Renault consider possible Kimi Raikkonen talks
Renault team principal Eric Boullier has expressed his desire to hold talks with 2007 Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen. The discussions would be aimed at assessing the possibility for signing
up the Finn for the 2011 F1 season. The 30-year-old Raikkonen, who is currently invested in the World Rally Championship, has recently revealed his yearning to return to the excitement of the F1 circuit with the legendary team.
The news comes after speculation has been surfacing for weeks regarding the status of rookie Vitaly Petrov, who has been struggling to make an impact this season. Though Renault have strongly stressed
their priority in cultivating the Russian’s talents, the team have resolved to leave the door open for other possibilities if the driver shows no substantial improvement, leaving a potential seat for Raikkonen next to Robert Kubica.
“It is still frustrating because he [Petrov] keeps doing mistakes,” Boullier explained in an interview with Autosport. “We put a lot of pressure on him and definitely he was not on the pace on Friday,
but he was there on Saturday.
He added, "He qualified 13th with a crash in Q2 [second qualifying round], so it was a strange situation. The race could have been good, but he opened up a little bit too much the door and [Nico] Hulkenberg
did a kamikaze move on him. It is racing, and it was unfortunate.”
Boullier also stated that Raikkonen’s chances of joining the team were not dependent on any commercial aspect, despite Renault F1 chairman Gerard Lopez’s earlier comments that the team would have to consider
salaries and sponsors when taking on a world class driver.
“It is definitely not a money issue,” countered Boullier. “It is only the understanding for him to fit in F1 – and for us to give as much support as we need to give him to make sure he could be, shall
I say, a decent second driver to score points next year. If Robert is fighting like now for fifth position and Petrov can finish seventh or eighth then that is fine. This is what we expect from a young driver. And it means his learning curve is still improving.
If he is already at the limit, then it is a different matter.”
Petrov has limited time in which to convince his team that he is of worthy racing calibre, with Renault eager to settle their line-up for the 2011 F1 season.
“It is definitely getting closer to when we will make a decision,” Boullier revealed. “But we really want to consider all of the options. I decided to tell some drivers that we will not carry on discussions
with them, so we now wait and see – but Kimi remains one of our scenarios. I have said many times that I want to meet with him first before we do anything more. I want to understand more about his wish to come back.”
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