Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene says he’s not yet ready to sign a contract extension with Kimi Raikkonen, despite the Finn’s second place at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Raikkonen recently hinted that he would like to stay with the red team for 2016, but admitted it was Ferrari’s decision, not his.
Arrivabene is happy to have an on form Raikkonen, but says he’s not quite ready to put pen to paper until he’s sure of Raikkonen’s form.
“I’m happy for Kimi because now I can say officially that he is back and we have two strong drivers,” the Italian told Turun Sanomat.
“But that does not mean that I am going to sign a contract with Kimi tomorrow, which I made clear when I talked about the matter with him.
“If you ask me now if he deserves the agreement, I say yes. But I want to keep him alert. Kimi is at his best when he is a bit worried. This is his kind of psychological approach,” he added.
“At the moment, the paper is still white. It seems that when I picked up the pen, Kimi went onto the podium!”
His comments come amid rumours Lewis Hamilton might be eyeing a switch from Mercedes to Ferrari next season. The Briton is increasingly growing tired of team-mate Nico Rosberg, whilst his contractual negotiations are ongoing with the team.
Arrivabene doesn’t doubt Hamilton’s desire to drive for Ferrari and he didn’t deny the rumour outright when he was asked about it at the weekend.
“Lewis is a world champion,” he told Germany’s Sky, “and every world champion dreams of driving one day for Ferrari.
“But right now we have two world champions and we don’t need another.”