F-1 world champ in deep hole

SINGAPORE – Defending Formula One drivers’ world champion Kimi Raikkonen of Finland is in danger of losing his crown and with only three races left in the Grand Prix season, must overcome a 27-point deficit to at least pull even with pacesetter Lewis Hamilton of England.

Raikkonen, 28, was on course to wind up fifth and earn four points in the overall standings but struck a barrier to retire with four laps to go at the Marina Bay street circuit here Sunday night. Five others failed to finish the 61-lap course that was marred by two safety car deployments–Jarno Trulli, Adrian Sutil, Mark Webber, Rubens Barrichello and Nelson Piquet Jr.

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain chalked up his first victory this year in a dramatic surge from starting in 15th spot after engine trouble knocked him out of contention in the third round of qualifiers the night before.

There were no changes in the top five standings after awarding the points from first to eight places on a declining basis of 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1. Hamilton, 23, fortified his bid to become the youngest world titlist ever by piling up 83 points. Second placer Felipe Massa, who squandered his pole position on a pit stop blunder to finish 13th, was unmoved with 77 points.

Robert Kubica is in third spot with 64 points. Raikkonen is fourth with 57 and Nick Heidfeld, who wound up sixth, fifth with 56. Fifth is Heikki Kovalainen with 51 and sixth is Alonso with 38.

Because neither Raikkonen nor Massa ended in the elite eight, Ferrari slipped a point below McLaren-Mercedes in the tight race for the Constructors’ World Championship. Hamilton boosted McLaren-Mercedes’ total to 135 while Ferrari was steady at 134.

Before arriving here, Raikkonen flew to Abu-Dhabi to check out the Mubadala track in Abu-Dhabi, which will host the last leg of the Grand Prix next season. Mubadala is a state-owned United Arab Emirates investment company with interests in energy, telecommunications, automotives, ship building, health care and real estate. In 2005, it acquired a five percent stake in Ferrari for $171 million.

So even before this season ends, Raikkonen is thinking of the challenges ahead.

Although Raikkonen has fallen behind in the leader board, Shell general manager of global sponsorships Juan Carlos Perez said he expects Ferrari’s No. 1 driver to stay competitive until the last race.

“It’s in his blood to fight to the finish,” said Perez. “Where he is in the standings doesn’t affect him. When he was driving for McLaren, he had several close calls but never won a title until he joined Ferrari to get the monkey off his back.”

Perez said Raikkonen came from humble beginnings in Finland and as a boy, lived in a mobile home without a bathroom. It took a lot of support from local sponsors to introduce Raikkonen to karting at an early age. He worked his way up to the Formula One level and is now the world’s highest-paid driver with a base salary of $50 million a year.

Raikkonen and his wife Jenni Dahlman, a former Miss Scandanavia, live in Switzerland.

“Kimi doesn’t really talk much and prefers to be with the people whom he trusts, those he grew up with when he was still struggling,” said Perez.

Raikkonen said although his chances of retaining the world crown are now nearly nil, the Iceman isn’t giving up. Last year, he was third in the standings before the final race and still managed to clinch the championship.

“Victory is the only objective,” said Raikkonen, quoted by the Agence France Presse. “That is the essence of motor racing. I’m not just here for driving but I want to win.”

Raikkonen said Ferrari’s technical partnership with Shell has been a shot in the arm for his career.

With Formula One officials freezing the development of engines to curb excessive spending, Raikkonen said Shell’s role has become even more crucial in powering Ferrari.

“Shell’s V-Power is what we use and it gives us improved horsepower and reliability,” continued Raikkonen. “Ferrari has a strong relationship with Shell and they are doing a very good job. It is good to know that you can gain horsepower or delay pit stops by just a few laps, thanks to the good performance of Shell products.”

A few weeks ago, Ferrari management announced that Raikkonen and Massa will continue wearing the Italian colors until the end of the 2010 season, ending speculation the Finn would retire after next year.

Known as the quiet type, Raikkonen is basically shy and shuns interviews with the press. Writer Heikki Kulta said he is “a bit of an enigma,” a man of few words.

“I am as I am,” he once said. “I live the way I live. No one in Ferrari was demanding that I change. It’s one of the reasons why I came to Ferrari. Driving for Ferrari is the best thing that’s ever happened in my career. The most I’ve ever wanted from anything in my life was to win the world championship and the first time it came, it was with Ferrari and that makes it even better.”

To keep the world crown, not only must Raikkonen score over 27 points in the last three races in Oyama, Japan, on Oct. 12, Shanghai on Oct. 19 and Sao Paolo on Nov. 2, but Hamilton, Massa and Kubica must also be stopped from making any more podium appearances. It’s almost an impossibility for Raikkonen who now faces the challenge of winning two of the last three races and placing second in the other.