Op-Ed: A lesser team should hire Kimi – for Spa

Ponder these names and numbers for a second.

Michael Schumacher – 6. Ayrton Senna – 5. Jim Clark – 4. Kimi Raikkonnen – 4. Juan Manuel Fangio – 3. Damon Hill – 3.

Those are repeat winners of the Belgium Grand Prix at Spa.

Only one of them is active now.

But maybe not for long.

At this point, it appears that Raikkonen, the 2007 World Champion, will be sitting out the 2010 season after being bought out of his Ferrari contract. [The latest rumors I hear is that he’s given up looking and won’t be in the series. That news could firm up in the hours after this is posted.] With his deal with Maranello earning him about $17 million if he does not race, but only $10 million if he does, Kimi has been asking for a contract that more than makes up the difference.

It’s hard to blame him. It’s also hard to blame F1 teams for not jumping at the chance to pay the Finn $8 million in 2010.

Kimi’s inconsistent motivation is well known – I won’t quite call it legendary. The word on him is he’s a 9-to-5 driver, that he doesn’t live and breathe F1. He treats it as a job, and while he can show up and drive as fast as anyone on the grid, he doesn’t bring that extra “something” to the paddock that would make him a team leader or a great motivator.

He doesn’t always bring that “something” – except, it seems, during one weekend every year.

The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.

Check the numbers above, again, to see what company Kimi is in. If his battle with Lewis Hamilton in 2008 had gone differently, his company would be even more exclusive. Him, Senna and Schumacher.

It is no news flash to say that Kimi and Spa just somehow work. He’s won four out of the past five years; that battle with Hamilton resulted in the only blemish. He used KERS this year to claim a title that, arguably, should have been Force India’s. We know he did it in a Ferrari that was far from being the best car on the grid.

I’ll accept that Kimi isn’t worth the hassle of a full season of ice cream eatings and Coke drinkings.

But what about for one, special weekend?

He is –and one of the back-marker teams should hire him for Spa, and Spa alone.

Admittedly, this first would have to clear the restrictions of the Ferrari deal, but if indeed the “trigger” that lowers his take from Ferrari is having a contract for the 2010 season, then this should work. This should be, in effect, a great loophole.

That legal issue aside, here is what Lotus or Manor or Campos or even USF1 should do. [Let me add to that list. Really, it should be Toro Rosso so we can get that Red Bull and Vodka we all crave. Or maybe he can make it up to Force India for costing them a win this year.]

One of these teams should offer Kimi $1 million to race at Spa. That’s the equivalent of $19 million for the season. If he wrangles, be prepared to raise it to $1.5 million, maybe $2 million.

But do it now. Don’t wait for the season to start and certainly don’t wait for Spa to be just around the corner.

The benefits of this deal are largely in the PR and marketing, and that bang for the million bucks needs to begin as soon as possible.

Imagine the press when the team (it could be any of the teams that aren’t McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull or Ferrari) sends out its news release:

“Raikkonen to race for USF1 at Spa”

The reaction would be huge. The motorsport media would be crazy. The team’s fans would go nuts – I bet about 85% positively, knowing Kimi’s record at Spa. Kimi’s fans would go super crazy; I have seen them and “super crazy” is the least they’d go. F1 fans would get excited, maybe not to the Schumacher-is-replacing-Massa levels, but they’d be excited.

The team hiring Kimi would get a ton of coverage. Its sponsors would get extra coverage. The team could sell one-off merchandize that would sell like… Red Bull and Vodkas.

Imagine a flat-billed Manor cap for sale.

And did I mention that Spa comes after the month-long summer break? That means all the PR that happens in December, let’s say, when the team seals the deal with Kimi, happens again. For four glorious weeks.

During the doldrums of summer, during the slow-news void of the F1 break, August would be all about this team, Kimi and their prospects for Spa.

The team would get more coverage in December and August than the rest of the year, combined.

And the benefits go beyond just PR.

This team would suddenly seem – if not be – a legitimate contender at Spa. After all, they’d have a ringer in the driver’s seat. In a season when scoring points is going to be harder than ever, especially for teams at the back, Spa could be the race that gets the team its one big haul.

One strong finish from the Finn might be the difference between being one of two or three teams with no points and finishing 8th or 9th in the constructors championship.

That means extra dollars, too.

See how hiring Kimi already is starting to pay for itself?

Inside the paddock, the “Kimi threat” also could be a motivator for the team’s two drivers. One of them won’t be driving at Spa. Which one it is will depend on how they’ve done during the first 12 races of the year.

That should be motivation enough. And if one of the drivers can’t handle this “negative” motivation, then that will become clear early on when there is enough time to replace that driver and bring in a better contender.

Hiring Kimi for Spa is a win in the press, it’s a win with the fans, it’s a win in the paddock and it just might be a win on the track.

So, if there isn’t a team willing to take on Kimi for the season, some team had better check with his managers and lawyers and see if he’s available for just one race.

That one race where Kimi races better than anyone.

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