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The
signs are increasing that Kimi Raikkonen is set to leave Ferrari
after November's 2009 season finale. The Finn remains under
contract for the 2010 season, but it is believed that the Italian
team would prefer Fernando Alonso to be Felipe Massa's team-mate
next year.
Previously,
when asked about the rumours, Raikkonen would wearily refer only
to his contract, and even the headline of an interview with F1's
official website on Thursday insisted that Kimi is "fully
committed to Ferrari for 2010".
But
to the Finnish broadcaster MTV3 on the same day, Raikkonen
acknowledged that the agreement alone "does not mean that I
will drive next year for Ferrari."
"Perhaps
they want to talk about something," he added. Raikkonen's
manager Steve Robertson added: "Kimi has a contract with
Ferrari, but as everyone knows, contracts can be broken. We are
talking with Ferrari but we are also listening out for other
offers," he admitted. "At the moment we do not know 100%
that Kimi will stay with Ferrari."
Moreover,
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo now rarely mentions the name
of the team's Finnish driver, and on Thursday the Italian came
tantalisingly close to letting the cat out of the bag. Speaking
with Spanish reporters at an event in Madrid, he said in a video
posted on the website of the sports newspaper Marca: "We
are very happy about having so many fans in Spain, and next year,
with Alonso..."
Montezemolo
stopped himself, laughed, and pointed a finger at the
similarly-amused ranks of pressmen. Later, he said: "I can
confirm that Massa will be the first driver, and the third driver
will be Giancarlo Fisichella.
"After
Singapore, Stefano Domenicali and I will meet and decide who will
be (in the) second car. Soon we will make the announcement,"
said Montezemolo.
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