Kimi Raikkonen hopes that he can remain with Ferrari for the 2017 Formula 1 season, but concedes that the decision about his future lies solely with the team.
Raikkonen’s motivation and on-track form has come into question in recent years, but Ferrari opted to stick with him alongside Sebastian Vettel for 2016 despite the Finn scoring over 100 points less than his teammate last year.
Raikkonen has enjoyed an upturn in form at the start of the new season, scoring three podium finishes in the opening six races to sit one point ahead of Vettel in the drivers’ championship.
Paddock speculation suggests that Raikkonen will be kept on for 2017, and although Raikkonen said he is keen to stay, he admitted that the decision is Ferrari’s to make.
“I don’t know anything more. You guys seem to know a lot every week, this and that,” Raikkonen said when asked about his future.
“It’s not my decision in the end. I always said I’m happy to be here, I hope I will be here helping Ferrari to get where we want to get as a team.
“What happens in the future, we’ll see.”
Despite being tipped to topple Mercedes at the start of the season, Ferrari has struggled to put up much of a fight to the German marque in the opening six races, and appears to have slipped behind Red Bull in the pecking order.
However, Raikkonen remains certain that the team has progressed and that the SF16-H car is stronger than its predecessor.
“We know what we’ve done. We’re definitely stronger in the car and other areas than we were last year,” Raikkonen said.
“Maybe the results haven’t showed it exactly. It hasn’t been the easiest start for us as a team, but we keep working and it will pay off.
“The package has improved and we’re working on that all the time, our weakness. You always look for better results and wins and putting the two cars up there.
“We are more or less there, so we keep doing the same things.”