ringo wrote:This idea that you need to risk your career in a rally car to stay sharp, cause that's what tough guy racers do is ridiculous.
That's what makes a racer a proper racer though. You will get proper Formula 1 drivers doing mountain biking, snowmobiling (which is arguably even more dangerous) or rallying.
However, the risks that Robert ran were certainly reckless. Going on a meaningless rally in a rival manufacturer's car in between testing was utterly pointless. If you've followed Kimi Raikkonen's career you will see that rallying is not something that you just hop into for fun no matter how talented you are.