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Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel believes Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari image is distorted

By Asher Fair

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - APRIL 07: Top two qualifiers Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen of Finland and Ferrari in parc ferme during qualifying for the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit on April 7, 2018 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - APRIL 07: Top two qualifiers Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen of Finland and Ferrari in parc ferme during qualifying for the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit on April 7, 2018 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /
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Four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel believes that the Ferrari image of his teammate Kimi Raikkonen is distorted.

Four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel does not agree with the public image regarding the form of 2007 Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen, who has been his teammate at Scuderia Ferrari since Vettel came to the team in the 2015 season after moving on from Red Bull Racing.

Vettel has outperformed Raikkonen on a regular basis since joining him at Ferrari in the 2015 season, but he thinks the idea that he is that much better than Raikkonen, who is in his eighth season driving for Ferrari and fifth in the last five years, is a myth.

Here is what Vettel had to say about the matter when asked whether or not Raikkonen, who owns Ferrari’s most recent Formula 1 driver championship from when he won the title back in 2007, has been performing at a higher level this season, according to Motorsport.com.

"“I think one thing is always to look at the result and the other is if you look a little bit deeper. It’s been incredibly close this year so far. To be honest, most of the Fridays I think he had the upper hand so far.“Here and there I was struggling to understand the car and feel the car so I think knowing him, knowing his strength, he’s incredibly talented and able to drive around problems. If you look at the previous years the image is a bit distorting. It wasn’t as one-sided as you might think if you look at the results“We’re a good pair, a good match. There’s no problem at all between us, ever. I think that’s a really big bonus for the team and for us to just enjoy our job.”"

So far this season, Vettel sits in second place in the championship standings with 66 points, two wins, no other podium finishes, and an average finish of 3.5. Raikkonen sits in third place in the standings with 48 points, three podium finishes, and an average finish of 6.5, which is inflated thanks to an 18th place finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

But when Vettel talks about their battle being “one-sided” over the years, here is what he is referring to.

Since the 2015 Formula 1 season when Vettel first joined Raikkonen at Ferrari after moving on from Red Bull Racing, Vettel has won 10 races. Meanwhile, Raikkonen has not won any races. As far as podium finishes go, Vettel has racked up 35 of them, while Raikkonen has racked up 17 of them.

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Vettel hs earned eight pole positions and led 691 laps since the start of the 2015 season. Raikkonen, however, has earned just one pole position and has led just 63 laps in that same time period.

As far as points go, Vettel has scored 873 points since the start of the 2015 season, while Raikkonen has scored 589 points in that same time period.

Vettel finished in third place in the 2015 championship standings, fourth in the 2016 standings and second in the 2017 standings. As referenced above, he currently sits in second in the standings. Raikkonen, meanwhile, finished in fourth place in the 2015 standings, sixth in the 2016 standings and fifth in the 2017 standings. As referenced above, he currently sits in third in the standings.

There is no doubt that Vettel has consistently performed at a higher level than Raikkonen has over the course of their seasons driving together at Ferrari. So is he right or wrong in stating that the battle between he and Raikkonen is closing than people think?

While Raikkonen has had some solid races over the last few seasons, Vettel has outperformed him in pretty much every way you can, and the statistics show that the battle really isn’t all that close. There are claims and certain scenarios which suggest that Vettel is even Ferrari’s #1 driver, which would make sense given all of this information.

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Do you agree with Sebastian Vettel that the image of his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen is distorted, or do you believe that it is accurate? How much longer do you believe that Raikkonen will drive for Ferrari before he gets replaced with another driver?

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