Raikkonen is Uncompetitive, His Retention a Shame: ex F1 Driver

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer recently spoke about Kimi Raikkonen and his switch to Sauber. The Briton believes that it would have been better if the veteran Finn simply retired.

He said, “There are 20 seats available in F1, to have one taken up by an underperforming 38-year old seems a bit of a shame. Raikkonen had his chances.”

However, it is worth noting that Raikkonen has done anything but underperform. The Finnish veteran sits 3rd in the championship and has been very consistent this season.

Further backing this statement is the fact that Raikkonen has been on the podium in six of the last seven races. If anyone is to question his speed, they must cast their mind back to Monza where he scored pole position. The 38-year old even led for most of the race until fading tyres allowed Hamilton to surge ahead.

Now, Kimi has signed a 2-year deal with Alfa Romeo-Sauber for next season. But Palmer feels that the seat was better suited for a younger and faster driver. According to him, Raikkonen should have just retired rather than prolong his career.

However, one can make the argument that if Raikkonen feels that he can still compete, he should stay on. An example is MotoGP legend and 9-time world champion Valentino Rossi. The Italian is now 39-years old but is still going strong. Many were of the opinion that he should quit while he is ahead, but Rossi kept proving why he needs to stay.

Raikkonen could be taking a page out of Rossi’s book and showing why he deserves to stay in F1. This season, Kimi has always been there to pick up the slack whenever Vettel floundered. In addition to that, both he and Vettel get along pretty well with each other. With Charles LeClerc declaring his goal of achieving the 2019 crown, he and Seb could end up butting heads.

At least with Kimi, he knows how to play the team game when he needs to. Some even fear that the Vettel-LeClerc partnership could end up like the Alonso-Hamilton partnership.