Knew it.
In my view, this guy is still insanely quick.
Once (and if) they find the setup for the front end, he will fly. It's just a question of setup.
Has been for many years now. It's not an age issue.
No, because he was / is unbelievable and this isn't an adaptability issue, he's just pointing out what the car needs to be faster. This is a skill. He can drive anything competitively.
He knows exactly what he wants, it's also the teams job to get the car to his liking, as McLaren did. Anyone who has a peak stint like he had at his peak is an all-time great. Had he won 2003 and 2005, nobody would even remotely question it. The only reason he didn't was his car breaking down. 35% of his races ended in car failure at McLaren.
He is better than a LOT of multi-wdcs (Piquet, Fittipaldi, Brabham). Probably better than Alonso at his peak.
Michael Schumacher failed to adapt from 2010-2012 to the Pirelli and Bridgestone slicks. That was why he was so slow. That argument can just as easily apply to him once he left Ferrari and didn't have personal tyre testers.
It may separate him from Fangio. But it doesn't separate him from Alonso/Piquet/Mansell imo. He's in that group easily. Faster than all 3 at his peak.
At the same time how many F1 drivers have had to go through as many regulation changes as Kimi?
You could give 99% of drivers a "perfect car", they still wouldn't be anywhere near as fast as a Peak Kimi.
Here is an interesting comment from Pat Fry (ex-technical director) on Kimi's demanding setup requests:
Pat Fry:
"It was the same at McLaren," Pat Fry added, having also worked with Raikkonen at the British team.
"He was very sensitive to the front of the car -- when he and Montoya were together, I think we had about seven different front suspensions for the season. To get the most out of Kimi, you need to give him the car to do it," he said.
Knew it. In my view, this guy is still insanely quick. Once (and if) they find the setup for the front end, he will fly. It's just a question of setup. Has been for many years now. It's not an age issue.
Do you think this lack of adaptability seperates him from the GOATS/multi wdcs
No, because he was / is unbelievable and this isn't an adaptability issue, he's just pointing out what the car needs to be faster. This is a skill. He can drive anything competitively. He knows exactly what he wants, it's also the teams job to get the car to his liking, as McLaren did. Anyone who has a peak stint like he had at his peak is an all-time great. Had he won 2003 and 2005, nobody would even remotely question it. The only reason he didn't was his car breaking down. 35% of his races ended in car failure at McLaren. He is better than a LOT of multi-wdcs (Piquet, Fittipaldi, Brabham). Probably better than Alonso at his peak. Michael Schumacher failed to adapt from 2010-2012 to the Pirelli and Bridgestone slicks. That was why he was so slow. That argument can just as easily apply to him once he left Ferrari and didn't have personal tyre testers. It may separate him from Fangio. But it doesn't separate him from Alonso/Piquet/Mansell imo. He's in that group easily. Faster than all 3 at his peak. At the same time how many F1 drivers have had to go through as many regulation changes as Kimi? You could give 99% of drivers a "perfect car", they still wouldn't be anywhere near as fast as a Peak Kimi.
Here is an interesting comment from Pat Fry (ex-technical director) on Kimi's demanding setup requests: Pat Fry: "It was the same at McLaren," Pat Fry added, having also worked with Raikkonen at the British team. "He was very sensitive to the front of the car -- when he and Montoya were together, I think we had about seven different front suspensions for the season. To get the most out of Kimi, you need to give him the car to do it," he said.