McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh believs Kimi Raikkonen is determined to leave Lotus at the end of the season and admitted McLaren could be his destination.
The Finnish driver was touted to join Red Bull, but talks with the Milton Keynes team broke down and it’s believed they have come to a decision, with Daniel Ricciardo taking the open seat.
Raikkonen therefore has been linked to Ferrari and even McLaren. Whilst Whitmarsh is keen to keep Jenson Button and Sergio Perez for 2014, he admitted they would consider the 33-year-old should an opening become available.
“Kimi has always been great and I am a big fan of him,” he told the official F1 website. “There is a lot of speculation out there at the moment, so let’s see what happens.”
When asked if McLaren have ever considered having Raikkonen back after he left in 2006, he replied: “Yes, we have.
“I probably shouldn’t be, but I’m completely open – last year we had talks with him, but for various reasons it didn’t happen. This year we’ve had no talks – yet.”
However, Whitmarsh doesn’t believe Raikkonen will leave Lotus.
“Obviously Kimi is determined to go somewhere else and I sense that he will not succeed in that goal, so let’s see how he gets on there.”
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