At a Certain Point, Team Takes Precedence – Raikkonen

2007 F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen looks set to be confirmed by Ferrari for another year. Recently, the Iceman revealed the secret behind his and Sebastian Vettel’s amiable relationship. This suggested that the pair are set to continue as teammates beyond 2018.

Raikkonen said “At a certain point in the world championship fight, the team takes precedence. That has always been clear to me. I’m not around just since yesterday.”

It is fairly obvious that Vettel looks up to the Finn and wants to keep him as his teammate in 2019. This is inspite of speculation that Ferrari may promote their protege Charles Leclerc in place of the veteran.

The four times F1 world champion said that they were a good pair and that there was no problem between them.

Raikkonen jokingly said, “It’s definitely better than him calling me an idiot! Seriously, we’ve always got along well. With him, there is no politics or other bullshit, but a normal male friendship.”

According to Italian sources, Raikkonen and Ferrari are close to finalising another year-long deal.

He received approval from the new management just before the Hungarian Grand Prix. This likely explained the positive camaraderie in the Ferrari camp.

Apart from Vettel, Raikkonen also has the support of team chief Maurizio Arrivabene. The Italian is big fan of both his drivers and keen to retain stability at Maranello. Especially in the wake of a destabilising time namely the months of June and July. This included the passing of their chairman Sergio Marchionne.

Kimi has confessed that he desires to continue, “Of course I would like to stay, but that’s Ferrari’s decision alone. I’ll wait just as much as you do.”

“We both have the same goal: to make Ferrari Formula 1 World Champions and we complement each other very well in the way we drive for the team,”.