Ex-F1 driver slams Kimi Raikkonen for lacking Michael Schumacher’s work ethic
David Coulthard reasoned why Kimi Raikkonen's F1 career was only limited to a single world championship in comparison to Michael Schumacher.
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Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher (Via IMAGO)
Kimi Raikkonen was the last Ferrari world champion as he bagged his solitary title in 2007. He was deemed as the successor to Michael Schumacher after his title triumph but was unable to mount a title fight since then. Subsequently, ex-F1 driver David Coulthard dwelled deeper into the caveats of the Finn’s career and criticized him for his lack of work ethic.
Michael Schumacher joined Ferrari in 1996 and built the team from the ground up. The Italian powerhouse had been struggling for the past decade and required a figure like the German to bring the championship glory back to Maranello. However, when the 55-year-old announced his first retirement in 2006, Kimi Raikkonen subbed in to fill his void for the subsequent season.
The 45-year-old soon got the hang of the Ferrari and won his maiden title with the team in his first attempt at a championship classic in Brazil. On the contrary, since then, his prime seemingly ended as people reckoned that he had spent his glory days in McLaren fighting unreliable machinery and salvaged a single title with Ferrari.
With such claims always surrounding the iceman, his former teammate David Coulthard gave an insight into the whole ordeal. He admitted that Raikkonen had heaps of talent but fell short of Michael Schumacher in one dimension.
He had a lot of talent, and he won a World Championship. But if he had the work ethic of Michael Schumacher, he would have won more. Michael controlled the engineers and mechanics at the circuit and in the factory. He held them accountable, and they understood it.
David Coulthard said on the Red Flags podcast
However, Raikkonen’s career has been labeled by moments of brilliance. The Finn has been highly regarded even in modern F1 times and remains to be a legend.
David Coulthard explained the importance of forming bonds with team personnel
On the other hand, Coulthard himself had been a highly regarded driver in the paddock. Despite his later stint at Red Bull, the Scottish driver still remains closely linked to the F1 world. Moreover, his vast experience has given him a great understanding of how things work. Including the importance of forming bonds with team personnel. Schumacher was known for expressing such traits, and the 53-year-old understood the importance of it.
If you’re there standing over engineers and mechanics, they feel it, it empowers them. You are the fuel that helps drive them forward.
David Coulthard said on the Red Flags podcast
Despite Coulthard’s encouragement of forming bonds, the majority of current F1 drivers don’t employ Schumacher’s way of forming bonds. This acts as a hurdle in a team’s progress, which separates such drivers from world champion material.
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Geetansh Pasricha
(742 Articles Published)