[Sky Sports F1]

After once again failing to score points on a Sunday, never mind claim the win, Kimi Raikkonen has conceded that his title is lost.

Kimi - definitely not my year

[Racer Duck]

Once again we had the right speed at Singapore, but not when it was really necessary. The fastest race laps aren't worth anything, if you don't combine them with the situation when they really count.

Kimi knows what's wrong .. but can he fix it?

[DOF_power]

His problem is getting heat into the tires.
Weird unconventional puzzling techniques are the only thing working right now, and he needs to change partially his driving style.
4 times WDC Alain Prost also had similar problems, but things where different back then.
The book, right is only good to be thrown away.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by DOF_power

His problem is getting heat into the tires.
Weird unconventional puzzling techniques are the only thing working right now, and he needs to change partially his driving style.
4 times WDC Alain Prost also had similar problems, but things where different back then.
The book, right is only good to be thrown away.

DOF, another probably silly question:

Besides being able to drive fast and brake correctly, do F1 drivers have any other useable automotive skills? Do they know anything about engines, chassis set ups, tyres, etc., etc.

I ask this because a lot of American drivers, primarily in the ranks of stock cars and sprint cars, are very knowledgeable about the cars they drive. I have heard very little of this concerning the F1 drivers.

This will be my chance to learn yet something else today.

[DOF_power]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

DOF, another probably silly question:

Besides being able to drive fast and brake correctly, do F1 drivers have any other useable automotive skills? Do they know anything about engines, chassis set ups, tyres, etc., etc.

I ask this because a lot of American drivers, primarily in the ranks of stock cars and sprint cars, are very knowledgeable about the cars they drive. I have heard very little of this concerning the F1 drivers.

This will be my chance to learn yet something else today.

Depends on the drivers, but in general the answer is yes; rookies obviously need to learn, while some veterans like David Coulthard are only still here due to their experience (and despite being retired Schumacher is still providing some consultance and did/will do some testing, as will DC next year).
The testing and and the practice sesions make the actuall race kind of insignificant when comparing how much time, money and energy is put into
them.
Generally the tasks of a modern driver involves training, testing (witch also works as training 2.0), recovery, PR, communicating with engineers (via email, SMS about the technicalities of the car) and once in a while the actual racing.

Historically drivers like Brabham, Surtees, Stewart, Lauda, (Mario) Andretti, Senna, Prost, Schumacher and Alonso were/are examples of total packages who's total skills strech far beyond simple driving on Sunday.

Fangio was the last great ignorant get-in-and-drive champion, while Jim Clark was both a great setup/test driver and a get-in-and-drive type.