Hamilton and Raikkonen seek to drive home views

KIMI Raikkonen went into hiding before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix yesterday after threatening his Lotus team with strike action.

Kimi Raikkonen

KIMI Raikkonen went into hiding before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix yesterday after threatening his Lotus team with strike action.

It was a day for recalcitrant drivers in the paddock as Lewis Hamilton appeared to write off news of the impending departure of Ross Brawn, one of the outstanding figures of his generation in Formula One, from his Mercedes team with startling indifference.

Hamilton's laid-back attitude - "not stressing", as he put it - came as a shock to a paddock that largely reveres Brawn, who would deserve to join any pantheon of great team leaders, such as Enzo Ferrari and Sir Frank Williams.

As Hamilton delivered his verdict that there may be someone out there who could prove better than a man who has won 16 world titles in 20 years, Lotus were scouring the globe for their one-man trade union.

The conclusion was that the Finn wanted to swerve questions about his decision to drive Romain Grosjean, his team-mate, off the track in the Indian Grand Prix last weekend, almost terminating the race for both of them.

It now seems that could have been a symptom of the frustrations boiling up in a driver who has not been paid by Lotus this year, despite winning the team's only grand prix and sitting third in the drivers' championship. Raikkonen gave his missing 10 million pound ($) salary as one of the reasons why he had decided to join Ferrari next season.

Raikkonen's mood was not helped in India by a series of radio exchanges as he held up Grosjean, who was storming from seventeenth to third place. A voice from the pitwall told Raikkonen: "Kimi, get out of the f***ing way". That prompted the sharp riposte from the Finn: "Don't f***ing shout at me."

Raikkonen's sense of injustice spilled over into rebellion and a threat not to drive for the team after he stormed out of the Buddh International Circuit.

Abu Dhabi should be a return to the scene of Raikkonen's triumph after a maiden victory here last season for this latest incarnation of the Lotus brand. Eric Boullier, the Lotus team principal, will be papering over the cracks of a row that threatens the stability of his squad during the run-in of three grands prix to the end of a long season.

There is little chance that Lotus could move for Brawn if and when he leaves Mercedes. While Hamilton heaped praise on Adrian Newey, Red Bull's design genius, he was reluctant to bracket Brawn alongside F1's other serial title winner.

"(They) are totally different," Hamilton said. "Adrian designs the car, which is the thing that wins races. Ross gets the team together. It is a different job. There is going to be someone out there who can do the same or better.

I don't think there will ever be anyone like Adrian. People said there would never be another Michael Schumacher but there is Sebastian (Vettel) now. Never say never."

The Times