Kimi Raikkonen has said that he is aiming for a strong end to the season at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend. The Finn has two incentives for a good result – the first, to thank Ferrari by earning them third place in the constructors’ championship, and the second, to impress potential new employers. He spoke today about the former.
“It’s time for me to say goodbye to the guys at Ferrari after three years together,” said Raikkonen.
“I’m proud of the things we achieved, especially the drivers’ title in 2007 and the constructors’ title in the same year and in 2008.
“This season the car wasn’t as competitive as we wanted, but at least we managed to win one race and we gained a certain amount of points.
“Let’s hope we can conclude the season with something nice to be remembered, and as usual I’ll give it everything to gain the best possible result.
“Hopefully it will be enough to regain the third place in the constructors’ championship McLaren took over from us in Brazil.”
Raikkonen is thought to be in demand at McLaren, Toyota and at an outside chance Brawn. The Finn is highly regarded at all three, but all the teams have other options. McLaren are thought to be interested in Jenson Button as well as Nico Rosberg for the probably departing Heikki Kovalainen’s seat, while Toyota have incumbents Trulli and Glock fighting for seats in addition to highly-rated newcomer Kamui Kobayashi.
Meanwhile, Brawn are suspected of being close to signing Nico Rosberg, and are in continued negotiation with their champion driver Jenson Button.
All the conjecture, still unresolved, means that many drivers will be out to impress at the new Yas Marina circuit this weekend. If Raikkonen himself finds himself without a desirable F1 option, he is rumoured to be considering retirement or a change of motorsport discipline.
