Can Raikkonen Regain Form In 2009?

Kimi Raikkonen hasn't had an easy time of it lately. 2008 saw him fail to capitalise on a strong start to the season, and ultimately he only managed to finish joint-third in the championship with Robert Kubica. On four consecutive occasions he even failed to score a point.

Compare this to his teammate who managed to win six races to Raikkonen's two—a teammate who until last year was considered to be the number two driver to help Raikkonen's championship hopes.

Most of Kimi's problems came in qualifying, where he wasn't able to get close enough to the front to make an impact on the race. He showed his speed with 10 fastest laps, but on too many occasions he made mistakes during the weekend.

Belgium is a good example. He was comfortably leading for the majority of the race, but when the rain came, he simply fell apart. This can be attributed to the car, which both drivers showed was a pig in the rain, but I think he just got impatient after Hamilton got past him, overcooked it, and parked in the wall.

He did have some bad luck during the season as well, though. France should have been an easy win until the exhaust fell off, and he would have got a decent haul of points at Canada had Hamilton consulted his highway code that morning. But then every driver has some bad luck, so his below-par season cannot be down just to that.

So what can he do in 2009? Well, he claims to like the car, which is a good start. The new regulations should also play to his advantage. And he always seems to do well in odd-numbered seasons. '01, '03, '05, and '07 were fairly successful for him, and on that basis 2009 should go just as well.

I'm never quite sure what to make of Kimi. Some seasons he can easily challenge for the title, winning numerous races along the way. Occasionally he storms through the field, and can just accelerate away from everybody.

Yet every so often he can stuff it into a wall, and spend the entire season looking like he just doesn't care anymore. However, you can't knock his driving ability, and as long as he's happy, I'm sure he will be back on form and challenging for the 2009 championship.

So according to my articles, Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Robert Kubica will all win this year's championship.

I bet Nick Heidfeld wins it now...