Ferrari denies any interest in Kimi Räikkönen

During the “silly season,” transfer rumors are in full swing. The latest suggests that Kimi Räikkönen, who is already dealing with the tricky choice between Red Bull and Lotus, is also being tracked by Ferrari.

The German newspaper Bild indeed revealed in its Wednesday edition that the Finn was on the Scuderia’s radar for 2014. Nicola Pohl and Helmut Uhl, the correspondents of the German publication, even indicated that an offer was made to Iceman on the Tuesday before the Hungarian Grand Prix. This offer would be, financially, higher than the one made by Red Bull, although it did not specify the level. The Austrian firm’s proposal, on the other hand, would be equivalent to a salary of 15 million dollars, accompanied by performance-related bonuses and the sponsorship of Räikkönen’s motocross team.

The potential arrival of the 33-year-old driver could come at the expense of Felipe Massa, whose contract ends at the end of the season, or Fernando Alonso if the rumors linking him to Red Bull Racing are confirmed. But such is the nature of the silly season: the motorsport market is primarily filled with more or less credible hypotheses.

On the Ferrari side, for whom Kimi Räikkönen has already driven between 2007 and 2009, with a world championship title to his name in his first season, the aim is to temper such rumors, especially after Luca di Montezemolo’s reaction to certain comments made by Fernando Alonso during the Hungarian weekend. Manuel Franco, spokesperson for the Prancing Horse, spoke in the pages of the Spanish sports daily AS, initially to put out the fire: « The president is 100% with Alonso. Montezemolo is the first to support our driver’s call to improve the car’s competitiveness as quickly as possible. »

Then, it was through the German Press Agency, the DPA, that a spokesperson sought to debunk the Räikkönen rumor, noting in particular that the Italian firm « has no interest in the driver market at the moment ». To lend weight to this argument, Ferrari referred to the case of F. Massa: « For those with short memories: just a year ago, everyone came up with a list of drivers who could have replaced Felipe ».

As often, the first announced transfer should clarify the market situation, confirm or dispel rumors, and trigger the famous game of musical chairs that the F1 Circus so loves to play.