Raikkonen made a surprise appearance at the Ferrari garage during testing at Jerez yesterday. Whilst there, he had his first proper chat with teammate Felipe Massa. The chat lasted about 20 minutes, and Massa is upbeat about having Raikkonen as a teammate and he hopes that their cooperation will help the team move forward next season.
“It is a good way to work, with both drivers working together. If we can fight in a good way, then that is good,” Massa explained. “We talked about the car, and the test, and some ideas about next year. He was very open. He brings experience to the team, and it is the best way to put Ferrari in a good way. We spoke about how we could develop the car for 2007, which was good.”
The appearance of Raikkonen at Jerez came on the same day that Jean Todt, Ferrari’s chief executive, stated that Raikkonen and Massa are going to be treated as equals – with no ‘number one’ driver. “Felipe is going to drive for Ferrari, Kimi is going to drive for Ferrari,” he said. “There never has been a Number One or a Number Two. Time will tell who has the best chace to compete for Ferrari for the championship.”
