Lotus technical director James Allison says Kimi Raikkonen will stay with Lotus for 2013 – Formula 1
Lotus technical director James Allison is saying that he is confident of Kimi Raikkonen’s retention for next year.
Allison said that he is looking forward to what the Finn can do for the team in the future. He added that the improvement of the team will be key with Raikkonen being an integral part with his expertise.
Rumours had surfaced during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend that the Finn may be linked to Ferrari to replace Felipe Massa after Red Bull driver Mark Webber was not able to strike a deal with the team and decided to renew his contract with Red Bull for
another year.
Ferrari are still on the lookout for a driver to replace Massa for the 2013 season and several names have popped up. Raikkonen is looking to be the perfect candidate but Ferrari’s strategy has always been to have one key driver and the second one to support
that driver.
Fernando Alonso is the main driver and Massa is supporting him right now, if Ferrari are to sign Raikkonen up it would mean that they will have two key drivers capable of winning the championships and Ferrari does not believe in that type of strategy which
makes the rumours count for less but this is a different time and a different era, Ferrari are desperate to improve their performances, which means nothing is confirmed yet.
Allison on the other hand believes that there is no indication that Raikkonen is going to leave Lotus.
“He doesn't give us any reason to think that he is going elsewhere,” he said in a video interview on the Lotus website. “I think he likes it with us, I think we're giving him competitive equipment and it's a very straightforward working environment for any
driver who comes and works in our team.”
“One of the reasons I'm so excited about the second half of the season is that both our drivers have their tails up and both are absolutely on song, and we have bedded in with them and them with us and we are now making the most of what I hope is a very
strong driver line-up,” he said.
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