'Kimi has reached the end of the road'
'Kimi has reached the end of the road'
Former Formula One driver and current motorsport analyst Martin Brundle believes that Ferrari should be "concerned" about the 2018 performances of Kimi Raikkonen in the driver's championship, and that the Finn has "reached the end of the road" of his career at the top level.
Raikkonen is currently placed fifth in the driver rankings after having claimed three podium positions, but his team-mate Sebastian Vettel leads the pack in the top spot, and nearly has double the amount of points of recorded by the Finn despite being in the same car.
Even though Vettel leads the driver's championship, Ferrari are second in the constructor's championship behind Mercedes, and Brundle reckons Raikkonen's current troubles should leave the Scuderia concerned about his future within the team.
"Ferrari have to be concerned about Kimi," said the Sky F1 commentator.
"l know he's one of the most popular drivers around, but after another mistake in qualifying he finished nearly 30 seconds behind his team-mate on Sunday.
"What are they going to do? In my view Kimi has reached the end of the road. He still shows a flash of real speed from time to time but he can't relentlessly deliver the required race pace any more.
READ MORE: Leclerc 'proud' of Sauber progress
READ MORE: Vettel leapfrogs Hamilton with Canada triumph
"Nor is he working as an effective rear-gunner to Seb.
"Winning the Constructors' Championship is super-important to Ferrari - they don't put the list of their titles on their road car dashboards for fun - and if they want to win it in this era against Red Bull or Mercedes they need a Ricciardo or a Leclerc alongside Vettel next year.
"And Vettel needs to deal with that."
Brundle has suggested Charles Leclerc could be the man to replace Raikkonen for the 2019 season, as he thinks the young rookie has what it takes to don the famous red.
"He clearly has the head for F1, and he just looks like the complete package, even if his picture in the F1 grid graphics make him look like a startled Harry Potter," Brundle continued.
"Ferrari don't often take risks on young drivers but there's a changing of the guard going on between generations.
"The field can be divided into three groups with the likes of Fernando and Kimi at one end, Grosjean and Hulkenberg in the middle ground, and a group of young fliers coming through - and Ferrari don't want to be caught out."
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Haas announce Hulkenberg EXIT as F1 star's new team confirmed
- 2 hours ago
F1 champion claims Drive to Survive success was 'very lucky'
- 9 minutes ago
F1 franchise welcomes return of INCREDIBLE feature
- 1 hour ago
F1 News Today: Red Bull star set to QUIT team as F1 driver role CONFIRMED for 2025
- 1 hour ago
F1 team set to axe BOTH star drivers
- 2 hours ago
Red Bull to lose F1 MVP as true cost of Horner saga hits
- Today 09:57
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860