Following news that he is to part company with Ferrari at the end of the season, Kimi Raikkonen has spoken of his sadness at leaving the Italian team. Raikkonen’s place at Ferrari will be taken by current Renault driver Fernando Alonso, who will join Felipe Massa and reserve driver Giancarlo Fisichella.

Raikkonen has been with Ferrari since joining from McLaren in 2007. That season he clinched the drivers’ title and over his three years at the team has taken nine race victories, five pole positions and 225 world championship points.

“With common consent, we have agreed to terminate the contract binding me to Ferrari to the end of 2010, one year ahead of schedule,” said the Finn. “I am very sad to be leaving a team with which I have spent three fantastic years, during which time I won plenty of races.

“Together, we have won 50 percent of the world titles in that period and I managed to take the drivers’ title in 2007, thus achieving the target I had set myself at the start of my career. I have always felt at home with everyone here and I will have many happy memories of my time with the team.”

Paying tribute to Raikkonen, Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali commented: “Of course, we wish to thank Kimi for everything he has done during his time with Ferrari: in his first year with us, he managed to win the drivers’ title, thus making his contribution to Ferrari’s history and he played a vital role in our taking of the constructors’ title in 2007 and 2008.

“Even during a difficult season like this one, he has demonstrated his great talent, with several good results, including a great win in Spa and we are sure that we can share more good times together in the final three races of this season.”

Raikkonen, 29, has yet to reveal his plans for 2010.

Sources in Italy say it is D-day for the Ferrari to decide who will partner Kimi Raikkonen at Monza a week on Sunday.


Hours after his victory in Spa Giancarlo Fisichella was firm favourite and widely expected to step into Felipe Massa’s shoes and make history in the Italian Grand Prix.


But on Monday it emerged Robert Kubica has entered the frame and his manager had sought to be released from his contract with BMW, who are pulling out of the sport at the end of the year.


The Pole’s insistence the five-race deal includes a full seat at the red racers at some time in the future is proving unacceptable to team boss Luca di Montezemolo.


The case for Spa’s pole qualifier, Fisichella, has been complicated because billionaire Force India owner Dr V.J Mallya is refusing to release his lead driver when there is every chance of the team repeating its spectacular form in Italy.


Unless he relents the popular little Italian will miss out on a dream finale to his career.

If that's the case it is looking increasingly likely that Luca Badoer will get a third race at the wheel of a Ferrari, despite two less than impressive performances.


Within the team apologists argue the task of stepping into Michael Schumacher’s shoes in Valencia and Spa with so little warning and no track time was too much to ask after a decade away from racing, especially since it was in a car he had little knowledge of.


And Monza would therefore be the real test because it is a circuit he has tested on and knows intimately.

via http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/motorsport/2009/09/03/ferrari-face-d-day-on-deciding-who-to-partner-with-kimi-raikkonen-115875-21644997/

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali has urged the world's media to keep up speculation about Kimi Raikkonen's future, believing the pressure paid off with his Belgian GP win.

Raikkonen's Ferrari future is in doubt with continuous rumours that Fernando Alonso will be replacing him at the end of this season despite still having a year left on his contract.

His critics have slammed him for poor performances, yet again questioning the 2007 World Champion's motivation.

Raikkonen, though, hit back at his detractors, claiming the victory in Sunday's Belgian GP, putting in an impressive showing as he avoided any mistakes despite persistent pressure from Giancarlo Fisichella.

"This is a lot of speculation. I really hope that you people keep writing that, because if this is Kimi's reaction then please do it day and night," said Domenicali.

more at http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12433_5527635,00.html

Kimi Raikkonen believes it will be hard for his Ferrari team to retain third place in the constructors' championship this season.
Although the Italian squad has made progress since the start of the campaign, the Maranello outfit decided to stop development on this year's car.
Rival McLaren is now in fourth position, just five points behind and with a bigger momentum than the Italians.
Despite Raikkonen finishing on the podium at the European Grand Prix last Sunday, the Finn is aware that keeping third place will be a difficult goal to achieve.
"I really enjoy winning, but even a third place can give you some good feelings," said Raikkonen.
"We started into the European GP from the sixth position on the starting grid, we had a good start and we managed to gain another place on the podium: we can hardly expect more than this.
"With the points we gained, we are still ahead of McLaren in the constructors' championship. This is our goal as a team, but it's very difficult to reach, considering that we stopped developing this car, concentrating on the one for the upcoming season."
The Ferrari driver said his target for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix is to repeat the Valencia feat and be in the top three again.
"The main goal is to hold the standard of the last races, which means that we have to try to get on the podium again," he added.

