Kimi Räikkönen will “probably” leave F1 after 2015
On the sidelines of the British Grand Prix, which will start today with the first free practice sessions, Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen announced his intention to leave Formula 1 at the end of his contract with Ferrari, which is at the end of next year.
Between Kimi Räikkönen and Formula 1, it’s a story of perpetual love and hate. The Finnish driver is drawn to the discipline because it represents the pinnacle of motorsport on the most beautiful circuits in the world, but he highly dislikes the commercial and media aspects.
Already, at the end of 2009, the Finn had said goodbye to Formula 1 to turn to rallying, a discipline he is particularly fond of. This experience made him a better driver as he himself stated: « I’ve tried many things, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. It doesn’t detract from my performance in F1. I even think it can help. You always learn by doing different things. »
His desires to pursue other opportunities were often curbed by the contracts that tied him to his teams during his first period in Formula 1 from 2001 to 2009. His initial contract with Ferrari, for example, prevented him from racing in rallies: « Teams are afraid you’ll get injured. When I was at Ferrari, I couldn’t do rallying. It would be nice, not only for us but also for the fans, if we could do different things. »
But when asked the fateful question of how long he plans to stay in Formula 1, he laconically responds to Crash.net: « Until the end of my contract. And then I’ll probably stop. I think that’s what’s going to happen. Doing other things makes no difference regarding F1 and my future currently. »
