Räikkönen: an announcement scheduled for October 17 regarding 2013

A few weeks ago, Gérard Lopez, owner of the Lotus team, assured in the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat that Kimi Räikkönen would continue the adventure with the British team at least in the short term: “We have an agreement based on performances, and it has been respected.” The Luxembourger stated, however, that he wouldn’t force anyone to stay against their will, even if he insisted that “Kimi wants to be here, just like Romain Grosjean.”

However, for several weeks, the native of Espoo has been the subject of rumors suggesting a move to Ferrari. While a return of the 2007 World Champion to Maranello seems unlikely, the Finn maintains the mystery by stating in the columns of Turun Sanomat: « I do not have an agreement for next season yet. »

The Lotus driver even went further by releasing a video – below – showing him signing a contract that will be revealed to the public on October 17, with the sound of a Formula One engine in the background: « There is a lot of speculation about what Kimi Räikkönen will do next season. Everything will end on October 17 when a new contract is released, » reads the description of the video which links to a site with an evocative name, whatwillkimidonext.com.

According to Finnish television MTV3, the video clip was reportedly produced by Pulp Active Oy, a communication agency representing Kimi Räikkönen’s rally team, Ice 1 Racing. The video having been shared on the Lotus F1 team’s Facebook page could be a sign of a potential contract renewal for the driver with the Enstone team.

Note that the choice of October 17 as the date is not coincidental since Kimi Räikkönen will celebrate his thirty-third birthday on that day. Until then, one should not expect the ever-laconic Lotus driver to shed any light on the mystery.