more at http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77995

After the longest mid-season break in the F1 calendar, it was business as usual in a very hot and sunny Valencia, where Kimi Raikkonen faced the media in the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro motorhome, overlooking the harbour that forms a backdrop to this interesting street circuit. Business as usual maybe, but with a different driver line-up, as Luca Badoer deputises for Felipe Massa.

more at http://www.sports.ie/20090820235891/we-will-try-and-help-luca-much-possible-raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen has wished his new team-mate Luca Badoer good luck ahead of his first grand prix as a Ferrari driver.

Badoer, who last competed in a grand prix back in 1999, is making his return to F1 racing at this weekend's European GP, replacing the injured Felipe Massa.

"I'll have a new team-mate at Valencia. Instead of Felipe - and I want to wish him all the best for a speedy recovery again - there will be Luca Badoer," Raikkonen said.

"He has been the official Scuderia test driver for many years, and I'm glad that he finally got the chance to race a Ferrari. I really wish him good luck and I'm sure that we'll work well together."

As for his own European race, Raikkonen is hoping to continue with the form that carried him to the podium in Hungary where he finished behind Ferrari's old nemesis, McLaren, and helped the Scuderia to leapfrog Toyota for third place in the teams' battle.

more at http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12433_5502637,00.html

“Massa would be prepared to go down with the ship, with a prancing horse-shaped anchor attached to his torso, Raikkonen would take the sole lifeboat.”
Ferrari’s response to Felipe Massa’s accident is an indication that the Scuderia has begun to lose faith in Kimi Raikkonen, writes Forumula1.net’s Ewan Marshall.

Michael Schumacher’s comeback, or rather the lack of it, has focused much attention on Ferrari in the last few weeks, and asked many questions about the future of the Scuderia, and most notably of Kimi Raikkonen.
Let it be known that Felipe Massa’s accident, despite adding perspective to Ferrari’s current situation, was not the catalyst behind the speculation about Raikkonen’s future. There has long been critisism of the Finn’s work ethic in relation to the lucrative salary he receives from the coffers at Maranello – rumoured to be in the region of $51 million per year.

continue reading here: http://www.forumula1.net/2009/f1/lead_articles/have-ferrari-lost-faith-in-raikkonen/

Ferrari have reacted quickly to the news Michael Schumacher will not race at the European Grand Prix by naming test driver Luca Badoer as his replacement.

Schumacher, a seven-time F1 world champion, had agreed to help out former team Ferrari and step in for Felipe Massa on a temporary basis after the Brazilian suffered head injuries at the Hungarian Grand Prix last month.

But the German has now abandoned the comeback after failing to shrug off a neck injury suffered in a motorbike accident in February.

Schumacher told his official website: "Yesterday (Monday) evening, I had to inform Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo and Team Principal Stefano Domenicali that unfortunately I'm not able to step in for Felipe.

"I really tried everything to make that temporary comeback possible, however, much to my regret it didn't work out."

The 40-year-old had intended to return in Valencia on August 23 but testing designed to help Schumacher re-acclimatise himself with the rigours of F1 have shown the injuries to his neck are "too severe".

Schumacher reportedly posted strong times having driven Kimi Raikkonen's 2007 World Championship-winning Ferrari at the Mugello circuit in Italy but the neck flared up again afterwards.

Former F1 racer Robert Doornbos says he feels that Michael Schumacher will produce better results than both Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa when he makes a return to the sport at the European Grand Prix.

Schumacher will come out of retirement to rejoin the grid for the first time since he quit the sport at the end of the 2006 after a request from Ferrari to stand in for Massa as he recovers from the injuries he sustained at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The German has already started preparing for his return by testing a 2007-spec car at Mugello and Doornbos – now forging a career in the IndyCar Series with the Newman Haas Lanigan Racing team after an F1 career that saw him drive for Minardi and Red Bull – said he saw no reason why the seven-time champion wouldn't be successful when he rejoins the grid.

continue reading here: http://www.crash.net/f1/news/150678/1/doornbos_schumacher_will_out_perform_kimi.html

Kimi Raikkonen says he has no qualms about being joined in the Ferrari line-up if Michael Schumacher goes ahead with his plan to substitute for the injured Felipe Massa.

Schumacher has begun testing a 2007 Formula 1 Ferrari in a bid to see if he is fit enough for his intended comeback at the European Grand Prix.

