Kimi Raikkonnen not returning to Formula 1 after all

Kimi Raikkonnen not returning to Formula 1 after allIs he coming back, or is he not? Looks like former world champion Kimi Raikkonnen won’t be making a return to Formula 1, instead prolonging his stay in the rally scene, at least for now. The Finn’s management team has said that Kimi desires to compete in the World Rally Championship for 2011.

“We’re no longer looking at opportunities in F1. Kimi seems to be focused on rallying at the moment,” Steve Roberston told Finnish TV. He didn’t rule out a return in the future though, saying: “Never say never, but right now our eye is not on F1.”

However, the Iceman is still searching for a home for next season, and may not end up with the Citroen’s Junior team as per this year. “Nothing’s been decided yet. We’ll let you know when there is something to say. At the moment nothing has been signed. We’re talking to several teams,” his agent said.

It seems to me that Kimi is forever shopping, although this approach does get him some serious pay packets!

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • which one is more challenging??drive F1 car or Rally car?

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    • Reinmuster on Nov 02, 2010 at 3:32 pm

      F1 – drive as fast as you can.

      Rallying – Precision driving ( but again drive as fast as you can)

      So I think Rallying is more challenging.

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      • pomen_gtr on Nov 02, 2010 at 4:30 pm

        plus changing road condition not to mention rough terrain

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    • rally_fan on Nov 02, 2010 at 4:54 pm

      raikonnen himself was quoted in an interview where he said Rally is more challenging than F1, due to the ever changing conditions, and length of rally stages.

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  • Faisal on Nov 02, 2010 at 11:59 am

    aaaaaahhhh so sad..

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  • rally_fan on Nov 02, 2010 at 12:11 pm

    read somewhere that he turned down an offer from mini for 6 rnds, coz thats not what he wanted.

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  • rafqin on Nov 02, 2010 at 2:21 pm

    of coz rally..u sleck u hit the tree..haha.

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  • Ford_GT on Nov 02, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    I got a feeling that he gonna sign up in MWRT contract soon after WRC 2010 ends…thanks to KB influence.

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  • seriousSAM on Nov 02, 2010 at 3:59 pm

    he’ll probably end up racing in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) just like any other former F1 drivers. Much better than lousy NASCAR go round the circle race

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  • mata katak on Nov 02, 2010 at 7:23 pm

    Drive anything oso can. Be it a car, a truck or motobike.

    Asal kimi happy always….

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  • too bad since i dun watch rally. would love to see kimi return to F1, maybe take massa’s seat for 2011.

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  • Tungau A/L Punat (original people) on Nov 03, 2010 at 11:19 am

    F1 is suck..Rallying more challenging.that’s why you need co pilot to guide you.

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  • blackbox on Nov 03, 2010 at 6:45 pm

    Agree that rally is more challenging, but F1 have all the latest technology and endless politics. Anyway Kimi is doing quite well in WRC for the first year. He should try to challenge the tittle next year and return to F1 on 2012. Show that he is the fastest. Go! Kimi go!

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    • spike on Nov 04, 2010 at 2:48 pm

      I wouldn’t say he did quite well in WRC at all. Look at how many crashes/DNFs he got this season. Just in the last rally in Spain he didn’t even get to start because he crashed his car during shakedown.

      For me, I think as with any motorsport, it is not a good idea to jump straight into the highest class as the control is significantly more challenging than the lower classed rally cars. He should have gone for S2000 instead, which is technically less challenging than WRC. Even Loeb started his career in N1 rally car before moving up the ranks.

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      • blackbox on Nov 04, 2010 at 6:48 pm

        Rank no. 10 in the first year is not consider good?

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        • spike on Nov 05, 2010 at 1:09 pm

          That’s because there are only around 10 competitors driving an WRC rally cars!

          Look at other close competitors, they are actually S2000 competitors.

          Kimi, being in the Citroen Juniors Team and the same team with Seb Ogier, has arguably one of the best rally cars competing for the events and also the luxury of resources and technical expertise from a leading manufacturers team.

          I’m not saying he doesn’t have the potential. But the number of crashes and the refusal to continue with superrally during Rallye de France just showed how little motivation he has this season. I hope that he improves next year, but it would have been better if he goes to the lower classes eg. S2000 and learn from there.

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