Raikkonen discusses Ferrari contract extension

We have seen the speculation for months, really since the start of the season, but yesterday Kimi Raikkonen was retained by Ferrari for another season.

New team principal Maurizio Arrivabene had said so much at the time, saying that he would need to see how the season went. However, Kimi who has won the World Championship for Ferrari, the last driver to do so for the team despite the efforts of Fernando Alonso who replaced him, the form he showed when he joined Lotus hasn’t returned which fuelled the rumours.

Talking in the drivers press conference on Thursday, Raikkonen wasn’t fazed by criticism of his form, “Obviously we want more wins, me and the team, but I’ve had good years, difficult years, some up and downs but I always enjoy it, always enjoy it more when things are going more nicely when you get results but as a team, I’ve had a great time there and I’m very pleased that we can be working together next year again.

“As a team, as they are now, I really feel that we are going in the right direction and we can do great things in the future. No, if I miss something… like I said, people more happy, we are more happy when we can do better results. Obviously you write less negative things after that. We keep working and believe in what we’re doing so I’m sure we will get there and we will have many happy days in front of us and a lot of good results.”

Clearly a close relationship with his team mate have made a positive effect on the team, with both drivers having a mutual respect for each other. Raikkonen went on to say, “I know him well and we have a very good relationship and it’s nice…

“He tells me and I tell him if he does well and I do well, we have a very good feeling of respect in the team. It’s always nice to hear from him also.

“We try to beat each other in the races but we still can be friends as before, so I think that is also very good for us as a team that we can work very closely.”

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