Räikkönen's Talent Wasted? Coulthard's Bold Schumacher Claim

David Coulthard believes Kimi Räikkönen’s natural talent alone fell short, arguing stronger work ethic could have secured multiple F1 titles.

David Coulthard believes Kimi Räikkönen could have won more world titles if he had adopted a stronger work ethic. According to the former McLaren F1 driver, the Finn would have benefitted from emulating Michael Schumacher’s seriousness. He considers Räikkönen one of the few champions to have relied so heavily on natural talent.

“He is the exception in all of this. He was a great natural talent,” Coulthard said on The Red Flags podcast. “He went from Formula Renault to driving a Sauber at Mugello. Mugello is one of the scariest circuits to navigate in a Grand Prix car.”

“He had so much talent. But can you imagine just how much? He won one world championship, and you could talk about McLaren’s reliability and everything else. If he had had Michael’s work ethic, I think he would have won more.”

The Scotsman highlighted Schumacher’s constant presence at Ferrari during their winning years: “Michael was at the test track, he was at the factory. If you stand alongside the engineers and mechanics, they feel it—it empowers them.”

“You are the fuel that drives them forward. That’s why I say this: I’m all for a strong work ethic. It’s what separates the humility of a single world champion from what he could have been—a multiple world champion.”