19/04/2015
NEWS STORY
Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene admits that Kimi Raikkonen needs to raise his game if he is to be offered a new contract.
Currently fifth in the standings, a situation not helped by a loose wheel in Melbourne and poor qualifying strategy in Malaysia, Kimi Raikkonen is hoping to remain with Ferrari when his current contract ends later this year, the Finn admitting that the current attitude of the team is the best he has ever experienced in F1.
However, team boss Maurizio Arrivabene has sent the Finn a clear warning, if he is to be retained he will need to raise his game.
Asked about the chances of Raikkonen being retained alongside his F1 buddy, Vettel, the Italian said: "You want to know what I said to Kimi? He was telling me about the contract and I said to him, it depends on your performance.
"Kimi is the kind of person that appreciates when you're talking with him in a very transparent way and straight to his face. Kimi knows, now it's early to talk about this at the moment. I'm happy about the performance of Kimi but he needs to push and he knows that."
Starting today's race from fourth, following his strongest Q3 performance of the season, the Iceman has the perfect opportunity to close the gap to his teammate and the Mercedes duo... loose wheels and poor strategy notwithstanding.