Ferrari: Di Montezemolo and Alonso talk about Räikkönen

The upcoming 2014 season will feature among its many questions how the coexistence of two world champions, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen, will unfold at Ferrari, a first in the Scuderia’s history since 1953.

Luca di Montezemolo, one of the architects of Kimi Räikkönen’s return to Ferrari after three seasons from 2007 to 2009, including a driver world championship title, is excited about the Finn’s return so far: « Kimi has been better than I expected. He has been well-received by fans around the world, he is even more popular with the fans, and this is important within the team, » he stated to Autosport.

« I think the main reason I’m positive is that Kimi, especially during the races, is very strong, so he will be in a position to take points, even from some of Fernando’s competitors, and to score points for the team. He’s a very fair guy. Since he’s been with us, we’ve had no problems. »

He believes that placing the two men on the same team poses a potential risk but calls on their sense of responsibility: « Regarding [the comments] about the fact that putting them together – Alonso and Räikkönen – would be dangerous? In F1, I accept the attitude of advocating for egalitarianism, sometimes too much so, but everything is a factor of potential dangers. I think Fernando knows that he drives not just for himself but for Ferrari, and Räikkönen knows he is in the second half of his career, and [he has] two very important years ahead of him. They are responsible, and I think Kimi’s presence will be extremely important and helpful in not leaving Fernando alone at the front of the grid fighting from the first to the last lap. »

The sum of individual interests is never equal to the interest of Scuderia Ferrari, reminds the head of the Maranello firm: Domenicali has clearly spoken to both of them, and they have the honor and responsibility to drive for Ferrari. Every driver since I’ve been here knows that they must not drive for themselves but for the team. If some drivers want to drive for themselves, there are many possibilities; they can create their own team, they can go to another team, but at Ferrari, these are the rules, and it is very clear.

By a twist of the calendar, an event organized by Fernando Alonso’s sponsor, the Spanish bank Santander, took place in Madrid at the end of the week. Once again, it was an opportunity for the two-time world champion of 2005 and 2006 to comment on who will be his future colleague: « There is a lot of misinformation about my new teammate. You’ve read things that I haven’t actually said. I think he can be an asset to the team next year. Between Kimi and me, that’s 12 years of experience each, which can help us develop the car in certain areas that are new. »

He refuses, however, to subject himself to the judgment of someone he does not know: « I cannot give my opinion on Kimi because I don’t know him. There are others who can give their opinion on people they don’t know, but I can’t. And having neither shared a team with him nor spent more than 10 minutes with him, I cannot say who he is. »

On the other hand, it is certain that the work they will do together will be good and will help the team to move forward: « With Felipe, I shared four years and he was a good person, and we worked for Ferrari together in an effective and professional manner. I think Kimi will be the same, but it’s difficult for me to give an opinion today. It is important that we work together and that a red car, whatever it is, crosses the line first. »

This year, we had a sad or disastrous season, according to some people. I think the reason to be more optimistic next year is that I am with Ferrari, which is a top team that can do great things, he concluded, as quoted by Autosport.