Sebastian Vettel insists he is not worried his friendship with Kimi Raikkonen will suffer as they go wheel-to-wheel for the title in 2013.
The pair are arguably the closest friends among all the drivers in the pitlane, living close to one another in Switzerland and often meeting up to play badminton.
But they have never fought against each other for F1's biggest prize -- Raikkonen departed F1 at the end of 2009, just as Vettel began his series of titles in 2010.
So will the heat of a championship battle in 2013, with Raikkonen already leading Vettel in the world championship, spoil their friendship?
"I think you have to separate the two things," German Vettel told Bild newspaper.
"Anyway, we get along very well, but it's not like we spend every spare minute in the paddock together," he added.
Bild correspondent Frank Schneider wrote: "Raikkonen and Vettel are completely different.
"Raikkonen is tattooed, smokes, drinks, while Vettel lives a disciplined life free of scandal."

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Q: Who do you think is cool? Brad Pitt, Barack Obama, Homer Simpson?
SV: Somebody who lives in his own way. If you follow the footsteps of others you will never leave marks. To judge Brad Pitt, for example, I would have to know him, which I don’t. What I admire is people who are grounded and resistant to all kinds of whisperings. Kimi Raikkonen, for example. You may like him or not, but he lives his way. He does the things he has identified as worthy for him and he is not trying to be everybody’s darling. At least he doesn’t give that impression.

Q: Is Raikkonen the closest thing to a friend you have among your competitors? The two of you are often seen chatting together during the drivers’ parade…
SV: Yes. He is straightforward and honest and he tells you if he has a bad day. Period. He is real. He’s not political. He’s never up to something. If he doesn’t want to tell you something he will say so and not hum and haw. He doesn’t beat around the bush, never coming to the point.

Q: You beat Sebastian all the time in Badminton. Doesn’t he want to play something else?
KR: (laughs) We already have some other games…
Q: For example?
KR: Table tennis.
Q: Does he beat you at least there?
KR: No, of course not! At least I still beat him off track this year.
Q: Is it true that you moved nearby him?
KR: I moved, but not to be close to him (grins) But now we are just 10 minutes away. Before it was 25. Now I can beat him more often in Badminton.

Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel are close friends. They spend as much time together as they can.

- "I like the fact that he's really honest", Vettel says.

- "He's always been like that. Very outspoken. I have met a lot of people. Some are nice and some aren't. But honesty is a good quality. At least for me it's important. And Kimi is very honest. And he's a good guy."

- "I try to spend as much time as I can with Kimi. Last year we played badminton. We're both very busy so we could only play once. I lost."

At the Chinese GP the two entertained each other and the surrounding media by assembling puzzles and playing board soccer.

http://www.iltalehti.fi/formulat/201204 ... 9_fo.shtml

Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel has flagged his friend Kimi Raikkonen as a potential pretender to his throne in 2012.

After becoming friends prior to Raikkonen's rallying switch two years ago, German Vettel has stayed in contact with the Finn, occasionally meeting in their domiciled Switzerland to play badminton.

They did not manage to catch up at the Jerez test last week, but Red Bull's Vettel admitted the pace of Raikkonen's new Lotus caught his eye.

"If it's as good as it seemed at Jerez, then Kimi is a serious opponent," he is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/raikk ... ent-vettel