Toyota Offers Kimi Huge Contract

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According to German Bild, Toyota has offered Kimi a 100 Million Euro 5 year deal to race for the Japanese outfit from 2007.

As I have said earlier I thought this would happen, and that Ferrari will have to look elsewhere to replace Schu.

If Mclaren won't match it I am guessing he will take it as Toyota won't leave F1 until they have multiple titles under their belt.

[Senna 0]

Interesting

[Karta 0]

Interesting

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Pure speculation

[Senna 0]

More likely Bye Bye Trulli to be honest. It is easier to fix one lap part than race part

Jarno is far better than Ralf. Ralf even admitted that his team-mate did a better job this year!

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Jarno is far better than Ralf. Ralf even admitted that his team-mate did a better job this year!

Maybe, but Trulli main problem is race and Ralfie is Qualify. That is what i meant Beside, i think there was news while ago Ralf got long contract?

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I have heard that Ralf has continuing back pains after his accident at Indy, which could force him to quit F1 altogether. Ralf is on a huge retainer, which if cancelled would go a long way towards covering for Kimi's salary.

[Chris Strange 0]

To earn lots of money is one thing. Having a winning car is another....... ask JV... Unless Toyota have a potentially winning car I think KR will stay at Mac or switch to Ferrari.

[TripFontaine 0]

I think KR will go to Ferrari unless Toyota performs really well in 2006 or shows major improvement

Everybody is talking about where's kimi going to race but what about JPM??

his contract is over at the end of 2006 too

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I think KR will go to Ferrari unless Toyota performs really well in 2006 or shows major improvement

Everybody is talking about where's kimi going to race but what about JPM??

his contract is over at the end of 2006 too

What about JPM? seems that there is no interest from other teams to get him, I just want him to stay away from the pies so that others may have a chance to be fed............

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I think KR will go to Ferrari unless Toyota performs really well in 2006 or shows major improvement

Everybody is talking about where's kimi going to race but what about JPM??

his contract is over at the end of 2006 too

I would love JPM to stay at Mclaren. Also, I think he will be very quick in 2006 now that he has got used to the car, the team, etc. Watch out, I think JPM may outrace Kimi in 2006.

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I would love JPM to stay at Mclaren. Also, I think he will be very quick in 2006 now that he has got used to the car, the team, etc. Watch out, I think JPM may outrace Kimi in 2006.

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According to German Bild, Toyota has offered Kimi a 100 Million Euro 5 year deal to race for the Japanese outfit from 2007.

As I have said earlier I thought this would happen, and that Ferrari will have to look elsewhere to replace Schu.

If Mclaren won't match it I am guessing he will take it as Toyota won't leave F1 until they have multiple titles under their belt.

Interesting thoughts. I personally don't think a racer like Kimi would be interested unless Toyota have a car capable of winning.

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Interesting thoughts. I personally don't think a racer like Kimi would be interested unless Toyota have a car capable of winning.

I don't know what all the fuss is about. Ferrari was poor last season and should have been beaten by Toyota had it not been for Indy. Ferrari has a decreasing budget, while Toyota on the other hand has the biggest budget around. Also, as with the former the latter has a trackrecord of winning in motorsport. If Toyota ends up better than Ferrari in 2006 I can't see Kimi heading to Italy. So all this ranting about Kimi leaving Mclaren is then unfounded unless Mclaren produces a turkey in 2006.

[Karta 0]

I don't know what all the fuss is about. Ferrari was poor last season and should have been beaten by Toyota had it not been for Indy. Ferrari has a decreasing budget, while Toyota on the other hand has the biggest budget around. Also, as with the former the latter has a trackrecord of winning in motorsport. If Toyota ends up better than Ferrari in 2006 I can't see Kimi heading to Italy. So all this ranting about Kimi leaving Mclaren is then unfounded unless Mclaren produces a turkey in 2006.

Latter has trackrecord winning in motorsport, but in how many in those sports included Ferrari? Rest of your points are generally correct altough.

[Taku 0]

it has got to be bs! why would kimi even consider going to toyota right now??

even so, it would be jarno on the outer as ralf signed an extension earlier this year.

[xenna 0]

I have heard that Ralf has continuing back pains after his accident at Indy, which could force him to quit F1 altogether. Ralf is on a huge retainer, which if cancelled would go a long way towards covering for Kimi's salary.

Please where did you hear that from?

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Please where did you hear that from?

Voices in his head maybe?

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Could just be wishfull thinking

[F1 FANatic 1]

100 mill over 5 years is notheing, thats still only 20 mill a year. RS makes 28 doesnt he? and MS makes 35. and those are only team sallary. with sponsors MS makes 100mill a year

[Taku 0]

A very quiet time of year

With most of the big players in F1 away on Christmas breaks in the Alps or sunny beaches in the southern hemisphere, it is a quiet time for the Formula 1 world and as a result there tend to be some fairly exciting stories published as Internet sites (who do not know the team bosses) look for readers.

The biggest story in recent days is that Toyota wants to sign Kimi Raikkonen. And why not? The team has the kind of budget that allows it to spend obscene sums on salaries for Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher and has big ambitions. This is terrific as a lever to convince other teams (such as Ferrari) that it should pay Raikkonen untold millions for his services. The only problem in all of this is that no-one has yet explained why in the world Raikkonen would move from a winning team (McLaren) to a team that has never won a thing. There will, inevitably, come a day when Toyota will start win but until that happens one should not expect Raikkonen to be a visionary. He is much better off for the next contractual period with McLaren or Ferrari.

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If you say Ferrari is a better option I can't see your argument. They won nothing last year (and getting tired of repeating myself) should have been beaten by Toyota had it not ben for Indy. Ferrari is going down (although they might recover someday) and Toyota is on the rise.

The fact that Toyota has managed to win, multiple titiles, in every motorsport they have ventured into means that they will do so in F1 as well. For sure, 2007 is the year of Toyota.

[monza gorilla 1]

If you say Ferrari is a better option I can't see your argument. They won nothing last year (and getting tired of repeating myself) should have been beaten by Toyota had it not ben for Indy. Ferrari is going down (although they might recover someday) and Toyota is on the rise.

The fact that Toyota has managed to win, multiple titiles, in every motorsport they have ventured into means that they will do so in F1 as well. For sure, 2007 is the year of Toyota.

Sports cars? Thought not.

[Senna 0]

Toyota made great strides in 2005 and they have a huge budget for Mike Gascoigne to play with

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100 mill over 5 years is notheing, thats still only 20 mill a year. RS makes 28 doesnt he? and MS makes 35. and those are only team sallary. with sponsors MS makes 100mill a year

The qoute is in Euros. Last i checked the Euro was worth well more than the greenback. So around the US$ 130M mark would spell out $26M per season. Remember, it could be an initial offer, whcih they expect Kimi to negotiate upwards on. Still, as he's not a WDC yet he can never command the same as one. What I can't get my head around is the retainer Ralf is on, it can't be due to his skills, must be Willy Weber convinced them Ralf was a goldmine when it came to marketing value.