feet first, don't fall

More than yesterday and less than tomorrow

I agree it was dangerous, and I, personally, think Kimi should have cut his losses once he realized that even after the mechanics ripped out the broken wheel shield he couldn't steer properly. Having control of the car is obviously the most important thing on track. Additionally, having to slow down on track for long stretches due to an issue like that brings with it its own dangers, as it increases the speed delta during a potential crash if all other cars are going at full speed.

That having been said, I don't want to be too hard on Kimi for this. He's 19, probably under extreme pressure to defend his championship lead while being hailed as the best racer of his generation. He both wants and has to prove that he has what it takes to lift that WDC trophy, and I can understand how that leads him to fight for every point until it's truly over, especially after he already had to watch his run of wins being ended by Lewis and George of all people. I remember that radio call from Kimi vividly, and to me, it sounded less like a confident WDC leader, but more like a desperate and/or scared teenager. I'm not saying that to embarrass him, but because I find it extremely understandable. He doesn't want to let down the team, his fans, and he obviously doesn't want to lose his shot at glory at the very beginning of his F1 career, especially with growing competition from George and the Ferraris. I don't think this is a failure or a selfish attempt to win despite endangering others, but a young driver making a bad call under extreme pressure.

I hope that he gets a heart-to-heart with Bono and the team where he gets a healthy mix of a talking to and some reassurance that he'll always be supported by the team and that that is all it takes to prevent something like this happening from again. He may be young and be a bit impulsive at times, but I am sure he is reasonable enough to see that the possible consequences of on-track behavior like he showed on sunday pose a way bigger risk to his WDC run in the long term than DNFing due to a mechanical fault.