Official: Kimi Räikkönen will not be in F1 in 2010!

2007 Formula 1 World Champion, Kimi Räikkönen, will not participate in the 2010 Formula 1 season. His manager made the information official last night, after negotiations with McLaren-Mercedes failed.

The Finnish driver had announced after leaving Ferrari that he only wanted to join a team capable of fighting for victories in 2010. After several weeks, only McLaren was negotiating with Räikkönen and his manager. The latter, Steve Robertson, revealed to the press on Tuesday evening that the negotiations had ended, with Button also being on McLaren’s market.

« His options in Formula 1 next year were only with McLaren, » comments Robertson in a Finnish daily newspaper Turun Sanomat. « Kimi [Räikkönen] and McLaren could not reach an agreement, so he will not race in F1 – at least not next year. »

« A sabbatical year doesn’t mean anything definitive for Kimi. He is simply more interested in fighting for victories or the championship. He will miss the championship next year. He worked very hard all summer – doing things at Ferrari that only the best are capable of doing. »

The negotiations having failed, no information has leaked on the reasons for such a failure. According to Robertson’s ‘unsaid’, Räikkönen’s salary, the number of sponsors available only for Räikkönen, and the number of rallies the Finn could participate in during the season were reasons for disagreement.

Räikkönen now being out of the picture for next season, the transfer market is becoming clearer. McLaren, originally English, could have a 100% British line-up with Hamilton and Button – still in negotiations. Mercedes (formerly Brawn GP), on the other hand, could have a 100% German line-up with Rosberg and Heidfeld.

The future of Räikkönen, for his part, is still uncertain. The Finn, who won the F1 World Championship in 2007 with Ferrari, has since participated in several rallies, some of which count towards the WRC. Rallying thus seems to be his best option.