The German Grand Prix, July 20th, Hockenheim. 24 year-old Finn Valtteri Bottas takes his third consecutive podium in a row for a resurgent Williams team. Bottas is a hungry and determined young man yet he has that cool, laid-back Finnish attitude that many try to duplicate but only the Finns perfect.
The German Grand Prix, July 20th, Hockenheim. 34 year-old Finn Kimi Raikkonen comes home 11th after an up and down race. Raikkonen forms a disgruntled figure. His best result so far in 2014 is 7th, he currently sits 12th in the Drivers’ World Championship and is yet to out-race his team-mate Fernando Alonso. He is still mono-syllabic and laid-back – but, and it’s a big but, he is not so cool anymore – the iceman is melting.
Two Finns, one very different race, one very different season. What’s next for F1’s flying Finns?
Let’s start with Kimi. Now I’m a big Kimi fan and it’s hard to see a driver I respect so much deteriorate so dramatically but it’s there for everyone to see. Of course what is also there for everyone to see is that the F14 T is a pig of a car but Alonso, as he so often does, has made the very most out of the car wringing its neck every single lap – making Kimi look mediocre in the process.
In comparison Bottas is a real breath of fresh air. Just like Kimi he says very little out of the car because he does all his talking with a steering wheel. And boy can he talk. Bottas is currently 5th in the Drivers’ World Championship ahead of four-time champion Sebastien Vettel. Unlike Kimi he is leading his team and is widely tipped to become a World Champion in the very near future.
So what next for both drivers? Well for Bottas the possibilities are endless. He has the world at his feet. Does he have the car to win this year? Very possibly. Does he have the ability to win races this year? Certainly. Even Frank Williams himself sees something special in Bottas: “Every Team Principal dream of finding a young driver who has just come down from heaven specially to drive racing cars – We hope Valtteri is like that.”
For Kimi his road is inevitably coming to and end. He recently suggested his career in F1 would come to an end when his contract expires at the end of 2015. But will he even last that long? It still remains to be seen but Ferrari do have a lot of confidence in Kimi and of course have a lot of respect him considering he was their most recent champion back in 2007. Hopefully Kimi can bow out of F1 with some dignity and this may only happen if he calls it quits early – it’s harsh but true.
So what we currently have here is two fantastic drivers who are identical in so many ways it’s scary. They’re both ice-cold, ruthless and simply love to drive. Yet they are completely opposite in where their careers are heading. Kimi, as I mentioned above, is crawling to the end of his illustrious Formula One career while Bottas is blossoming into a steely, unfazed and brutally clinical driver who is destined to become a champion.
All I know is Finland will always produce pure, thoroughbred racing drivers. Eläköön suomi!
