Räikkönen increasingly closer to Ferrari?

Rumors continue to swirl around the future of Kimi Räikkönen for the 2014 Formula 1 season. The Lotus driver seems to have plenty of options regarding his future in the premier discipline, and the possibilities available to the Finn are certainly appealing. However, according to some astute observers, certain teams should do everything possible to secure the services of Iceman, starting with Ferrari, for whom he already raced between 2007 and 2009, with a world championship title to his name.

Indeed, Niki Lauda, now the non-executive chairman of the Mercedes team, urges Scuderia to hire Räikkönen: “Ferrari has a problem. Kimi is someone for whom the mechanics and engineers would immediately have respect. He could give the team the boost that Lewis Hamilton brought to Mercedes,” he stated knowingly to our German colleagues from Bild. “And he would be in a position to trouble Alonso. If I were Montezemolo, I would take Kimi.”

Such statements echo recent rumors of very advanced negotiations between Ferrari and Kimi Räikkönen, similar to the tweet published Thursday evening by Antoine Arlot, F1 journalist on RMC:

Räikkönen se rapproche de Ferrari… Un pré-contrat serait signé. #F1 #RMCSport

— Antoine Arlot (@antoinearlot) August 29, 2013

A few moments later, and after contacting Eric Boullier by phone, the special envoy of the radio stated that the director of the Lotus team had indicated that he was not aware of such an agreement. The information seems to have originated from the Italian correspondent of CNN, Tancredi Palmeri, tweeting: « Huge hints that Kimi Räikkönen has signed for Ferrari ».

Huge hints that Kimi Räikkönen just signed for Ferrari

— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) August 29, 2013

Rumors that have so far elicited no official reaction from the Scuderia, especially since Stefano Domenicali, the director of the Italian team, primarily hopes to retain Felipe Massa: « We have to wait and see. My preferred choice would obviously be to keep Felipe because Felipe is a very good guy—very dedicated to the team—and when you look elsewhere, there aren’t many drivers you can trade for him who would immediately deliver on their promises, » he stated on the official F1 website.

The Transalpine is not, however, averse to change, especially if the results of the 2008 runner-up are not up to par: But, of course, we need good results from Felipe, which is why we are not going to rush because we need to make the right decision for the team. As soon as we have clarified the situation, we will announce it officially to silence the rumors once and for all. When we are ready…

Here is more fuel for the rumors while waiting for an official announcement on Kimi Räikkönen’s future…