Everyone had a theory for Kimi Raikkonen's underwhelming 2008 season. Was he demotivated? Was one world championship title enough for him? Was he enjoying himself a little too much off track? Was he letting his fitness slip a little? Was it all about the tyres? Was the balance of the Ferrari F2008 wrong for him? Was he on the cusp of retirement?
As ever, the reality of the situation was far more complex than such broad brush strokes allow, but what was beyond question was that by the final third of the season he was looking every bit the number two to team leader Felipe Massa.
So was Kimi just slow in 2008? Well, actually he wasn't. Astonishingly, the Finn claimed ten out of 18 fastest laps over the course of the year, matching Michael Schumacher's all-time record for a season. Granted, fastest laps are not necessarily the best indicator of overall race performance - after all they only reflect a small snapshot of a 200-mile grand prix - but in the case of Kimi, that one statistic is the key to understanding his problems.