Kimi Raikkonen is no longer a candidate for a race seat at Red Bull, team boss Christian Horner has said.
Last year, the 2007 world champion – who left F1 in 2009 and has since been racing in the world rally championship as well as NASCAR – was linked with a return to formula one with the energy drink’s premier team.

Red Bull’s Austrian broadcaster Servus last week conducted a viewer survey about who should be Sebastian Vettel’s teammate next year.

Mark Webber received 26.2 per cent of the vote, ahead of Finn and former Ferrari and McLaren driver Raikkonen with 26.1. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button received 17.4 and 16.4pc of the vote respectively.

“Kimi is a great driver,” Horner is quoted by Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, “but I believe he has put F1 behind him.”

Kimi Raikkonen can pull out of the 2011 world rally championship to return to F1 if he wants to.
That is the claim of Citroen’s rally chief Olivier Quesnel, amid reports the 2007 world champion is now contractually committed to rallying for this season.

The Finn and his management have not yet responded to multiple attempts by the formula one media to confirm rumours that Raikkonen, 31, is a candidate to replace the injured Robert Kubica at Renault this year.

After making his full-time world rally debut with Citroen last year, the former McLaren and Ferrari driver has announced he will drive a Citroen DS3 under the Ice 1 entry in 2011.

“If he wants to leave, I couldn’t say anything because he is a client,” Quesnel told RMC Sport.

“He has rented a car from us and drives with his own sponsors,” added the Citroen boss.

“I suppose there may be considerable pressure from Bernie Ecclestone, the FIA and the whole world of F1 who want to see him come back because he is still an emblematic driver for the sport.”

However, Quesnel indicated that he doesn’t think Raikkonen is too keen to go back to F1.

“If he is taking phone calls, they would have to be very convincing to get him back there,” he said.

Kimi Raikkonen has ceased talks about his plans for the 2011 season following the death of his father Matti.
The major Finnish newspaper Iltalehti reports that the grief-stricken 31-year-old, who was reportedly considering switching teams for the next world rally championship, may even call time on his racing career.

Raikkonen was reportedly very close with his father, a road builder, who supported his sons’ careers from an early age and died suddenly at the age of 56 two days before Christmas.

“Since the death of Matti Raikkonen, all the plans (of Kimi Raikkonen) are on ice,” confirmed the Finn’s rally co-driver Kaj Lindstrom.

He added: “Let’s hope he stays in rallying. The chances of success are much better in the second year than the first, because you don’t have to be learning all sorts of things all of the time.”

F1′s globalisation has made it harder for drivers from the sport’s traditional markets to find places on the grid.

That is the claim of Austrian Christian Klien, who raced a few times with the struggling new team HRT in 2010 and is hoping for a full season next year.

But with pay-drivers now wielding more power than in the recent past, Klien admitted the task is tough.

“Nico Hulkenberg’s case shows that there are no guarantees,” he is quoted by Vorarlberg Online.

“He had a great debut year with a pole position in Brazil, and he’s out,” said Klien.

“In my own case, I have some options,” he revealed.

“The most obvious one of course is HRT, who are on the verge of establishing themselves as a serious competitor, even if there are some setbacks from time to time.

“In February there was not much of a team and I would not have believed I would contest three grands prix this year. And there’s still some time until March (2011),” added Klien.

He thinks part of his difficulty in establishing a strong full-time return to F1 is geographic.

“It is pretty hard when you are from central Europe,” said Klien, 27.

“F1 has internationalised very quickly and previously as a Briton, an Italian, a Frenchman, you had a good chance,” said the Austrian.

“Today there are more cockpits from before, but the driver market is being fed from many more countries; Russia, India, the southeast Asian region, and now probably Korea and China.

“And if you’re the eighth German, then it is very difficult. Look at France and Italy — 20 years ago there were ten of each. And today?”

The other problem is the economic climate, and the power wielded by drivers who carry substantial commercial backing.

“Even a big name like Kimi Raikkonen in the world rally championship is relying on sponsors to get his cockpit,” said Klien.

“And in F1 the teams are under enormous cost pressure,” he added.

As he prepares to commit for another year to world rallying, Kimi Raikkonen insists he does not regret his decision to leave formula one.

A year after leaving Ferrari to join Citroen in the world rally championship, the 2007 world champion was linked with a return to F1 with Renault.

With that move ruled out, however, reports suggest Raikkonen is recommitting to rallying for 2011, despite some critics suggesting he has crashed too much and not been fast enough.

“Rally is like a national sport in Finland,” he is quoted by L’Equipe.

“I grew up following all the great drivers. I have always wanted to try this sport; it was not a rash decision.

