Coulthard suggests it's time for Raikkonen to call it a day

Phillip van Osten 09/07/2021 at 08:0509/07/2021 at 14:47

David Coulthard suggests Kimi Raikkonen's last lap clash with Sebastian Vettel last weekend in Austria is perhaps a telltale sign that the time to retire from F1 is fast approaching for the Finn.

Raikkonen clumsily drove into the side of Vettel's Aston Martin as the pair went side-by-side into Turn 5 at the Red Bull Ring. While the Alfa Romeo driver was able to make it to the checkered flag, Vettel careered into the gravel trap and into retirement.

"We came together and that was it, in the end it didn’t change the end result as we would have both fallen a bit short of the points," explained Raikkonen, who was handed a 20-second penalty by the stewards for the move which former driver Ralf Schumacher called "embarrassing".

"That was totally senseless from Kimi," said the Sky Germany consultant. "He just drove straight into his car. What he did was embarrassing."

Read also: Alfa Romeo set on helping Raikkonen improve qualifying form

Raikkonen's mishap in Austria was the second time this season that the 2007 F1 world champion had caused a clumsy crash, having run in to the back of his Alfa teammate Antonio Giovinazzi at Portimão earlier this year.

Coulthard reckons that his former McLaren teammate, now 41, should perhaps consider calling it a day on his time in Formula 1.

"I was 37 when I quit," said Coulthard. "Suddenly you start making mistakes and don’t want to admit that it’s your fault. But it is.

"I also noticed that it had to do with poor concentration, especially towards the end of a race. We also saw that with Michael Schumacher in his last year."