Kimi In, Massa Out

In the sheer space of an hour one long term driver has left Ferrari while a former champion comes home.

Felipe Massa announced tonight on Twitter that he would be leaving at the end of the year, and thanked his team and family for supporting him through 8 turbulent years.

Just Massa packs away his office supplies, the last man to win a world championship at Ferrari has came home, beating people like Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta for the seat.

The BBC has announced that Kimi Raikkonen has signed a one year deal with the option for 2015. As I mentioned previously the ideal scenario for Kimi would have been Massa as a team mate, but the prospect for a Kimi Raikkonen-Fernando Alonso line up is indeed mouth watering from the outside.

Inside our wonderful world of Formula 1 though, it creates a certain fear in the mind. Who gets the number 1 spot? I can't remember a time when Ferrari even thought of an equal driver policy. It's either on or the other and if Luca di Montezemolo & Stefano Domenicali had any sense they would give Raikkonen the role of number 1 driver.

He'll be a fresh albeit returning face, but he'll create a whirlwind of excitement for the Tifosi and the Ferrari team in Italy. At the end of the day, Alonso has nil championships at Ferrari, Kimi has 1. Fernando may have two overall but any bets should be with Kimi.

It would be hard not to be sad for Massa. I've never been a huge fan of him but I've always respected him. But I guess when your time comes you'll know about it. Here is is farewell message on Instagram: 

"From 2014 i will no longer be driving for Ferrari. I would like to thank the team for all the victories and incredible moments experienced together. Thank you also to my wife and all of my family, to my fans and all my Sponsors. From each one of you I have always received a great support! Right now I want to push as hard as possible with Ferrari for the remaining 7 races. For next year, I want to find a team that can give me a competitive car to win many more races and challenge for the Championship which remains my greatest objective! Thank you all. Felipe"

The person who will probably miss him more than Fernando Alonso is poor Rob Smedly. They were like brothers and can you honestly imagine Rob talking any nonsense from Kimi over the radio?

The bottom line is, Kimi still has championship potential in him. The key factor in all of this is James Allison. He is the most important factor for 2014. The fact him and Kimi are back together again can only mean positive things. 

I am honestly so excited for next season that I do not give a damn about this season. Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel should be very, very worried. That's only if the Alonso-Raikkonen situation is managed very carefully.

7 Most Impressive Drivers So Far: Kimi Raikkonen

You knew he had to feature on the list at some point! Nobody had a better start to the season than Kimi Raikkonen when he proved strategy is key to winning a race when he stormed the Australian GP.

Nobody could have predicted that, least of all me, so he certainly had his name down for a title chase.Ten races in and he is the closest man to the greatest pretender of them all, Sebastian Vettel. Despite only winning one race so far, Kimi currently sits in second place after five P2 finishes.

However even for a die hard fan like me, Raikkonen's performances have been disappointing, particularly the Monaco to Silverstone run. 





Granted, Sergio Perez hitting him helped nobody's cause, but Kimi should not have been in that position in the first place. Qualifying pace has eluded Raikkonen all last season and has lingered back this year but in Monaco he should have been on the ball more.

Canada was probably one of the worst Kimi performances I have seen. Getting lapped by the race leaders was heart breaking to watch, it looked as though he just didn't want to be there. Silverstone was a better race, he probably didn't want to push so hard on the tyres given the situation.

Raikkonen should definitely have won a few of the races where he came second. China, Bahrain, Germany are all GP's he should have won. Passing up way too many chances to pass, and getting stuck behind Mercedes cars especially are reasons why Kimi isn't sitting top.

So you might be wondering "why Kimi is even on this list", "why are you bashing your favourite driver?"

He's on this list because of his determination and attitude to improve.Despite only winning a 1/4 of the GP's that Vettel has this season, he's only 38 points adrift of the championship. That's simply incredible. Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg both sit below Raikkonen with multiple wins.

Raikkonen definitely holds the crown of consistency king, setting the most points finishes record shows that by far. He's doing the best with what he's got, and that's quite a bit considering the very small budget and back room staff issues Lotus currently have (losing James Allison).

The only reason of why I'm hard on Kimi is because I'm not one of these people totally mesmerised by their favourite. All eight of the Vettel fans world wide can't see that the car is doing all the work (IN MY OPINION) but I can see that Raikkonen has flaws. But I can also see him working on them, which makes for a complete racing legend.

Kimi will go down in history as one of the greats, and you read it here first, Kimi Raikkonen will be 2013 Driver's World Champion.

Where Does Allison's Departure Leave Lotus?

