A firm favourite to take the title at the start of the season, the “fastest man on the grid” got off to a dream start at the curtain opener in Australia, beating McLaren new boys Alonso and Hamilton to win on his debut for the Scuderia, the perfect way to start the objective of winning both championships.
After falling off the pace a little, Raikkonen found form in Magny-Cours and Silverstone. He remained consistent for the rest of the season, winning in Spa, Shanghai and Interlagos to achieve his lifelong dream.
Kimi Raikkonen was on top of the world, he was the Formula One World Drivers Champion.
Going into the 2008 season, there was more pressure on Raikkonen than usual, because he was the world champion.
He struggled at the first race in Australia but was quick to get back on track with wins in Malaysia and Spain. He led the championship race going into the Turkish Grand Prix.
But then it fell apart. While teammate Massa won the race, Raikkonen was convincingly beaten by championship rival Hamilton.
It went bad to worse for Raikkonen. Crashing into the back of Sutil in Monaco, being crashed into by Hamilton in Canada, his exhaust coming loose in Magny Cours, having the wrong pit stop strategy at Silverstone, struggling in qualifying at the Hockenheimring, stuck behind Alonso at Hungary, and his engine blowing up in Valencia summarises Raikkonen’s season... literally!
So back to the questions I presented at the start of this article.
Why is the Formula One World Champion letting his crown slip away from him so easily? Why is he letting it fall into the hands of his teammate or Lewis Hamilton?
My opinion is that I don’t think Raikkonen really cares about the championship anymore. He came so close in 2003 and 2005 that all he wanted to do was win the championship at least once and prove that he is one of the best.
Now that he has done that, he isn’t worried about retaining his crown. Money is speaking louder than success to Raikkonen.
So what does the rest of 2008 and the 2009 season hold in store for the Iceman?
I think he will win one more race this season, at his favourite circuit in Belgium.
Then the No. 1 car will become No. 2 at Ferrari, the rest of his season will be concentrated on helping Massa win the championship.
In a way, it is a battle of the Finns. Raikkonen is supporting Massa and trying to take points away from Hamilton whilst Kovalainen supports Hamilton and tries to prevent Massa from scoring big points.
And 2009?
Ferrari will do everything in their power to help both drivers, but if Raikkonen performs as he has done this season, its back to No. 2 duties for him.
We’re watching his career crash in front of his very eyes. Or are we?
What do you think, my fellow Bleachers? What does the future have in store for Kimi Raikkonen? Tell me in your comments and don’t forget to rate!
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