27/07/2006
NEWS STORY
Ahead of this weekend's German Grand Prix, the twelfth round of the 2006 World Championship, Kimi Raikkonen has admitted that he has yet to make a decision as to who he will driver for next season.
Although his current employers wish to retain him, the Finn has been linked with both Ferrari and Renault, consequently the Finn, along with former World Champion, Michael Schumacher, remains the key to the 2007 driver market.
"When I know exactly I will tell," the Finn told reporters in Stuttgart, according to Reuters, "but so far there is nothing to tell.
"Everybody thinks that they know what I'm doing," he added, "one week I'm going to Ferrari, next week Renault and then staying here. It's funny to read in the newspapers what everybody comes up with but I'm in a good position because I can decide."
Referring to reports that Renault has matched Ferrari's offer, the Finn said: "People always expect you to go where you get more money. In the end the money is important, but in those top teams where I'm looking its not going to be much different. You want to have a good car and then the rest of the things need to be right also.
"Of course, I want to have a car that's a winning car," he continued, "but it's not just that. There's also many small things which might not sound a big thing for someone else but for me makes a difference in the end.
"You never know what's going to happen... you wouldn't think last year that we were going to have such a difficult season but things change quickly in Formula One, so whatever my decision is in the end, hopefully it is the right one. But you cannot know it before you make it."
Speaking at the Mercedes car museum in Stuttgart, the Finn has mixed feelings about this weekend's race, the home event for the company that powers his McLaren.
"I don't have very good memories from here," he admitted. "I usually end up in the same tyre wall."