Putting an end to all the rumors and speculations, Ferrari last night confirmed that Kimi Raikkonen is indeed coming back to Maranello with a two year contract. The Finn will replace the Brazilian Felipe Masssa who has been with Ferrari for eight mostly unfruitful years.
Kimi Raikkonen, who has earned his Iceman nickname for not caring about, well, anything, sounded uncharacteristically enthusiastic about this move. He told Ferrari website:
“I have so many memories of my time at Ferrari, memories which have stayed with me these past years, first and foremost, winning the World Championship title in 2007, which was really unforgettable. I can’t wait to be driving a Prancing Horse car again and to reacquaint myself with so many people with whom I had such close links, as well as working with Fernando, whom I consider a great driver, in order to bring the team the success it deserves,”
Lotus, Kimi’s current team is obviously not very happy with the whole thing. They don’t want to lose Kimi, the man who this year brought back on the map, giving them a prominent position in both driver’s and manufacturer’s rankings. They posted a peculiar image on their Twitter account summing up how they feel about Raikkonen’s decision. In Kimi’s defense, he showed a championship winning performance this year, and if he had a better car under him, maybe Vettel wouldn’t be so comfortably in the lead now.