Kimi Raikkonen has been the subject of a lot of criticism of late, and a look at the past few races certainly suggests that the world champion has lost a bit of momentum. In Germany he qualified sixth and finished in the same position, and in then Hungary he again started sixth and - helped by trouble ahead - moved up to third, albeit behind a Toyota.
It doesn't look like the sort of form that will enable the Finn to win a second successive title. And yet, despite the highs and lows of a turbulent season, he's still right there, just five points behind Lewis Hamilton. Last year after the Hungarian GP, the margin to the Mclaren man was 20, and at Interlagos Kimi became world champion. Indeed, with two races to go he was still 17 points behind, so write him off at your peril.
It's easy to suggest that Kimi has somehow lost the plot, but that would be a little short sighted. Just a few weeks ago in France, Raikkonen started from pole and left his teammate Felipe Massa in his wake before an exhaust failure slowed him. In the Silverstone rain, he was catching Hamilton until his team screwed up their tyre strategy. And few noticed during the low-key outing in Hungart that he actually set fastest lap, having spent the first two-thirds of the race stuck behind Fernando Alonso.
And let's not forget that in Canada, Ferrari got him out of the pits in front of Hamilton, and we'll never know how that race would have unfolded had he not been hit by the wayward McLaren.
On the other hand, Monaco was not exactly great - a nudge with a barrier followed by a spectacular spin into the back of the unfortunate Adrian Sutil. And while he didn't fare quite as badly as the hapless Felipe Massa, he made hard work of Silvestone after that botched tyre choice.
However, the bottom line is that despite his roller-coater ride, Kimi has still been quitely stashing away the points - a fourth here and a sixth there - and if his luck changes over these next seven races, he could yet win that second title.
Excerpt from Autosport's Weekly Journal ~ Write Him Off at Your Peril
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