Raikkonen: Decision to stay at Alfa "not difficult"
Kimi Raikkonen says his decision to extend his Formula 1 career with Alfa Romeo in 2021 was "not difficult."
On Friday morning the Hinwil outfit announced that both Raikkonen and teammate Antonio Giovinazzi will stay on for a third season together.
In recent weeks the Finn has fielded regular questions about his future by insisting that he had yet to make his mind up, suggesting that the decision to stay was his to make, despite others – notably Sergio Perez – apparently being in contention for the seat.
"No, I don't think it was difficult," said Raikkonen. "But there's nothing to confirm before we sign the contract. We signed it yesterday, basically. You keep asking always about the future. But if we haven't signed anything, I wouldn't start lying.
"So I don't think it was difficult. Obviously there's many aspects from the team side, what they want to do, what I want to do, and obviously there's other things in our life that you need to look into also.
"But in the end it made sense from my side, and also for their side. And once we started to, let's say, talk about it, it wasn't such a long process. So that was quite straightforward."
Asked about his ambitions for 2021 Raikkonen said: "Hopefully do a lot better than this year. Obviously, as a team, none of us are happy where we are, but unfortunately this is the situation right now.
"And you know, the aim is to improve and be a lot better off. But there's no guarantee on anything. So we have to just do a better job overall. And hopefully, next year, we'll be a bit happier with things, and be where we expect to be."
Team boss Fred Vasseur did not deny that he had talked to other drivers.
"You are always in contact with everybody," said the Frenchman. "If a team principal is telling you that he's not in contact with the other drivers, he's bullshitting!
"Kimi is part of the team, we have a close relationship together. Even if the decision was not easy, it's always also in this kind of situation that we are building up something. And it was the normal way for us to continue together, and I'm very happy with the decision, and the future for the team."
Share Or Save This Story
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
David Coulthard explains why Robin Raikkonen's rise resembles Max Verstappen's
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Red Bull signs Kimi Raikkonen’s son as junior driver
What F1 history tells us about three-way title deciders
F1 cars from 1950 to 2025: Alfa Romeo 158 vs McLaren MCL39
F1 tech review: Charting Alfa Romeo’s slide down the order
Jacques Villeneuve calls out Oscar Piastri after costly Azerbaijan GP error: "Rookie mistake"
NASCAR Cup Kansas Chase race starting lineup: Rain again washes out qualifying
Jacques Villeneuve defends Red Bull team orders call at F1 Azerbaijan GP
"A big mistake" - Devastated Franco Colapinto apologises to Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris for Baku F1 crash
How George Russell claimed his career-best pole margin in F1 Azerbaijan GP qualifying
How the chase to catch Mercedes is unfolding
What we learned from Thursday practice at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP
A look at McLaren and Audi's Baku F1 updates
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments