Raikkonen affair a warning for all of F1

Kimi Raikkonen's financial dispute with Lotus has highlighted a much deeper problem facing Formula 1, as JONATHAN NOBLE explains

Published Nov 5, 2013, 8:23 PM

Not since the world stared into the abyss of financial armageddon on the infamous week that coincided with the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji, has a Formula 1 paddock's chatter been so downbeat about the future health of the sport.

While corporate guests partied on their yachts in the marina, and the glorious backdrop of the Yas Viceroy hotel delivered the image of a high-tech, billion-dollar sport being played out, the word 'crisis' was being murmured once again in corners of the teams' office units up and down the paddock.

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Author Jonathan Noble

Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.