We know how much sheer pace he used to have in his McLaren days, but is he still returning to full form after his 2 year gap? After taking back to back podiums and closing in on Victory in the final stages of Bahrain and Spain I would have said he was performing in the same league as Vet, Alo and Ham. But after a dissapointing 9th and 8th when his rookie teammate looked like doing better in Monaco and took 2nd in Montreal It suddenly looks quite different. Despite crashing out of 3 races when Raikkonen has finished all of them his rookie teammate only trails him by 2 points. Obviously he deserves his seat and is a more than competent driver, but is he still in the top flight that the leading trio are? And will he be performing better next year with a full season under his belt since the break?
No, but then again is the Lotus truly in the same league as the Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari? I think Kimi has had some bad luck this year and I feel he just about has the measure over Grosjean, purely because I don't think he's going to suddenly spin off.
No, in his prime, him Alonso and Schumi were the big guns (and I want to say Montoya ) However now he is in the league just below with Button, Rosberg etc
I think referring to Grosjean as Raikkonen's rookie team mate is a bit demeaning, the lad is a class act and Raikkonen has had a couple of years out. Neither driver has driven on Pirelli tyres before, they've both got a lot to learn. Once Kimi gets himself fully up to speed he'll be one of the strongest drivers on the grid, as good as Hamilton in my opinion.
I think it hard to compare a driver who has been absent for 2 years, in what is effectively mid field car (budget wise) with drivers who have been in the leading cars competing for the WDC! Maybe it would be better to reflect at this time next season, assuming Lotus are still competitive!
I agree with this. I don't think it's reasonable to expect him to be there straight away against those three, who also have richer teams. He's still got 'it' and it looks like his team mate has too, which may also make Kimi look less good.
I guess I'm one of the few people who believes that Kimi has been rubbish ever since he left Mclaren, yes, even the year he won the WDC. He's done a lot better than I thought he would this year but Grosjean has done even better. I think he's been outdriven by his team-mate at times. (though he has also had bad luck and strategy calls, see China)
Kimi has done okay so far. A good haul of points on the board, but the signs that he gets disinterested quickly are still there, see Monaco steering rack fiasco. I expect him to get better as the year goes on, but so will Grosjean as his experience and confidence grows. Will be closely matched between those two.
I'm one of the very few that didn't really think he was such an elite driver in the first place, even at the top of his game I don't think he was at the level Hamilton, Alonso & Vettel are at now, I feel he raced during an era of poor talent.
Seconded. He did not race during an era of poor talent, 20 other drivers cannot be classed as "poor", the driver in question is "exceptional".
