Kimi Raikkonen has never been one to mince his words, and was not shy to describe his below par weekend at the Mexican Grand Prix where Ferrari endured their first double DNF since the 2006 season and prompting the question: Is Kimi past his sell buy date?
Raikkonen summed up his adventure at the Autodrome Hermanos Rodriguez, "A sh*t weekend but we go for the next one and hopefully at one point, certain things will turn around and we'll start getting good results."
But really you could replace 'weekend' with 'year' as he is enduring his very own "Annus horribilis" to quote Queen Elizabeth II.
"It's not nice for me or for the team but it's a part of a game and unfortunately we've been going through that for quite a while. I'm sure we will get a good result," mused the Finnish veteran who has not won a race since to 2013 Australian Grand Prix.
In Mexico he had another altercation with felow Finn Valtteri Bottas, the pair colliding as they did in during the Russian Grand Prix and subsequently hogging headlines, particularly in their homeland as media try to ignite a rivalry between the two.
"I don't think it helps or changes anything. What has happened has happened and maybe [Bottas] feels better now [about] what happened in Russia," Raikkonen said of the coming together.
"I have nothing against anybody. In the end, this is racing and if he has a better feeling now, it's good for him, but things have a certain way of working out in the long run," he added.
Relative to his new teammate Sebastian Vettel, Raikkonen's 2015 record speaks for itself: Vettel has scored 12 podiums of which three were victories, has 251 points to his credit and only one DNF. In contrast Raikkonen has two podiums, no wins and 123 points coupled to five DNFs of which at least three were of his own doing.
Earlier in the season his lack of form prompted speculation that he was to be dropped by Ferrari, but he has been retained for another year which triggered debate about his ability to be an asset for the Maranello outfit if they do mount a serious challenge for the title next season.
Speaking to Sky respected and vastly experienced F1 journo Maurice Hamilton said, "He's 36 now and the oldest driver out there, he's not the Kimi he was..."
"The Kimi that we all loved and remember in 2003, 2005... full-on, going for it, time's gone on and I think it's beginning to tell. He's a driver who lived on his reactions - phenomenal reactions - but when you get older, those reactions aren't there anymore and it will tell."
"It is beginning to show and he's just not the driver he was and it's just so sad to see," added Hamilton.
Formula 1 veteran Mike Gascoyne observed, "Kimi, if he can perform at the right level, is a guy who doesn't really care what else is happening, doesn't care if the other guy is beating him to pole, just gets on and does what he does, can be a good alternative."
"But ultimately he's also got to be able to perform and what we saw at the weekend [in Mexico] is if Sebastian has a pretty lacklustre performance, which he did, then Ferrari look pretty lacklustre because Kimi isn't going to step up now and take that on from the lead driver. He's not performing at that level."
Note: Below this article (above the comments) we are polling whether Raikkonen should remain in Formula 1.
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