Contrary to reports elsewhere it was not a British nor indeed a Finnish tabloid newspaper that 'broke' the story of Kimi Raikkonen's escapade in a Mayfair club, it was Pitpass.
Regular readers will be aware that we ran a story on Thursday morning, hours after the incident, though we intentionally withheld the McLaren driver's name.
Regular readers will also be aware that we very rarely report on the private lives of drivers or indeed anyone else in the sport, since we feel, that much like the private lives of the Pitpass team, this is nobody else's business, within reason.
However, in this case, the latest in a number of incidents involving the youngster, is different, for now the sport is being brought into disrepute.
At Monday's unveiling of the MP4-20, the car with which the Woking outfit hopes to end Ferrari's winning streak, the main talking point wasn't how the car would adapt to the new regulations, or whether the 'fire and ice' partnership of Raikkonen and Montoya would work, but the Finnish youngster's antics in a Mayfair club last Wednesday night.
The team was clearly angered by the questioning and has promised a thorough investigation, though it questioned the accuracy of the reporting in the various tabloids. However, Pitpass' original report was based on the evidence of someone who was actually there, and we were given - that's given, we are not a tabloid paying for dirt - the full story, first thing on Thursday morning.
Subsequently, someone wrote on our forum - once the story became general knowledge - that it was a minor story blown out of proportion: "'rich, successful, young man goes a bit far in strip club' isn't exactly an uncommon story is it now?'" they wrote.
Well in all honesty no.
However this is Formula One that we're talking about, not football.
The disgusting behaviour of many of today's soccer stars - both on and off the pitch - is something that we have grown used to. However, let's face it, for the most part these are, for the most part, young men whose brains, and indeed their entire talent, can be found in their feet. Most footballers, certainly in England, have difficulty expressing themselves in their own language, never mind having to master two or more.
However, we have always boasted that F1 drivers are a breed apart. Apart from their undoubted bravery, there is their ability to think and react (simultaneously) in different languages, under extreme pressure. Much fun is made of Kimi's response - or lack of it - during press conference and interviews, yet here is a young man whose first language is Finnish, being questioned in English. How many words of Finnish can the average British F1 fan speak, we wonder?
Back to the main point, and this is definitely not football. Formula One cares about its public image, especially when it comes to sponsors.
In recent years we have complained that drivers have become automatons, talking and reacting in the same corporate fashion, mouthing the same boring platitudes. So concerned are team bosses that their drivers present the right 'image', advisors are employed to 'polish' drivers, right down to their diction, and one of the first to make use of this process was Jackie Stewart, who actually sent his British drivers to elocution lessons.
McLaren will be aware of the problem, and no doubt - in spite of the united front shown to the media on Monday - Kimi will have received a massive bollocking (no pun intended) from Ron and Co. They have invested too much in what is undoubtedly a massive talent, simply to see it pissed away.
We recently witnessed the reaction when Prince Harry - a youngster devoid of any of Kimi's talent, and in indeed class - went to a fancy dress party dressed as a Nazi. In this modern age of camera-phones, tabloids tripping over themselves to pay a sensational story and everyone (seemingly) keen to grab their fifteen minutes of fame, and all that goes with it, those in the spotlight of 'fame' have to be aware that there will always be someone willing to take advantage.
The days of "its my private life" and "I was off duty" are well and truly over, certainly as far as the rich and famous are concerned.
In recent times there have been a number of scandals involving F1 drivers - and even team bosses - yet the sport manages to close ranks and to keep its problems in-house. In F1, they tend to look after one another.
Kimi Raikkonen clearly has the ability to scare Michael Schumacher, he also has the potential to become Finland's third world champion. It would be criminal if he were to throw it all away simply because he cannot hold his drink and forgets that he is now in the public eye, and has a duty to his employers, his fans and the sport.
