Räikkönen will decide his future at the end of 2009

For a few days, rumors had been suggesting Kimi Räikkönen as a McLaren-Mercedes driver in 2010. The Finn would thus return to the team where he had often been unlucky. Fernando Alonso’s move to Ferrari in 2010 sped things up, and against all odds in the paddocks, the Finnish driver made an announcement: He will not make his decision until the end of the season.

« For now, I haven’t decided yet what I want to do, whether I want to continue racing or not. I had a contract for next year, but now a number of things have changed. So, maybe I’ll be there next year, or maybe not. »

Iceman clearly shows his ambitions to his future employer, if he stays in Formula 1, it’s to become world champion.

« If I decide to stay in Formula 1, I wouldn’t want to go to one of those small teams, where I wouldn’t have a chance to fight for the championship. If I am competing next year, that will be my goal, otherwise there is no reason to be in Formula 1. »

I’ve done what I wanted to do in my life so far, but if I’m competing, then of course, I want to win more races and titles. I’m happy with what I’ve achieved up to now, even though every time you look back,

You think you could have done things differently. But in terms of decisions about my life, I have nothing to regret.

When asked about the idea of the WRC, Kimi Räikkönen responds: « Yes, there is a chance to do it, but there is just as much chance that I will continue in Formula 1. I will decide before the beginning of next year for sure! »

The Finnish driver said there were many factors in the decision to accept the contract termination and insisted that he was in agreement with how things had gone with Ferrari.

« I have always been happy with the decisions I made in the past. Usually, when you have a contract, you must honor it until the end, but there are reasons why it didn’t work out. There isn’t just one reason why we ended up here. But we all made the same decision. In the end, I agree with how things turned out. »

He added: « I have nothing to say against Ferrari, as we have always had a good relationship. I don’t think anyone would like to have such a season which turned out to be so difficult. But it can happen in F1 when you don’t deliver a car capable of being at the front. We had good moments and sometimes tougher ones, but that’s part of the life of a company and from time to time, you just have to go through these complicated periods. We won many championships, one for me, two for the team, and I will only keep good memories. »

One might say that the story was beautiful despite a disappointed Räikkönen leaving Ferrari and that everything ends well in the best of worlds. But some statements from the main person concerned today change the tone and suggest that his departure was indeed arranged with Ferrari’s new sponsor, the Santander bank.

« The reason for my departure? It has nothing to do with the race or what I do in the team. » States Kimi Räikkönen. This immediately dampens the mood at Ferrari, but the entire paddock was already aware of Fernando Alonso’s transfer, even Felipe Massa stated: « I knew it for some time… »