“At the end of last year,” Raikkonen explained, “I had an opportunity and seized it, and I have really enjoyed it.

“Few people have the chance to do rallying at this level and I want to put into practice everything I learned this year,” he added.

The Volkswagen group is not going to enter formula one.

That is the conclusion on Tuesday of a report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

Last month, following speculation the German giant was considering entering F1 with Audi or Porsche branding, it emerged that VW would discuss the possibility during a meeting in early November.

The FAZ newspaper, citing definite but unnamed sources, now says Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech has decided the marque will not be entering F1.

Interestingly, the report said Red Bull and McLaren had expressed their interest in being supplied engines by Volkswagen.

FAZ said VW is still interested in entering the world rally championship, as well as operating two programmes – with Porsche and Audi – at Le Mans.

Kimi Raikkonen is reportedly close to deciding to stay in the world rally championship with Red Bull and Citroen next year.

After F1′s world champion of 2007 quelled speculation he is looking to return to formula one next year with Renault, Citroen’s competition boss has now revealed that talks between Raikkonen and his sponsor Red Bull are well advanced.

“I know the negotiations are progressing well for Kimi to stay in the Citroen junior team,” Olivier Quesnel reportedly told Autosprint magazine in Italy.

“I don’t know when something will be officially announced,” he acknowledged.

It had been rumoured that energy drink Red Bull’s enthusiasm for the Citroen junior team project had waned.

More rumours had linked Raikkonen, 31, with a move to Ford, with funding from the Monster energy drink.

Robert Kubica is travelling to Korea this week in podium-winning form.

At the weekend, between the Japanese and Korean grands prix, the Pole and rally enthusiast took part in the Rallye d’Antibes in the South of France.

The rally, with Kubica at the wheel of a Clio S1600, is part of the FIA European Rally Championship.

According to French language sources including Belgian television RTBF, the 25-year-old finished the rally in third place overall.  Auto Hebdo described it as “an excellent performance”.

F1 Renault driver Kubica reportedly finished ahead of many faster S2000 cars, topped the times in three separate stages, and won the A6 class outright.

A month ago in Italy, he took his first class victory in the Rally d’Alipi Orientali.

But at Suzuka just over a week ago, Kubica retired his F1 car from second place behind winner Sebastian Vettel when his R30 shed a rear wheel.

He was, however, buoyed by his pace in Japan.

“I didn’t expect to be as quick as we were,” he admitted.

Citroen is waiting for Kimi Raikkonen to decide whether to stay with the French marque in the world rally championship next year.

The Finn is reportedly considering returning to formula one in 2011 with Renault, while some insiders believe he is much more likely to stay at least another season in his new discipline.

Benoit Nogier, team manager at the Citroen Junior Team, said the door is open for the 30-year-old.

“At the moment there is no commitment from Kimi for next year,” he told French radio RMC.

“Up to now he has showed appreciation for what he is doing and the desire to continue.

“He is the master of his destiny so it’s up to him to tell us if he wants to be with us next year or not.  I will be very happy to welcome him if he wants to continue,” added Nogier.

He said there is no great rush for Raikkonen to decide.

“We’re not talking about a deadline because it’s too early.  As the days go by you eventually reach the time to make a decision,” he explained.

Eric Boullier has dropped some big hints about the possible identity of Robert Kubica’s teammate at Renault in 2011.

The team is weighing up whether to keep Vitaly Petrov, the Russian rookie who is substantially financed, or push ahead with initial discussions with potential replacements.

The highest profile potential successor is Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion who agreed to leave Ferrari at the end of last year and has since been driving full time in the world rally championship.

“Yes, Kimi has been in contact with us, but we’re not yet in discussion,” Boullier is quoted by Auto Hebdo in the Singapore paddock.

“It could be a scenario if we decide not to keep Vitaly.

“What is certain is that if we decide to go back into talks with Raikkonen, I want to meet him to really assess the true motivation for his return,” added Boullier, amid reports the 30-year-old Finn is primarily looking to replace his Ferrari income that is soon to end.

“Whether it’s Kimi Raikkonen or someone else, I want him to be super-motivated to race with us.  Whether he’s Finnish, Chinese or French-Swiss, he has to prove he is motivated,” said Boullier.

The nationalities cited by Boullier almost certainly refer to Renault reserve driver Ho-Pin Tung (Chinese) and the newly Gravity-managed Romain Grosjean (French-Swiss).

Also linked with Renault have been Adrian Sutil, and Spain’s AS newspaper reports that Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari has also been in contact with the Enstone based team.

Peter Sauber, Raikkonen’s first team boss in 2001, told the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat: “Personally, I’d be glad if Kimi came back.  He is so different and talented.”

Nick Heidfeld added: “He would be able to come back without the slightest problem.  I have not been driving for a long time and yet I feel I have come back with exactly the same feeling.”

And Kubica, Raikkonen’s potential teammate, commented: “If I was in Kimi’s position, I might stay in rallying.

“But I’m not saying that because I want him to stay there,” added the Pole, who like Raikkonen is a rallying aficionado.

Robert Kubica performed well whilst contesting Italy’s Rally del Friuli at the weekend.

Polish media reports said the formula one driver won some timed stages in the A6 class of the Italian Rally Championship event, at the wheel of a Renault Clio S1600.

Overall, he placed 13th, 7 minutes behind the winner and rivals with more powerful cars.

“I came here to have fun,” said Kubica, whose Renault contract allows him to contest some rallies, unlike his previous BMW deal.

“I have to be careful not to risk too much, because formula one is my real job.  But I love the challenge of adapting to rallying,” added the 25-year-old.

Not including the McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari drivers, Kubica is the highest placed driver in the 2010 drivers’ championship.

Mercedes competition director Norbert Haug recently travelled to Kimi Raikkonen’s home in Switzerland.

The visit triggered rumours, reported initially by the Finnish tabloid Iltalehti, that the 2007 world champion and current world rally championship driver might be negotiating his return to formula one.

Raikkonen’s spokesman Riku Kuvaja responded by saying the situation for the 30-year-old former McLaren and Ferrari driver is “the same as before”.

He would not confirm Haug’s Swiss visit.

But at Silverstone on Friday, Haug himself confirmed the news but insisted their meeting was not about Raikkonen’s future.

“I have been in contact with Kimi as a friend,” said the German, who worked alongside Raikkonen between 2002-2006 at McLaren and was even a guest at the Finn’s wedding.

As for Raikkonen’s future, Haug said he has not discussed it with the rally driver. “Kimi will make a decision for himself,” he said on Friday, according to MTV3.

“I do hope he comes back, because it would be a good thing for F1,” added Haug.

Kimi Raikkonen could be asked to test formula one tyres for the sport’s new exclusive supplier Pirelli.

It has emerged that the Italian company will supply two sets of tyres to each team at a special Abu Dhabi test immediately after November’s season finale.

But Pirelli is also keen to do some testing before then, and – after initially running with a GP2 car – is considering using either an old BMW or Toyota car.

As for the driver, Nick Heidfeld had been touted, but this might have handed an unfair advantage to Mercedes.

According to Finland’s Turun Sanomat, Pirelli’s racing boss Paul Hembery proposed in Valencia that Finn Raikkonen could be an option.

The 2007 world champion left Ferrari at the end of last year and currently drives full-time in the Pirelli-shod world rally championship.

“I don’t know whether Kimi Raikkonen would be interested,” Hembery is quoted as saying.

The 18 grand prix winner’s manager Steve Robertson said: “Currently, Kimi is totally focused on what he is doing.

“But if Pirelli approaches us, of course we will discuss it.  Then, it would depend on whether Kimi is interested in this sort of challenge, and how it would fit into his schedule,” he added.

(GMM)

Renault could be set to push for Kimi Raikkonen to become Robert Kubica’s future teammate.

It is now widely expected that the Finn, who left his Ferrari contract one year early to race in the world rally championship this year, is not keen to return to formula one as early as 2011.

But according to Finland’s Turun Sanomat, Renault might be courting as a possible sponsor the American credit card multinational MasterCard.

Citing paddock rumours, the report said MasterCard would be interested in the deal “if Raikkonen would drive as Robert Kubica’s teammate”.

But 30-year-old Raikkonen’s manager Steve Robertson reportedly denied that even exploratory talks with Renault have been held.

MasterCard sponsored Lotus’ stillborn F1 effort in 1997, and the Jordan team in 1998-2001.

(GMM)

As the 2010 season speeds towards its mid-way point, Kimi Raikkonen is still not ruling out taking a seat on next year’s grid.

The 2007 world champion stepped out of his Ferrari last year and into a full-time debut in the world rally championship.

“Yes, I watch races on television, but I don’t miss anything except for the driving,” 30-year-old Raikkonen is quoted as saying by Italy’s Autosprint.

“I will make my decision completely calmly and without outside pressure,” said the Finn, who has been linked with the Renault seat alongside Robert Kubica.

“I have only a one year contract (in 2010) but I don’t have any hurry to make any decisions,” he added.

(GMM)