Raikkonen: I could quit F1

Eurosport - Sat, 09 May 20:57:00 2009

Ferrari Formula One ace Kimi Raikkonen said he could quit the sport over controversial plans to introduce a budget cap and a two-tier championship.

2009 Bahrain GP Ferrari Raikkonen - 0

The sport's ruling body, the FIA, has announced it plans to impose a voluntary cap in 2010 - a decision that has created serious unrest among the teams.

It is believed they are planning to boycott a May 29 deadline for entries to be made for next year's championship as they press for further discussions.

Raikkonen, whose contract expires in 2010, says if the proposals are carried through it may drive him out of F1.

"This is not F1 anymore. That's why there is a question mark. We'll see what happens," the Finn told the BBC.

"There are a lot of question marks and nobody seems to know what kind of rules we are going to get," said Raikkonen, who won the world championship in 2007.

He added: "I'm happy where I am now, I have a contract for next year then it's more or less my decision what I want to do.

"We'll see how it goes and how F1 is going. There are a lot of question marks. Nobody seems to know what kind of rules we are going to get.

"I will definitely finish my contract but I'm not in a hurry and we'll wait and see."

When asked if Ferrari would still contest F1 if a budget cap were introduced, Raikkonen said: "I don't know. There are a lot of question marks and I'm not the guy to answer those."

"There needs to be a reasonable budget for everybody," he added.

"It would be nice to get close racing; we are getting there now but it still needs to improve.

"But it's hard to put the bigger and smaller teams on the same level as it's very difficult to make everybody happy."

AFP

Comment 92 - 111 of 111

Sort comments by: Most recent

  1. Felipe is doing a superb job and clearly Kimi is having­ problems keeping up... sure a car will suite one man­ better than the other but Kimis last win was about a­ year ago and his salary is almost double Felipes.... ­ ??? maybe lack of electronics on the car... remember­ Kimi never really race go karts or any other type of­ manual mechanics cars so I'm thinking is Kimi just­ having a hard time manually adjusting things on the car­ and giving a rather doubtful feedback to his race­ engineer??? He's said many time his setup­ wasn't best.

    From Marcio, on Mon 11 May 8:15PM

  2. Touronroute said this..

    "Johnny Bop, they make­ enough money from their engine­ and merchandise sales­ alone to compete in formula 1­ very easy,my acer­ ferrari laptop was £1200, i wont tell­ you how many­ they sell world wide."

    First of all, 85% of any­ Ferrari sales of ANYTHING are owned by FIAT. So without­ FIAT they couldn't compete in Fomula 1. Second of­ all, even if your statement was true - you forget that­ a business aims to MAKE MONEY. Its sole aim isn't­ simply to compete in Formula 1. You're essentially­ saying that they make enough profit to ensure they have­ the capability to waste it all on Formula 1? Thirdly,­ when it comes to your specific example of laptops, the­ manufacturer being ACER, not only is a large proportion­ of the £1200 made up of cost, a signfiicant chunk also­ falls into the hands of ACER.

    The bottom line is the­ sports car division of Ferrari was sold to FIAT (back­ in 1969) precisely BECAUSE they needed to ensure­ continuity, as a result of the fact that they­ couldn't find a sustainable situation themselves.­ If you take away 85% of all Ferraris capital, believe­ me they couldn't afford to remain in F1.

    However,­ I don't really see why you're arguing about­ this anyway. So what if the money comes from FIAT? The­ fact is, it does, so Ferrari CAN afford to be in­ Formula 1. Since FIAT owns 85% of Ferrari, the name is­ for all intents and purposes synonymous anyway, why­ does it matter what the name of the company who­ provides the finance is? Ferrari as a company, has if­ you like, secured the continued investment from FIAT­ who have a vested interest in them. Why is that a­ problem and why is it relevant at all?

    From Johnny W, on Sun 10 May 12:11PM

  3. Johnny Bop research i dont need, i know it it off by­ heart. Lamborghini were never owned by ford, and­ ferrari are owned by the fiat group but are also­ "self sufficient in all its dealings and­ decisions".

    From touronroute, on Sun 10 May 12:02PM

  4. Johnny Bop, they make enough money from their engine­ and merchandise sales alone to compete in formula 1­ very easy,my acer ferrari laptop was £1200, i wont tell­ you how many they sell world wide.

    From touronroute, on Sun 10 May 11:48AM

  5. I don't see any relevance to the discussion, but­ just to clarify, FIAT owns 85% of Ferrari. However,­ Ferrari is run autonomously.

    Therefore the finance­ comes from FIAT but all decisions are made by Ferrari.

    From Johnny W, on Sun 10 May 11:42AM

  6. ALL ENGLISH FOOTBALL
    PREMIER LEAGUE – FA CUP – CARLING­ CUP
    CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – UEFA CUP

    ALL MATCHES ON­ INTERNET: PREMIER LEAGUE, FA CUP, CHAMPIONSHIP,­ CARLING CUP, LIGA, SERIE A, BUNDESLIGA, CHAMPIONS­ LEAGUE - UEFA CUP AND MUCH MORE

    ALL THE HIGH LIGHTS­ OF PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES

    From WWW.PREMIERSHIP.ALTERVISTA.ORG, on Sun 10 May 11:38AM

  7. Kiwibuild: That's all well and good but everybody­ and their dog knows protests, threat's of stopping­ to watch et al does know good whatsoever, yes it'll­ get a bit of publicity but that's all, Mad Max and­ Barmy Bernie will still do whatever they damn well like­ so save your breath.