Raikkonen insisted the identity of his team-mate was largely irrelevant to him, but welcomed news of Schumacher's return.

"For me it makes no difference who drives the second car," he said. "I don't think it is 100 per cent sure that he will drive as he is still checking things out.

"But it will be nice to have him as a team-mate. It nearly happened before."

Schumacher's comeback also received support from his former rival Juan Pablo Montoya.

The Colombian NASCAR racer, who had some memorable wheel to wheel battles with Schumacher before leaving F1 for stock cars, expects Schumacher to cope well, although he doubts the seven-time champion will improve on Raikkonen and Massa's recent results.

"I heard he was testing today already," said Montoya. "Physically he'll be fine with all the testing he'll do before that I think.

"Will he do a lot more than the current Ferrari drivers are doing? I'll be surprised but you know... you never know.

"I'm sure they're going to make sure that they come up with something new for his arrival to make sure he looks good."

via http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77460

The cold ride in the rumours about Kimi Räikkönen being smoked out from Ferrari already next season will probably grow even bigger in the Spanish and Italian media when the 2007 WDC is now in his sixth pointless race during the season.

Räikkönen stopped the German GP after 34 laps.

The reason was a stone on lap 14 that left a big hole in the cooler because it pierced the side pontoon's safety net. That again caused a leakage of fluid which again lead to weakening engine powers.

Räiikönen stopped the race before the engine broke down.

According to the rumours Ferrari will publish that Alonso will come to Ferrari in Monza on September 11th?

– Don't believe in rumours like that, Domenicali says and pats me on my shoulder.

Can you clarify Kimi's situation?

– There is nothing new. I'm sure everybody remembers last year. Back then this rumour was exactly the same, Domenicali explained.

Then why does so many seem to have definite information about Alonso's contract with Ferrari?

– Believe the team and the facts, not the rumours, Domenicali said.

Domenicali is a team principal but the driver contracts are made by Luca di Montezemolo. He is known to appreciate Alonso highly while Jean Todt again didn't want the Spaniard to Ferrari.

In the press conference Domenicali was asked if Räikkönen's performance so far had been sufficient.

– One has to be careful while analysing the performance of our drivers. One has to take into consideration the car's situation and the tyres' situation. Our approach is that you never hear the team complain about one single engineer or driver. We only talk about our team's performance and the drivers are part of the team, Domenicali said.

– The most critical element this season is to understand what happens to the car on different tracks in different temperatures and with different tyres. The situation seems to be the same in every team. Now we did a good job but our competitors aren't sleeping either like the rise of Renault, McLaren and Force India proved. Lewis Hamilton lost the race because of a tyre puncture and Renault made a spectacular laptime in the end of the race, Domenicali summed up.

Turun Sanomat, Nürburgring/HEIKKI KULTA [translated by Nicole]

Fernando Alonso has rubbished speculation linking him yet again to the Ferrari team, saying he is not even in talks with the Italian squad.

The Italian and Spanish media has this week reported that Alonso is set to drive for Ferrari in 2010, probably replacing Kimi Raikkonen if the Finn decides to pursue a career in the World Rally Championship.

The Finn will make his WRC debut later this year in Rally Finland, a move the Italian press has seen as an indication that the former world champion is ready to leave F1.

Renault driver Alonso, however, denied he had any contracts with Ferrari, and said he had not even talked to the team about his future.

"They are only rumours. They have been happening in the last four or five years," Alonso told reporters in Germany.

When asked if he had been talking to Ferrari or if you had a Ferrari contract, he said: "No, and no."

Alonso did admit having a competitive car will be an important factor in deciding where his future lies.

"It is important, but it is not the end of the world," he said. "I am missing winning - there are no doubts. I want to win and to have a performing car as soon as possible, but I also understand that this is sport and it happens everywhere – not only in motor racing.

"It happens in tennis, it happens in NBA, in football. Sometimes you go up and down in your career. In motorsport, it is even more important to have the car and the package.

"We saw with Michael (Schumacher), maybe the greatest driver ever, two world championships in Benetton and then five years in Ferrari waiting because this is not only the human part, it is also the team and the package. So, I put myself in that part of my career, in stand by, and I am preparing myself very strong physically and mentally."

The two-time champion is yet to finish on the podium this season with Renault and is down in ninth place in the standings.

Ferrari has also struggled this year, having scored just one podium finish in eight races.

