Ferrari’s fire and ice pairing of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen has, in the words of president Luca di Montezemolo, put two roosters in the same henhouse.
Which of the two drivers will be crowing loudest come the end of the season is one of the questions all of F1 wants answered.
While Alonso is the incumbent, starting his fifth year at Maranello, the returning Raikkonen remains Ferrari’s most recent world champion and that still counts for plenty as far as the passionate tifosi are concerned.
Both were winners last season, Raikkonen for Lotus in the Australian season-opener just as he was in his 2007 championship year with Ferrari, and both have shown they are tough nuts to crack mentally.
Both want to win another title, neither takes kindly to playing a supporting role.
“We are going to race against each other like every year,” Raikkonen, 34, said at the launch of the new car in January.
“It doesn’t matter who is your team-mate.”
Spaniard Alonso, now 32 and world champion with Renault in 2005 and 2006, is a circuit samurai – his fighting philosophy encapsulated in the swordsman tattooed on his back – while the glacial Raikkonen has ‘Iceman’ inscribed on his forearm.
As the circus prepares for the opening race in Melbourne next Sunday, the two Ferrari drivers present one of the more intriguing sub-plots to the season.
“I think Stefano is going to be busier than I am this year,” commented Red Bull principal Christian Horner, who has a new driver in Daniel Ricciardo, of his Ferrari counterpart Stefano Domenicali.
Ferrari will have their hands full but, if they can keep a lid on any fireworks, the situation could work to their advantage.
Any team needs both of its drivers to push each other on and finish on the podium in the chase for the constructors’ championship, a crown Ferrari last won in 2008 when Raikkonen was with them.
Felipe Massa failed to do that in his time alongside Alonso and Raikkonen’s first task will be to keep Alonso on his toes.
“Kimi will lift him (Alonso) and help him get a bit more out of himself on Saturday afternoons,” Mark Webber, a friend of Alonso’s who was Sebastian Vettel’s team-mate at Red Bull until the end of last year, said after the move was announced.
“On Sunday’s there’s no question. We know Fernando is a brilliant racer, but on Saturdays Kimi will lift him to another level.”
Di Montezemolo, who has seen it all before at Ferrari, told reporters that the drivers knew exactly what the team expected of them: The team always comes first.
“Putting together Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen could be dangerous. But in Formula One... everything is potential danger,” he said.
Competitive levels
Much will depend on how competitive the Ferrari is, with Mercedes already looking like the team to beat while champions Red Bull wrestle with problems linked to the new Renault V6 power unit.
If the car turns out to be a winner, and both drivers are challenging for the top of the podium, the internal politics at Ferrari will require a firm hand but Domenicali is confident his drivers will work together.
He said last month that the returning Raikkonen was more mature, and closer to the team, than he had been when he left Maranello in 2009 to make way for Alonso’s arrival.
Raikkonen appeared demotivated for much of the 2008 season, when Massa led Ferrari’s title campaign and almost won the championship, but he answered the doubters with a strong comeback at Lotus in 2012.
There is no question that he is serious about his second stint at Ferrari, who are paying him handsomely for his services.
The Finn, who has always preferred to do his talking on the track but did speak out when Lotus failed to pay his salary, missed the last two races of 2013 to have back surgery so he could be fully fit for the start of the new campaign.
“He knows his worth and he knows what team he has returned to and what challenges he will face, having a world champion like Alonso alongside him for whom he has respect and he will have to adapt to working with him,” said Domenicali.
“I hope the track will show that it was the right choice,” he added of the pairing.
“How will we manage them? Decisions are always carefully considered, but they always have the same aim which is decisions are taken to reach the team’s goals, as the interest of the team always comes before all else.”
2014 Formula One championship calendar and circuit details
March 16 – Australia. Albert Park street circuit, Melbourne.
58 laps of 5.303km. Total distance 307.574km.
2013 winner: Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus.
Melbourne has hosted GPs since 1996. Scene of Raikkonen’s most recent victory, he also won here in 2007 with Ferrari on the way to the title.
March 30 – Malaysia. Sepang circuit.
