Räikkönen has nothing to declare
Absent Thursday afternoon, Kimi Räikkönen was indeed forced to face the journalists' questions yesterday at the end of the day. Tired of having to constantly answer questions about his future in F1, the Finn was true to himself in front of the media representatives.
The absence of Kimi Räikkönen on Thursday in the paddock was the highlight of the first day at Spa. The Finnish driver is at the center of all media attention regarding his future, and his absence due to health reasons did not fail to fan the flames of the wildest rumors; between a boozy night out and a secret meeting with Red Bull, speculators had plenty to keep them busy.
Although his manager stated that negotiations with Red Bull Racing had been interrupted for several weeks, the prospect of the world champion team does not yet seem entirely excluded for the 2014 season. Sky Sports mentioned, ahead of the 11th round of the world championship, that a last-chance meeting could be held this weekend in Spa-Francorchamps. The absence of the 2007 world champion yesterday quickly gave credence to this hypothesis, especially since Christian Horner arrived late in the Spa paddock on Thursday while explaining to our colleagues at Autosport that he was not yet ruling out Räikkönen for next season.
Räikkönen, whom Lotus also hopes to see defend its colors in a few months. According to the team’s leaders, this would even be the favored option by Iceman, provided that the team’s financial concerns fade away and the agreement with Infinity Racing, a source of fresh funds, is concluded quickly. And to those who mention an end to discussions with Red Bull due to overly high financial demands, Eric Boullier responds that Lotus will not break the bank to retain its number 1 driver at all costs.
Money might be another reason for the Finn’s absence on Thursday. Indeed, while Räikkönen has received his salary on time, he is still due some bonuses. However, the driver currently in second place in the championship has allegedly threatened not to race unless he is paid promptly. This seems quite unlikely, as it’s hard to imagine Räikkönen jeopardizing his chances of a world title over a diva-like demand.
The most likely reason is probably the simplest: Räikkönen had no desire to meet the press on Thursday to hear the same eternal questions about his future, forcing him to give the same answers again. « As long as nothing is 100% certain, I have nothing to say. I have no news from Red Bull. We’ll see what happens. You have to ask them what they’re going to do. I don’t know more than you do. There are a lot of discussions. I read somewhere that I was supposed to go to McLaren, then there’s Ferrari and also Lotus. I still don’t have a contract, what else can I say? There should be more interesting subjects to write about than telling the same stories over and over again », declared a frustrated Räikkönen at the end of the first day of testing.
From our special correspondent in Spa-Francorchamps.
