Kimi Räikkönen visiting Williams F1

Will Kimi Räikkönen return to Formula One in 2012? Far from providing an answer, the visit of the former McLaren and Ferrari driver to the Williams factory earlier this week has set newsrooms and fan forums abuzz. While the reason for this visit is unknown, the Finnish press believes that the 2007 World Champion went to the Grove facilities to discover the new Jaguar C-X75, the brand’s first hybrid model, which is expected to be built in 250 units in partnership with the British team. Various sources claim that the Finnish driver visited the facilities in the company of Adam Parr, the current CEO of Williams F1, in person.

« It was a private visit and we have no comment to make » however, a spokesperson for the team told our colleagues at GPUpdate.com.

How, however, can we not think back to the “private” visit Jenson Button made to Woking at the end of 2009 before being officially announced as a driver for the British team a short time later? The F1 world indeed remains with a sense of incompleteness regarding Kimi Räikkönen, who, with his style and talent, seems to have left a void in the hearts of many F1 supporters, as evidenced by the incessant rumors of his return.

This “excitement” around this visit is partly fueled by the negotiations, which seem to be stalling, between Rubens Barrichello and his team for a contract extension in 2012: « We are discussing on a daily basis, so we just have to wait. I would have liked us to have an agreement already, but it takes a little more time. The team takes everything into account and they know what I can offer » the Brazilian confided in Monza to the newspaper The Sun.

The question remains, however, whether, given the financial difficulties the British team has been facing for several seasons, it can afford to hire a man who, for a long time, topped the list of the highest-paid drivers in Formula One. The motivation of the Finnish driver, who never truly seemed to regret leaving Formula One, is another unknown in the equation whose result will likely take a few weeks to unveil, even though the 2007 World Champion has never truly closed the door on F1, where he has, to date, written the most remarkable chapters of his career.