56 laps of 5.543km. Total distance 310.408km.
2013 winner: Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull.
A hot and steamy venue, with the constant risk of tropical downpours. Last year’s race saw controversy when Vettel ignored orders and passed team-mate Mark Webber to win.
April 6 – Bahrain. Sakhir circuit.
57 laps of 5.412km. Total distance 308.238km.
2013 winner: Vettel.
This year is the 10th edition of the race and it has switched to a later start, becoming a day-to-night event under floodlights.
April 20 – China. Shanghai Circuit.
56 laps of 5.451km. Total distance 305.066km.
2013 winner: Fernando Alonso, Ferrari.
Built on a vast, almost overwhelming scale in the shape of the Chinese character ‘shang’. Has hosted Formula One since 2004.
May 11 – Spain. Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona.
66 laps of 4.655km. Total distance 307.104km.
2013 winner: Alonso.
Used to be the most predictable of races due to teams testing extensively there but they have not done so this year.
May 25 – Monaco. Monte Carlo street circuit.
78 laps of 3.340km. Total distance 260.520km.
2013 winner: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes.
The slowest and shortest race on the calendar but still the most glamorous.
June 8 – Canada. Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal.
70 laps of 4.361km. Total distance 305.270km.
2013 winner: Vettel.
A popular race with sponsors and teams since 1978.
June 22 – Austria. Spielberg.
Number of 4.326km laps to be confirmed.
Last race at the former A1-Ring circuit was in 2003. Ferrari were the last team to win there with Michael Schumacher.
July 6 – Britain. Silverstone.
52 laps of 5.891km. Total distance: 306.198km.
2013 winner: Rosberg.
Hosted the first F1 grand prix in 1950. Last year’s race was notable for a spate of tyre blowouts.
July 20 – Germany. Hockenheim.
67 laps of 4.574km. Total distance 306.458km.
The 2013 German GP was at the Nuerburgring, which alternates with Hockenheim.
July 27 – Hungary. Hungaroring, Budapest.
70 laps of 4.381km. Total distance 306.630km.
2013 winner: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes.
The first race here in 1986 was a breakthrough for F1 behind what was then the ‘Iron Curtain’ dividing Europe. Tight, twisty and one of the slowest circuits.
August 24 – Belgium. Spa-Francorchamps.
44 laps of 7.004km. Total distance: 308.052km.
2013 winner: Vettel.
The longest lap on the calendar and one of the fastest circuits in the world championship. Often wet, always thrilling. A favourite circuit for drivers and fans.
September 7 – Italy. Monza.
53 laps of 5.793km. Total distance 306.720km.
2013 winner: Vettel.
One of the oldest and still the fastest circuit in F1, with now disused and crumbling banking dating back to 1922.
September 21 – Singapore. Marina Bay street circuit.
61 laps of 5.065km. Total distance 308.828km.
2013 winner: Vettel.
On the calendar since 2008, the only race run completely at night.
October 5 – Japan. Suzuka.
53 laps of 5.807km. Total distance 307.471km.
2013 winner: Vettel.
A classic figure-of-eight circuit, owned by Honda with a funfair alongside. Fast, flowing and a favourite of drivers.
October 12 – Russia. Sochi street circuit.
Track length 5.853km.
New race for 2014, with the circuit looping around the park built for the Winter Olympics.
November 2 – United States. Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
56 laps of 5.513km. Total distance 308.405km.
2013 winner: Vettel.
Anti-clockwise layout with 20 turns. A big hit with teams and sponsors.
November 9 – Brazil. Interlagos, Sao Paulo.
71 laps of 4.309km. Total distance 305.909km.
2013 winner: Vettel.
Dilapidated but atmospheric bowl-like venue that hosted its first GP in 1973. Circuit runs anti-clockwise.
November 23 – Abi Dhabi. Yas Marina.
55 laps of 5.554 km. Total distance 305.355km.
2013 winner: Vettel.
Day-to-night race under floodlights. Made its debut in 2009. Most opulent circuit on the calendar. Anti-clockwise.