Raikkonen versus Alonso may be just the tonic after Vettel suffers Monza boos

It's curious that the Italian Grand Prix was less than thrilling but involved so many great drives.

So all we ask for is that the tyres spice up the racing without dominating it, using only two of four available compounds of dry rubber at 20 different circuit layouts and surfaces in wildy varying climates on 11 different chassis and 22 driving styles... The booing of Seb Vettel on the podium is a key discussion point. I've known him a few years in the paddock and occasionally socially and my absolute impression and experience is that he's a well-mannered, well-balanced, determined and focused individual with a maturity well beyond his years. And he's ferociously quick. He's been smart to garner the support of the likes of Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz and F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone. He has clearly cornered the full attention of Christian Horner, Adrian Newey and Helmet Marko. Frankly, that's all a masterstroke for which the likes of Lauda, Senna, Prost, Piquet and co. were applauded for and his rivals can only aspire to. I wish I had invested more time and focus into generating the support and influence of key players then I would have fulfilled my true potential. No great sports person should ever be booed in any discipline, and I fear we are close to some kind of fan mentality of, 'It's Vettel, isn't this where we boo?' So why is it happening? I spoke with probably 200 fans on the pit straight after the race in Silverstone and asked them why the booing there, and the overwhelming answer was Malaysia and multi-21. They felt he crossed the line between being a competitive champ and the fundamental rules of sporting endeavour. Many others felt that he said 'sorry' at the time and then in China retracted that and he wasn't sorry after all. Others may well be tired of the victory finger, and I'm sure many more perceive that not signing Raikkonen and hiring Ricciardo is another sop to keep the favoured one happy and dominating. Let's at least wait and see how fast and compliant Daniel is first, but taking Kimi would have been a strong statement and pacified many. Some fans tweeted me yesterday to say it wasn't a question of red versus blue overalls on the podium because Webber wasn't booed, but Mark hasn't had the audacity to beat Alonso and Ferrari to numerous victories and Championships. I'd be sure that the situation will worry Red Bull and Vettel however much they publicly brush it to one side. It may only be pacified when he beats a World Champion team-mate, or moves teams and wins Championships again as Schumacher did, especially if it's not in a Newey car. From conversations I've had over the weekend I believe that Raikkonen would ideally like to stay at Lotus where they understand him and life fits his particular way of going racing. He casually wanders out of the track at 5pm most evenings. But some money hasn't been paid to him from this year, let alone next, and he must be concerned about budgets and key personnel going forward based on his own experience. So he likely faces moving back to the Ferrari environment which made him flee to rallying last time, and being team-mates with the man who forced him out, albeit with a fat pay cheque to stay at home. But he's already found out it's not as much fun rallying as he thought, and he's come back an even better all-round driver. I would be sure he'd rather be looking at Grosjean's speed data traces rather than Alonso's though. Alonso/Raikkonen would be F1's strongest pairing in 2014 and just the tonic we need because we all know what the answer to the radio call 'Fernando is faster than you' would be. Get those TV bleeping machines ready. MB