Raikkonen to make a million a week
As the New Year approaches, it's easy to let our thoughts turn to the new racing season ahead. New seasons bring equipment and regulations changes, new venues and a few spiffed up old ones added to the schedule; manufacturers getting into new forms of motorsports; and some calling it quits. New seasons also mean personnel changes in most series.
Nowhere is this more closely followed than in the racing soap opera that is Formula 1. With astronomical budgets and such a small group of teams, it's easy to get caught up in the comings and goings of every driver. The biggest news from last year was the retirement of seven-time champion Michael Schummacher from Ferrari and the repeat driver's title for Renault's Fernando Alonso. It was a compelling title fight down to the last couple of races, but in the end the young and hugely talented Spaniard prevailed.
Whether cause or effect, the departure of MS from Ferrari left a huge void in the team, one that will hopefully be filled by the signing of the super talented Finn, Kimi Raikkonen. Admiring his brilliance while piloting the somewhat inferior McLaren the last few years, Ferrari made the decision to nab him and make him their new number one. For that privilege, Ferrari will be spending the tidy sum of $1 MILLION a week for calendar year 2007. OK, that's a slight exaggeration. According to Swiss newspaper Blick, the driver's salary for '07 will be $51m. That, folks, is reported to be $16 million more than Alonso will get to fill Raikkonen's vacated seat at McLaren. Not too bad for the fun-loving Finn.
[Source: Belfast Telegraph]
In related news, the newspaper also reported that Jenson Button will earn $16 million to drive for Honda, and that Michael's brother Ralf Schumacher will get a similar amount to return to Toyota. Renault's former number 2, Giancarlo Fisichella and Ferrari's sophomore Felipe Massa will each earn $10m next year. A lot of money for some proven talent, but even at the bottom of the scale, drivers such as Robert Kubica (BMW), GP2 champion Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Heikki Kovalainen (Renault) will be making about $2.8m each. It should be a very entertaining season for the fans and the drivers.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
cFoo 1:55PM (12/11/2006)
Raikkonen deserves every penny. He's a jack-ass off the track but on the track he is the ultimate racer. Far more enjoyable to watch than boring Button or Alonso.
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Hollis 8:05PM (12/11/2006)
Button would be ok if he actually won something. Alonso's getting to that point where we just want him to lose to see something different. And luckily for us, Villeneuve left the sport.
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GeoTracker 3:38PM (12/11/2006)
This is about $6000/hr and he's getting paid while he sleeps...
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TargetFaux 3:50PM (12/11/2006)
"Raikkonen deserves every penny. He's a jack-ass off the track but on the track he is the ultimate racer. Far more enjoyable to watch than boring Button or Alonso."
maybe your a fan, but its far more enjoyable then watching shumacher as well.
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V 7:14PM (12/11/2006)
That's a lot of money top be certain, but he certainly deserves to be the best paid. I hope he puts Alonso (and Massa for that matter) in their place quickly this season. He deserves the championship, and he can get it now that his car shouldn't be breaking every other race.
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amp 10:39AM (12/12/2006)
Alonso will probably come out on top when you look at total income. Kimi's robot persona off the track doesn't lend itself well to sponsorships. I'm guessing Alonso will be able to make up the $16 pretty easily.
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V 1:16PM (12/12/2006)
According to a new report from German newspaper Bild-Zeitung, Raikkonen's only getting $25 Million this year, and Alonso's getting $20 Million. Large difference in those numbers... wonder what gives?
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sebastian mejia 10:33AM (12/14/2006)
That's more than enough for him to improve his English!! LOL
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heikki airola 12:11AM (10/09/2007)
Kimi Raikkonen is the best and that is it.
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