Formula 1’s driver market merry-go-round burst into life this week
when Jenson Button made the shock switch from Brawn GP to McLaren for
2010. One of the consequences of that move is that it appears to have
forced Kimi Raikkonen to take a sabbatical from grand prix racing –
although there are rumours now he could take the seat vacated by the
world champion.
With speculation linking Raikkonen with moves to the World Rally
Championship or Le Mans, AUTOSPORT caught up with Raikkonen’s manager
Steve Robertson in Macau to find out what the situation was now that
Button’s future plans had been decided.
Q. Can you clarify what the current situation with Kimi
Raikkonen is. Is it 100 per cent that he will not be in Formula 1 next
year?
Steve Robertson: Pretty much so – although you
could never say 100 per cent. Kimi had a goal and a team he wanted to
be with, but it didn’t work out. We tried. We had many meetings with
McLaren, but unfortunately there were a few issues there that we could
not find common ground on. And we realised in the last four or five
days that it would be very difficult for a deal to be done.
And
Kimi, if he cannot get a competitive drive in F1, where he feels he can
win races and the championship, then he does not need to do F1 for the
money. He does it because he wants to win. He would rather take a year
out, with the possibility of coming back in 2011.
Q. Does he have the hunger to get back into F1?
SR: Yes. As far as Kimi is concerned he has
unfinished business – if the opportunity is there to win races and
another championship. That is his main goal. Now it looks like he is
not doing F1 we will look at other options. Rallying, or something else
– but there is nothing firmed up in that area yet because F1 has only
just finished for us in the last few days. Now it is the time to
discuss other things.
Q. Are there any ongoing talks
with F1 teams right now? There has been speculation that Kimi could
take the Mercedes GP seat vacated by Jenson Button.
SR: This is Formula 1. If they can offer, or
convince us, that they can provide Kimi an opportunity that Kimi is
happy with, and that we are happy with, and he feels he can win races
and the championship then never say never. There is always a
possibility.
Q. What do you think is most likely for Kimi next year if he does not get anything in F1? Is rallying the preferred option?
SR: In all honesty, he wanted to do a couple of
rallies with F1. Since F1 has no testing, Kimi gets a little bit bored
during the week because he cannot do anything. He feels it does not do
him any harm. If you look at what happened this year, when he rallied
and then came back to F1, his results were always strong. For him, it
keeps him sharp. So if he does not do F1, then I am sure he will do
something in the World Rally Championship.
Q. What
would you say percentage wise his chances of eventually returning to F1
are, because a lot of fans are disappointed he will not be there in
2010 after what he did with Ferrari in the second half of this season?
SR: It is true that Kimi had a fantastic second
half to the year when you consider that there was no development with
that car – and he still won a race at Spa. But listen – a lot of F1
teams are interested in Kimi. He is one of those unique drivers, who
gets in something and instantly he is quick. He does not need days and
days of testing. It has always been that way.
There are not
that many teams that would appeal to Kimi because he is honest when he
says he has got to have a car to win. He is not interested in the
money. Of course, money is a part of it but he doesn’t need the money.
He wants a car where he can show his talent. He was very frustrated
this year by the fact that he could not win more races, and challenge
for the championship. When you have been in F1 for nine years and been
a world champion then you need challenges – and for Kimi the challenge
is to win championships and races.
Q. So it is fair to say that phone will always be on for anyone willing to offer him something?
SR: Yes, for sure. Kimi had made it clear that he wants to return in the right situation.
Q. What is your reaction to Jenson Button’s decision to join McLaren?
SR: Obviously, after McLaren could not get Kimi,
they looked at what they thought was the next best option. People say
that to have two British drivers in one team is not a good thing, but
McLaren has never operated like that. They want to take the best
drivers available, irrespective of nationality. It will be interesting
that they have two world champions in their team next year – and I am
watching with interest, like everyone else, to see how that develops.
FUCK ISRAEL 
Thank God for this interview, it has finally shed some light.But still no word from Kimi himself 😦 I miss him. Guess he’s far too busy of course, and he’s got his gang to talk for him.
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The official F1 website ：Exclusive Kimi Raikkonen Q&A – I want to win another title http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2009/11/10229.htmlIt's over.
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This is getting me crazy Steve has given me some hope but i will not believe anything until it’s official til then Kimi is taking sabbatical in 2010 and hopefully he’ll be back in 2011.Still it’s good to hear both Steve & Kimi finally speaking up…actually in the interview he says he feels Mercedes will be running 2 Germans but he didn’t say he’s not interested (plus it could be that he’s testing them to see they’re reaction), Steve Robertson told Autosport that driving to Mercedes is a possibility, Haug said: "We want to have the best possible line-up and there are still some very capable drivers on the market. There will of course be speculation", and earlier said the team will be an international and promised a surprise…i think he probably meant by it Button coz lately everyone expected them to have Nico and Nick but Jenson’s move complicated things, i think if they wanted 2 Germans they would have announced it and if they do so all their hard work will disappear in an instant…no way they mange to keep neither WDC and WCC how will they be able to stand against lineups like Alonso-Massa, Hamilton-Button and Vettel-Webber??!! In my opinion Mercedes are considering signing Kimi and are preparing a contract that might please both sides but maybe it’s just my imagination but sounds the most logical thing for them to do if they wanna keep on winning…Still let’s not get too excited or optimistic about things that may or may not happens let’s wait and see…we have no other choice..
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i think is difficult to be true because Steve himself has said most likely Kimi won’t be at F1 next year and i read on WRC official site they said Kimi maybe compete in therewaiting for some miracle
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wait wait wait again and again !that’s the inherent property of a Kimi fan ^^and KRS rocks !! yeaaaah 😀
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If he wants to show his talent, then can someone tell me why Kimi and the Robertsons seem so reserved about Merc GP?It is more than likely that the car will be a championship contender next year. They switched focus to 2010 early as Brawn deemed their great gap in the first half of the season to be sufficient.I guess I am just impatient. But I will be very disappointed if he doesnt sign with them. What if the car turns out to be a winner? I wonder what Kimi thinks then. Come on Kimbo :p
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it seems that kimi wants a F1 contract which allows him to rally part-time in 2010 (after all, that’s what he had at ferrari.) i doubt he wants to go rallying full-time until 2011, at least. he fancies both (another) F1 driver title and WRC one, apparently. well, in 2010 he’s probably more likely to win an F1 championship in a mercedes/ross brawn car than a rally one in his first season after a handful of drives. also, it’s pretty obvious that mercedes GP basically didn’t want to retain button – why? just to replace him with heidfeld? norbert haug is a fan of kimi’s, who has huge talent and fanbase, mercedes would be mad not to offer him a contract, surely? IMO, they just need to let him go rallying too. even if he is only seeking a 1 year deal, kimi is the best driver by far to lead their new team, and yes, they have the money (just not for button!). hope these thoughts make sense!group hug everyone….
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