Raikkonen on future: Same story for 15 years that I’m out
Kimi Raikkonen says speculation around his Formula 1 future is “the same story every year since I can remember” and is confident of deciding his next move with Ferrari.
The 2007 F1 world champion has seen his spot at Ferrari come under threat as reports emerged linking Daniel Ricciardo to contract talks with the Italian manufacturer. The Red Bull driver made it publicly clear to the media during the build-up to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that no arrangement or contract negotiations had been instigated between him and Ferrari, which left Raikkonen to shrug off the rumours.
Kimi Raikkonen says speculation around his Formula 1 future is “the same story every year since I can remember” and is confident of deciding his next move with Ferrari.
The 2007 F1 world champion has seen his spot at Ferrari come under threat as reports emerged linking Daniel Ricciardo to contract talks with the Italian manufacturer. The Red Bull driver made it publicly clear to the media during the build-up to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that no arrangement or contract negotiations had been instigated between him and Ferrari, which left Raikkonen to shrug off the rumours.
Raikkonen joked he’s been riding these F1 stories for the majority of his career and isn’t concerned about his Ferrari future but concedes sooner or later the rumour may turn out to be true.
“It’s been the same story every year since I can remember, maybe 15 years, every year I’m out,” Raikkonen said in Baku. “If you keep saying the same thing, sooner or later it becomes true and you get it right.
“I’ll do my stuff on my side. I enjoy the racing, that’s the only reason I’m here. The rest we’ll see how it plays out. There’s always a lot of talking every year, not a lot of it is true, but we’ll see how it ends up.”
Raikkonen’s existing Ferrari deal expires at the end of this year, while teammate Sebastian Vettel has a contract with the Italian manufacturer which will run until the end of the 2020 season, but the Finn isn’t focusing on securing a new arrangement until later in the campaign.
“In the team we know what we want to do and if all those things fit together with all our feelings we’ll see what happens,” he said. “Right now all I want is to do well, it’s a long season and a long way until the end of the year.”
Despite suffering a DNF in Bahrain after a Ferrari pit stop blunder saw a mechanic suffer a broken leg, Raikkonen is currently enjoying his strongest start to an F1 campaign since 2013 with three podiums from four races which sees him sit third in the F1 world drivers’ championship.
