Marchionne Warns ‘Laggard’ Raikkonen Following Austria Performance

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen’s contract expires at the end of the 2017 season and his recent performances have not convinced Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne to extend said contract. “There are days when I think he’s a bit of a laggard, but we’ll see. I am going to talk to him today, we’ll see what happens.” said the Italian, who was in attendance at the Austrian GP.

While Vettel is also out of contract next season, the mere fact that Vettel is leading the championship standings and Raikkonen is 5th in the standings, is not helping the Finn’s cause. His last win was in 2013 for the Lotus team, Vettel on the other hand has won a few races this season. Marchionne has said that he was satisfied with the team’s performance especially after their struggles during the 2016 season. “It’s not perfect, I think we still left a lot of potential gains on the track. We can make that difference up. I still think that Mercedes has a slight edge over us,” he said.

With Raikkonen entering the twilight of his career, one has to wonder if there is anything left in the tank. Can Raikkonen still be considered ‘The Flying Finn’? only time will tell. Fortunately, there is still time for Kimi to prove himself to Marchionne and get in his good books and a contract extension.