With just 26 points and one podium after eight races, Ferrari have endured a difficult first half of the season and are 65 points shy of where they were this time last year. For driver Kimi Raikkonen the time has come to admit a win will be highly unlikely at this weekend's German Grand Prix and a podium finish will be his real target.

“Realistically this year our objective can’t be a win,” said Raikkonen on Ferrari’s official website. “We still have to make up ground compared to the leaders as far as performance is concerned. It’s always difficult making predictions and promising something to the fans, but for us today a place on the podium is already a good result, considering that we’ve been there just once this year.

“There are still nine races until the end of this extremely difficult season for us. Our objective has to be to give it our all race after race, without thinking that the leaders are so many points ahead of us. I really trust the team’s work and its capacity to close the gap between us and the leaders.”

At the previous round, June’s British Grand Prix, the Finn qualified in ninth and finished one place higher in eighth to score a point. But after crossing the line over a minute down on the victorious Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel, the Italian team had little reason to celebrate and have been back at their Maranello factory seeking to improve the errant F60 ahead of this weekend’s German event.

“The team has continued to work very hard over the last weeks to bring some new solutions to this race,” Raikkonen continued. “The track should be better for the F60’s characteristics than Silverstone, but we’ll get a clearer picture during Friday’s free practice sessions. To be competitive you need a car with good traction, which is very stable while braking.”

While his faith in his car’s suitability for the Nurburgring may prove well founded, Raikkonen’s record in Germany leaves a lot to be desired. Despite scoring pole on four occasions, he has never won on German soil, and with his declared objectives for this weekend's race, it doesn't look like he will remedy this in 2009.

Turun Sanomat 6.7 2009 22:50:28

Nürburgring is a track where Kimi Räikkönen has had to experience his career's most bitter DNF's. One could say that he has lost in these 4 DNF's three victories and at least one championship.

Twice he has had to stop from a clear leading position.

On top of that Ferrari's only pole man got in 2007 beaten by rain and when trying to get back he had to stop the race from 3rd postion due to a technical problem. Still he won the championship.
– Kimi has has his share of unfortune on certain tracks but Nürburgring has to be his most unfortunate track. The track suits him perfectly but there has always been problems with the car when he is succeeding, Steve Robertson sighs.
Räikkönen has been in Nürburgring twice on pole (2003 and 2007) and once 2nd (2005). Yet he has only got one 3rd (2002), one 4th (2006) and one 10th position (2001).

When the dream becomes a nightmare
In 2003 Räikkönen started from pole and got immediately a 25 second lead when he had a DNF. If Kimi would have won that race he would have most probably become the youngest ever WDC. Michael Schumacher won the WDC with 2 points.
In 2005 Räikkönen had won before Nürburgring in Barcelona and Monaco. While overtaking Jacques Villeneuve he braked so that his front tyre became a cube which made McLaren shake so much that the differential broke when the last lap started.
That took also away his hopes for the WDC.

Räikkönen believes himself that he drove his career's best GP in Nürburgring.
– Maybe the all time best is 2003 Nürburgring. I was easily leading the race from pole until the car broke down. Until that there was this feeling that I couldn't have done anything any better, Räikkönen admits to Turun Sanomat.
– If you think of it as a whole then my last victory in Spain 2008 must have been my best weekend. It went right in the tube from the beginning to the end, Räikkönen said.

What makes Nürburgring especially good for Kimi?
– Kimi is always good in certain chicanes and there's two of those left-right-areas where he is really fast. Kimi is at his best when you have to change the direction quickly, Robertson said.

Ferrari brought to Silverstone a highly renewed aero package and a lot more was expected than the GP could give. To Nürburgring they bring an even lighter aero package but the short axle distance is still maintained. According to Italian sources they have even found something new and interesting about the KERS-system.
– The team has been working really hard again since the last race. I would think that Nürburgring would suit our car at lest better than it suited Silverstone. We'll see then where we are when we get to drive the practise.
– There ain't any other goal except that I'll do my best in every race. The podium would be a cool thing because we only have one 3rd place from this year. But it's best not to promise anything beforehand, Kimi says.

Räikkönen's most unlucky tracks:

Hockenheim: 5 DNF's (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005).

Nürburgring: 4 DNF's (2003, 2004, 2005 ja 2007).

Barcelona: 4 DNF's (2002, 2003, 2007 ja 2009).

Sepang: 4 DNF's (2001, 2002, 2004, 2006).

Indianapolis: 4 DNF's (2001, 2002, 2005, 2006).