    From Reefgirl, on Sun 10 May 11:32AM

  8. Ferrari is it own company, but the money they receive­ to design and build these cars comes from FIAT. FIAT is­ the parent company so get over it.

    From Johnny Bop, on Sun 10 May 11:18AM

  9. touronroute, Ferrari is owned by FIAT. If a company­ owners more than 49% of the share to a company it is­ the major shareholder. If a company i.e FIAT own 51%­ of the Share to a company it is then main share holder.­ Therefore FIAT own Ferrari and control the person­ strings. I did agree with you about Ferrari building­ their own engines, but at the end of the day Ferrari­ receives its funding from FIAT. Ferrari do NOT MAKE­ enough money from the sales of it cars to spend the­ kind of money they spend on F1. Re Lamborghini, they­ were once owend by FORD. Think you need to do a bit­ more research.

    From Johnny Bop, on Sun 10 May 11:16AM

  10. will anyone actually miss Kimi if he quits, I mean­ he's not exactly mister conversation is he, He has­ also proven beyond doubt that he is not even that good­ a driver, his car is not the best and he has not got­ the skill to wring a bit more out of it. I would love­ to see someone like Alonso in Kimi's car right now,­ he would get much more out of the car than Kimi ever­ could. Kimi quitting I THOUGHT HE ALREADY HAD LOL.

    From Kenneth, on Sun 10 May 11:06AM

  11. It has been a breath of fresh air this season with the­ lesser known teams serving it up to the big boys. I­ think the proposed cap on how much money teams can use­ next year is a great idea. It will make a level playing­ field,gone are the days when the big guns could almost­ buy the title. Maybe thats the reason the misserable­ fin doesnt want in?????

    From Phil, on Sun 10 May 10:07AM

  12. It's more like pressure from the team is causing­ Kimi to consider his position, Fernando Alonso is­ waiting in the wings to take a seat at Ferrari for­ 2010, Felipe Massa has got the message. Felipe is­ trying his hardest to push his car to the front of the­ grid.

    From Only Human After All, on Sun 10 May 9:40AM

  13. Is it possible that Ferrari has already made the­ decision to replace Raikkonen with Fernando Alonso next­ year ?

    From Tim, on Sun 10 May 9:40AM

  14. Whats up mate? Not winning in your ferrari??? doll and­ prsm come to mind

    From Phil, on Sun 10 May 9:32AM

  15. post 67, from johnny bop,backed by M G A AND Chalky and­ bill!!
    post 67, l m a­ o.touronroute, are you really that stupid ! FIAT are­ the­ parent company. FIAT hold the purse strings. This­­ means Ferrari are funded by FIAT and therefore if FIAT­­ decide not give Ferrari any more funds they are­­ screwed. Yes Ferrari build there own engines, but the­­ money for those engines comes from FIAT. Do you­­ honestly think Ferrari make enough money from selling­­ their road cars to support their racing cars????? By­­ the way FIAT stands for
    Fix It Again Tomorrow.
    ­ to the idiots, Ferrari is its own company in­ maranello its engines, software merchandise is ferrari­ owned. a subsidary of the fiat group,maserati is its­ own company building it own cars etc in bolgolina, with­ hedquarters in modena, also a subsidary of­ fiat.Lamborghini spa is its own company in the same­ factory. an italian company,but a SUBSIDARY of audi­ who is a subsidary of volkswagon who is subsidary of­ PORSCHE, PLEASE IDIOTS DONT PUT YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET­ YOU WILL BE TAXED ON IT.

    From touronroute, on Sun 10 May 9:27AM

  16. Time for Kimi to go, bring on Alonso

    From JAMES C, on Sun 10 May 9:27AM

  17. Its all hot air coming from an also ran driver with an­ oversized ego,he thinks the fia will think again­ regarding the cap. i think they should call his bluff,­ as a man is only as good as his word. there are plenty­ of fish in that sea of formula one and a change can be­ a good thing.

    From bigusleginus, on Sun 10 May 9:26AM

  18. Francis S, please please get some lessons in english. I­ can't understand a word you are trying to waffle.­ English is a language not a thing for abuse by­ retards.......

    From My LUNGS, on Sun 10 May 8:44AM

  19. listen up everyone, its time we all stopped venting on ­ yahoo and sent our messages as fans to the FIA. If we ­ all said we were going to switch off and support ­ something else, and the teams all said they were going ­ to walk away, then Mad Max And Bernie Bling would have ­ to change. Lets try that.............. Its called power­ of the people

    From kiwibuild, on Sun 10 May 8:05AM
  20. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Johnny Bop you know nothing, fiat do not put one penny­ towards ferrari merchandise.

    From touronroute, on Sun 10 May 6:36AM
Sort comments by: Most recent

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account