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Friday, July 16, 2010

Kimi expected to stay in rallying

Former F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen is due to stay in rallying, for a second straight season. Raikkonen has been only the second ever driver to successfully convert to rallying from F1, after Carlos Reutmann.

Raikkonen has said that, in an interview with Neal Cole, from WRC on Dave, that he does not intend to return to F1 Any time soon.

Recently he has been linked to Renault F1 next year and a drive in Red Bull's planned F1 team for 2012.

A within Red Bull said: "We are very happy with what Kimi has done this season. He is very good for the Red Bull brand and we are looking to extend his agreement into next year. I think this is likely.”

Raikkonen said: "I don't miss Formula 1 and I am enjoying what I am doing now. I have still not decided what I am doing next year yet. Soon I have to decide, maybe it will be just after Rally Finland."

Six-times World Champion Sebastian Loeb said that it would be beneficial to Raikkonen if he stayed in the WRC for another while.

"He should, because this year he is only learning," Loeb said. "He cannot be competitive this year and if he stops then he has lost this year. If he continues next year he will arrive on the rallies knowing where he is.

"He has the notes, he can modify them, which is much easier than this year when he had to make them all from the start. He will know better the stages in his head. He can improve a lot from this year to next year.

"Especially because we all change cars, so he will get in the new car and we will also. I'm sure he would have more chances to succeed next season."

Raikkonen's current employer Oliver Quensel says that he is sure that he will keep Raikkonen for next year.

"I'm sure this will happen. For myself, he is really involved in rallying and he wants to succeed. I will be pleased if he will stay. he has done one year and he needs to do one more year to make sure."

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