Veteran Raikkonen opens up
Formula 1 veteran Kimi Raikkonen believes that tougher stewarding on bigger incidents would eliminate “stupidity” from drivers.
The FIA is constantly adapting its stewarding process to try to improve the policing of bad driving, ranging from appointing former racing drivers to its panel of race officials back in 2010 to tweaking how those stewards should consider applying penalties. New penalty options and a driver penalty-points system are among the ways the governing body has recently tried to clamp down indiscretions.
Stewards have been criticised heavily by several drivers for being too harsh with penalties, but Raikkonen believes the perception that they have been “very strong” is incorrect. “It’s so random that you cannot really say it’s very strong,” he told Autosport in an exclusive interview. “If you are strong enough to stop certain stupidity that is happening, I think we wouldn’t have to have these small penalties here and there, for no big reason. Sometimes you have a good reason, sometimes not – but it’s so random. If you would be really strict in the main points, then the whole thing would change.”
Raikkonen was speaking in a wideranging interview during which he opened up about the strongest season of his second spell with Ferrari, his irritation at media “bullshit” and F1 politics, and the impact of having to leave his young family so often.
It continues a theme of the Finn being much more relaxed in the aftermath of signing a deal to return to Sauber for the next two seasons. Part of the reason he is excited to rejoin Sauber, having started his F1 career there, is because its Hinwil base is close to his home in Switzerland.
“With kids, like our son, I went through the time that he is always hanging on your leg,” he said. “That’s pretty nasty, when you have to say, ‘OK, daddy comes home in two weeks’, and the daughter is getting more into that now. Sometimes when you’re tired [at races], then you think, ‘Oh, why am I here? I could be somewhere else, home’.”
Prior to inking his Sauber deal, the 2007 world champion was subject to much speculation over his future, initially with rumours that Mclaren was interested in its former driver before suggestions that he would lose his Ferrari drive and retire.
“I think how much bullshit there is in the media, and stories and gossip and stuff – if that wasn’t so much, F1 would be much better,” said Raikkonen. “People try to create so much nonsense that it actually starts harming F1. I think if there would be less nonsense and more actual things that are true it would be better for F1 in many ways.”
Raikkonen’s no-nonsense approach has helped build a strong working relationship with team-mate Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari and is part of the reason his second stint at the team, which was winless until the recent United States Grand Prix, has lasted so long.
He said politics “plays a big part” but, like with gossip, F1 “would be better” without it. “If you take any sport these days, probably it’s the same story with lots of money involved,” he said. “It’s not good for the sport, but it’s just people like to play games.”
Raikkonen has been joined in criticising parts of the media by his team boss
Maurizio Arrivabene. The Italian took fire at “fake news” reports claiming he had a strained relationship with Mattia Binotto, and rumours that the technical director could leave to join Mercedes or Renault.
“The rumours about Mattia are fake news, put around to create instability in the team,” Arrivabene said. “It is an attempt to try to create problems where there are no problems, and I do not want to comment on false rumours anymore. During this season there have been many attempts at destabilisation, sometimes with stories about the drivers, others about the technicians.”
“SOMETIMES YOU THINK, ‘WHY AM I HERE? I COULD BE AT HOME WITH THE KIDS’”