Us f1

[yellowperil]

Kimi out for the season; back surgery. Wonder who will fill his seat at Lotus?

I like these next two races, last years US race was great for a new track, and Brazil always a good race.

On another note, read in a Brit F1 magazine a rumour that Alonso going back to McLaren and Perez out. ???

[GG Allin]

I hear there's a problem with people getting their tickets.

[bell]

What The Hell Is Going On With Tickets For The US Grand Prix?

This link seems to have all the ticket issues in one place......

[Henry Schmidt]

I am definitely a fan of Kimi but to quit a team with two races until the end of the season seems rather punk.
Pay issues and a back ache would not stop a person dedicated to the sport.
I wonder if the brain trust at Ferrari is having second thoughts?

[yellowperil]

No tickets yet! I'd be worried. Hope it all works out.

As to the post about Kimi, I agree he should maybe have stuck it out.

[imcarthur]

There are more races?

Ian

[livi]

Kimi`s back may have turned for the worst and depending on the specific damage it would be plain stupid to not take a pause if the prognosis depends on it. If surgery is on the table, that indicates a serious condition and should be his primary concern in order to be able to come back to racing with a back that is able to hold up in the future. I feel sorry for him. He has never looked like a quitter to me so I suppose the decision was necessary.

[jyl]

If I were Kimi, I would not jeopardize my health, career or next season for the meaningless last two races for a team that hasn't paid me for a year (while paying others, e.g. has team management gone unpaid for a year?)

[Henry Schmidt]

Speculating is interesting.

What we do know is that the original injury is more than two years old.

Kimi claimed he re-injured it (his back) in Singapore.

Since Singapore he has race three times, each time presumably with doctors advise and consent.

Kimi is not happy with Lotus (pay issues) and threatened to boycott the remaining races.

Kimi is under contract to race a whole season and boycotting any race is a breach of contract (of course, perhaps with justification)

Lotus assured the racing community that Kimi would finish the season.

Claiming an injury negates any intentional breach of contract.

"Kimi Raikkonen will miss the final two rounds of 2013 in the USA and Brazil after electing to undergo back surgery, Lotus have confirmed."

The announcement states "electing to undergo", suggesting that there was indeed a choice not a necessity.

Has the condition of his back changed in some way or is Kimi just done with Lotus?

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Get well soon Kimi

[intakexhaust]

Henry, good summary. Forgot where I read KR remarks but claims he hasn't been paid yet this season. Doubt his wallet is thin but how do these payouts work? If he's supposed to get paid according to both Lotus and his terms but they shank, I don't blame him for playing possum.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by Henry Schmidt

Has the condition of his back changed in some way or is Kimi just done with Lotus?

Could be either, only Kimi knows. The fact that he is having surgery means he has a significant problem of some sort. Having had an uncle that suffered through a series of operations to his back for his entire life, about the very last thing I'd want to have surgery on is my back. Last resort only kind of thing...

I once woke up with a back pain so significant that I couldn't stand, sit, walk... or anything else, really. Came out of the blue, no prior history of injury or pain... no idea what it was. Got it fixed by a bonecracker but never forgot it.

It's possible he's decided that resolving the the pain he has is more important to him than racing the last two races. Maybe he feels that his recovery time will be long enough that, if he waited until the end of the season to have the surgery, he wouldn't be back at 100% for the beginning of next season. It wouldn't surprise me if he considers next year's possibilities to be more important than whatever he might achieve in these last two races. Ben Spies essentially went through the same thing this year in MotoGP. He had a surgery late last year and wasn't 100% when the season started this year and it basically screwed his entire 2013 season.

You have to be really fit to drive one of these cars. It's possible his back has kept him from performing as well as he knows he can these last few races. His results haven't been as good as usual. That the reason why?

JR

[yellowperil]

It's a bit surprising that Lotus couldn't or wouldn't pay Kimi for his two seasons.

When he arrived, Lotus was more or less going nowhere. He had two wins and 13 podiums, (mostly 2nds) in about 35 races. Not too shabby. They should have made Kimis salary their number 1 priority.

He certainly earned his keep. IMO

[Henry Schmidt]

In my professional days, I raced with a broken clavicle, bleeding ankle (for a year) and back injuries that would make you cry just sitting still. Bad ankles, knees and bleeding kidneys were a way of life for 12 years. I don't mention this because I was special, to the contrary, I witnessed this kind of dedication every single week from amateurs to seasoned pro alike.
Dedication takes many forms and every competitor has to decide for themselves where they are willing to go to succeed.

[Henry Schmidt]

Changing the subject slightly, I wonder if Brawn admits to buying part of Williams at the US GP? Williams is set to use Mercedes engines next year and have announced Massa as their second driver. Massa and Brawn have history. Does Phil get another bite at the apple? Seems Like the natural move as Patty Lowe takes over at Mercedes rejoining his old team mate Lewis Hambone.

[yellowperil]

And it looks like Heikki Kovalainen might get Kimi's seat for these last two races. Hope he scores a win.

Glad Massa has landed at Williams.

[Henry Schmidt]

Originally Posted by yellowperil

And it looks like Heikki Kovalainen might get Kimi's seat for these last two races. Hope he scores a win.

Glad Massa has landed at Williams.

It would be a blast from the past to see Williams rise to the glory of their championship history. Could a leader like Brawn be the key to a resurgence? I think the answer is obviously, yes.
We can only hope.........

[450knotOffice]

Personally, I would love to see a shakeup at the front and see Williams join the fray as legitimate contenders week to week.

As far as Kimi is concerned, my opinion (after having had back issues that are unbelievably painful - it truly IS the foundation of one's body) is that if he is electing to have surgery on it, the pain is likely VERY real and has probably progressed to the point where he truly can not drive to anywhere near his potential, and likely the injury would resurface next season at Ferrari. I think he's smart to take care of this now.

Also, not being paid for an extended period is a breach of contract. Why do people forget that?

[javadog]

If I what I read about Kimi's contract is true, he gets an additional 50,000 Euros for every point he earns. Not bad motivation to get out of bed and race, even for a rich guy.

MAybe his back does hurt...

JR

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Guys think you are missing the big picture here, RBR may have won both championships but you only need to look at the championship standings to see some teams will be fighting to the last lap.

Final championship positions means money and lots of it, the higher a team finishes the more a team gets

F1 racing is utterly ruthless, in some ways its better for it and in many ways it suffers because of it, you can't compare any type of racing you may or may not have done as its a very different world