Quote Originally Posted by Mariusz View Post
Here is my quick list how/why:
As a person he has over 20 years of competitive driving experience on tarmac, up to the most professional level in the world which means he has extensive practical and theoretical knowledge of how to drive, test and setup a car for asphalt. He has a very good ability to work with engineers and explain all the issues he notices. This was his strong side when he was in F1 and in the last season he was working a lot on the car between the rallies in their garage so I would image he knows quite a lot about the inside of a rally car now. He's very committed, passionate and puts a lot of attention to details when he's working on something. It may bother some types of people but what TMR is saying everywhere they really need people with passion and commitment. As a driver he is in top 4 of fastest rally drivers in the world, so I'm sure he knows what needs to be done for a car to go faster.
Yes, I'm sure he knows how to setup his car for asphalt to be very fast for him. That's not what is bothering me, what is bothering me is he capable to guide for a correct setup for a rally stage, not just for him, but for any other driver who might drive that car. From what I've seen he has different approach of driving, involving very late braking and over-steering on corner exits. Besides as I read somewhere Makkinen is not that kind of driver to develop his car 100% fast during tests, so there might be conflict with ones and other approach.