As I am sure many of you have already heard, Lotus technical director James Allison, mastermind behind the team's current heavyweight E21 car has handed in his notice at the Enstone outfit. They certainly weren't long in replacing him, instead of luring outside talent, they elected to promote within, and Nick Chester (ex engineering directer) was the unlucky man to fill huge shoes.

James Allison (Centre)

When the news first broke, my immediate thought was: please don't let him go to Mercedes. After their recent recruitment drive spurred big names like Toto Wolff and of course, Lewis Hamilton to join, and with the looming threat over Ross Brawn's future, it looked like a perfect fit. But the team were quick to quash all rumours, stating that they had "a wealth of technical talent."

Considering he is one of the brightest technical minds in F1, it was always highly unlikely that he was for Red Bull, considering they have Adrian Newey controlling the show over there. There is also no way he'd want to join the sinking ship of McLaren, so that only leaves one team.

Sources are already confirming that talks have begun, but a deal has yet to be signed. Truth be told, it's the only place where he has now. He'll be going back to the team where he worked for 5 years, arguably 5 of the most successful in the Scuderia when Michael Schumacher dominated the sport.

Lotus's number 1 driver Kimi Raikkonen will be out of contract at the end of the season, and with increasing interest from Red Bull, it looks as though Allison's departure could be the deciding factor for his future. His title challenge will also suffer. Even though Nick Chester will have been kept up to date with future update packages, there's only so far that will take them. The pressure of the drivers championship may hit him hard, leaving Kimi with no foot to stand on.

Kimi in his own unique style brushed off the news, saying "for me it does not make a difference" and that counting him out of the title would be "stupid."

Allison's departure to the Lotus faithful is a huge blow considering the blistering start to the 2013 season. Questions I want answered are: Why, and how much does he know about 2014? 

2014 - The Formula 1 Tsunami

No doubt by now you've heard me bang on about the regulation changes to the current engine formula (that has been in place since 2006) which will make teams reinvent the way Formula 1 cars are designed in 2014. Lotus technical director James Allison has provided further insight into why the 2014 season is going to be such an important milestone in Formula 1 history.

"2009 changes were a ripple compared with the tsunami in 2014" - James Allison

Allison was talking specifically about the most recent set of regulation changes which impacted aerodynamics involving altering the levels of downforce to improve the chances of overtaking.

The brains behind the new Lotus E21 also stated that work on the 2014 challenger began as early as mid season 2011.

"Most of the way the 2014 championship will be was laid out sometime ago and you deal with a huge change like that by not leaving it to the last minute before you think about it."

Allison also believes that Renault (the team's engine supplier) will not prioritise championship team Red Bull over Lotus.

"They (Renault) offer an even-handed approach but they are also extremely conscious of the fact they need to make a car that works well in 2014, not just an engine."

Even though Red Bull are the works team, Lotus was still Renault for years. In my eyes the supplier will always be closer to Lotus than Red Bull.

Lotus E21

The E21 has got off to a flying start in Jerez for pre-season testing with Romain Grosjean running the car for the first two days and 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen taking over for the final two.

Final Lap Times For The E21 So Far:

Day One: Romain Grosjean 1.19.796s (3rd fastest on the day)

Day Two: Romain Grosjean 1.18.218s (fastest time of the day)

Day Three: Kimi Raikkonen 1.19.200s (4th fastest on the day)

Lotus E21

It's the day I have been waiting for since Brazil had ended! It's the time of year when teams start unveiling their brand new machinery for the season ahead. Lotus F1 opened the honour for us, live on YouTube and Sky Sports News. 

I provided live coverage on Twitter and now I'm going to review the Lotus E21. The 'E' stands for Enstone which is where the team is based, and the number is the amount of years the team and their previous incarnations have lived there. I watched the launch live on YouTube and the photos used are all screen shots from my laptop. The fact that teams are now unleashing their new beasts to the public is great and I loved seeing Kimi again, however it's not all highs as I'm about to explain. Here's my review of the Lotus E21 through live pictures.

The screen to the live feed on YouTube. The music was SO annoying!

The ceremony was supposed to be outside in a marquee, however due to heavy winds the event was moved in doors. It took the team only 90 minutes to do so. Well done to them!

Gerard Lopez, chairman of Lotus Formula 1 Team. He was discussing the success of last year and the ambitions for the upcoming season, including challenging both championships and placing 3rd overall.

