race finish: 11th. 0 points.

Issue: Once again when fitting the supersofts, the car slid around all over the place. He lost the back end in turn 2 and could only manage 12th.

During the race, Kimi seemed to be the punching bag of choice when passing or being passed. At one point he was sandwiched between a Red Bull and a Mercedes, which made him lose a big part of his front wing. This worsened the graining factor, causing loss of pace. Kimi did however finally say that he was able to drive the car the way he wanted to – apart from these problems. This was the first time we really heard this.

HUNGARY

Qualified 16th. Race finish 6th. 8 points.

Issue: Ferrari made another monumental and disgraceful blunder. They gambled that Kimi’s time was quick enough for Q2. He asked them several times if they were really sure. They were. Except it wasn’t. So Kimi started 16th when he would have been comfortably in Q3.

Still, this was easily the best race for Kimi this year. It was a great fightback from 16th to 6th. If not for getting stuck behind Massa, his result would have been even better. It shows some promise for the remainder of the season.

As you can see (and it has been said before), Kimi’s problem is not that he suddenly decided to suck. It is all about coming to grips with a very unpredictable car in terms of set-up vs Kimi’s driving style. It is about coming to grips with a far from perfect brake-by-wire system. Not to mention battling horrendous team-calls, whether political or not. Throw in the likes of Kevin Magnussen and Max Chilton into the mix and you’ve got a season from hell. But there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

Spa is coming up in less than a week, and there is hope for another great result. Especially when we know how Kimi simply loves this track and has mastered it better than his peers.

Unfortunately though, some realism has to be introduced. Even if the car feels better between Kimi’s hands, the Ferrari power unit is still down on power compared to the Mercedes powered cars. And power does matter a lot more in Belgium than it does in Hungary. But a good result could still be on the table. And heaven knows we Kimi fans need one these days.

Finally, big congratulations to Minttu and Kimi, as they are now expecting a child together. Let us hope that the child will inherit Kimi’s uncanny car feel so that the next generation can also enjoy a Raikkonen phenomenon!