9:30 AM
ambipurna
Kimi Raikkonen’s team management has reportedly confirmed that he does not want to return to Formula 1 next year and wishes to stay with the World Rally Championship in 2011.
"We're no longer looking at opportunities in F1. Kimi seems to be focused on rallying at the moment," said Steve Robertson speaking to Finnish television station MTV3 as quoted on Autosport.
Robertson also clarified that currently the former Ferrari driver is focussed on rally and refused to rule out a return to F1 in the future. "Never say never, but right now our eye is not on F1.
"Nothing's been decided yet [for the WRC]. We'll let you know when there is something to say. At the moment nothing has been signed. We're talking to several teams," added Robertson.
Meanwhile, Citroen appears to be keen on finding a solution to keep the Finn in its Junior team with the former F1 champion agreeing to a personal sponsorship deal from Red Bull, which seems to be worth a lot less than the £5 million that he supposedly received from the Austrian outfit.
Besides Citroen, Mini could also be an option for the 31-year-old but with the limitations for the 2011 events and the extensive car development programme this could not be viable.
Another opportunity could be with the American outfit Monster Ford to race alongside Ken Block, however the teams seems to be struggling with finances.
The best choice for Raikkonen would be to take a break for a season from the rigours of the racing world and return with a bang in 2012 with some more manufacturers taking interest in all likelihood.