Eric Boullier, Lotus F1 Team Principle. When discussing Kimi, he noted how he proved the doubters wrong, stating his motivation was nothing but well driven all season. When questioned about Romain Grosjean, he noted how great his qualifying results were but he also mentioned that he "raced well." Now correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the team principle sits at the side of the track and views both drivers performances live. Did he miss all of Grosjean's mishaps?! Particularly the one that nearly killed Fernando Alonso?! There were better drivers Eric, but making sure Romain knows he is without doubt a number 2 driver like Massa and Webber before him is a well thought through move.

James Allison, Lotus F1  Technical Director. More from him later.

Romain Grosjean. 3 podiums in 2012 including a second place in Canada.

Kimi Raikkonen 2007 Drivers World Champion. 7 podiums in 2012 including winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Notice the new Alpine Star race suit and the extra red.

Both drivers taking the cover off the brand new E21. For being the worlds fastest drivers, they took their time taking it off!

The first glimpse of the E21. Right after last season ended, Lotus announced a sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola owned energy drink Burn. The logo also appears on the drivers suits.

Continuing the iconic black and gold colours, we see the first hint of red on the side pod, but my worst fear had come true, the stepped nose is still there. More on that later.

The first full picture of the Lotus E21. What first struck me is the addition of the colour red. For me this is straying too far from the classic livery. 

A great angle. Notice Kimi's name above the drivers cockpit. Kimi is displayed on both sides, as is the number 7 (Grosjean is therefore number 8 as displayed on his cap).

Another shot of the rear.

Lotus were very coy in letting the camera men view the car, notice there are no shots of the diffuser . Hiding something are we team? Back to the stepped nose; Allison stated that the team had chosen to keep the stepped nose as the cosmetic cover they had trialled weighed several grams.  He noted until they find a material that won't affect the cars performance, they will run the stepped nose all season. I find this extremely disappointing, I was looking forward to seeing the return of our beautiful shaped cars but if it's not beneficial to run a cover, then most teams will follow suit. McLaren didn't have a stepped nose last year and their car was by far the best looking in terms of chassis. If I was Bernie or Jean Todt, I'd force both Sauber and Caterham to cover their cars. They were by far the most extreme and disgusting looking. 

A close up of Kimi's name on the side, I think it is a terrific touch, really impressed.

Kimi made a series of very important comments tonight. When asked about why he stayed, he simply replied "because of a contract." From the outside this sounds like he had no choice. However at the end he went on to say he was happy overall. Lopez made a very good comment early on when he stated Kimi was not "relaxed", rather he was in his perfect environment, and I believe this is why he's happy and proved every doubter wrong. You know who you are and I simply say: "ha." 

E21

Overall I'm not really impressed. When I think about Lotus, I think about Senna making his bones, Graham Hill winning the World Championship, 7 constructors championships and all in a black and gold livery. There is far too much red and I suspect it has something to do with Burn being named as a major sponsor. It doesn't affect the performance of the car but because it's my favourite team, I have a fancy for the body work.

As for the technical side of proceedings, I'm not one for spotting it from afar whenever it's not written on paper for me to make sense of. I've been told they are running double DRS this season after last seasons failed development.

Kimi Raikkonen in the 2013 attire.

I was quite negative about the event after it. The amount of red had me feeling blue and then I wanted to step through the TV to cover up the stepped nose but the aspect that ruined my night was the coverage. I hate Rupert Murdoch, he is a fascist and neo-Nazi in disguise. Murdoch owns Sky, bought all F1 rights off BBC meaning I can't watch all races live. You can probably tell, I do not like Sky. Essentially Sky F1 consists of Georgie Thompson wearing literally NOTHING, Ted Kavitz being the team's bitch and Martin Brundle taking centre stage, often leading the programmed to be called "The Martin Brundle Show." Damon Hill also dropped in my estimations with his association with the show. Simply put, I hate Sky.

Romain Grosjean in the 2013 attire,

Now you know why I hate sky, I'll tell you why tonight was a huge disappointment. The arrogance and ignorance of the presenter tonight was appalling. In true Sky spirit, he was rude enough to take the spotlight away from Lotus to ask everyone (INCLUDING MY KIMI) about Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. Who does he think he is? How dare he actually be that despicable and try to cover a big issue because it's the only live time they'll get with a team. His ethics were horrible but what can you expect from a man employed by some of the worst men and women in history. Criminals in suits.

E21

I hope the rest of the launches go down better than this one, you can find the dates here for the rest of the launches.

E21

Don't forget, I am also a writer for Let's Talk F1 who are providing reviews similar to this one for every car launch. On the 31st of January I will be reviewing the McLaren MP4-28, so be sure to keep up to date with the site throughout the season as our talented group bring you awesome articles through a passion for the sport like none other. You can follow us @LetsTalkF1 on Twitter.