Raikkonen so cool, says Dennis
New McLaren signing Kimi Raikkonen has been described as an incredibly cool customer by team boss Ron Dennis after outqualifying team-mate David Coulthard at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Asked to compare Raikkonen with a 1993 Mika Hakkinen (the year in which the former double champion first drove for McLaren), Dennis said: "I honestly think that nationality is an irrelevance, although there are certain traits in Finns which seem to be unique to that country.
"Kimi is so incredibly cool that I think that aspect of his personality surpasses even Mika. He is not fazed by anything. And he knows what a car is doing although the depth of the team and the data and experience we have can help make that easier.
"The best help he can have is actually someone with the speed and maturity of David [Coulthard]. There is total transparency between the cars and that is sure to help him.
"Alain [Prost] used to complain bitterly about setting up a car for Ayrton [Senna] to blow him off. I'm not saying it's like that with David but he's got a bit of pressure and I don't think it's a bad thing."
Share Or Save This Story
What F1 history tells us about three-way title deciders
On this day: Raikkonen’s Suzuka masterclass
The contrasting fortunes of F1's big-name moves to Ferrari
MotoGP British GP: Bezzecchi leads Aprilia domination in Friday practice
FIA wants F1 cars to lose another 80kg under next rules overhaul
KTM allowed to fix faulty MotoGP engine after U-turn from rivals
How a Le Mans winner is changing the game for female racing in Japan
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments