Former team owner turned BBC pundit Eddie Jordan believes Kimi Raikkonen would prefer a switch to Ferrari over remaining at his current team, Lotus.
The Finnish driver lost out on the open seat at Red Bull, with Daniel Ricciardo instead partnering Sebastian Vettel. But Jordan believes he is now looking to Ferrari where he won the title in 2007.
“Raikkonen had made Red Bull his first priority but when talks with the world champions broke down, he turned his attention to Ferrari,” claims the 65-year-old who was first to predict Lewis Hamilton’s move to Mercedes last year.
Raikkonen’s manager, Steve Robertson, didn’t deny he was speaking to the Italian’s about a possible return.
“Until they [Ferrari] confirm their seats, my job is to speak to all the teams and see what’s available,” he said on Tuesday.
According to the BBC report, Raikkonen is being lined up to replace Felipe Massa rather than Fernando Alonso as previously predicted, with senior figures at the team keen to oust the underperforming Brazilian.
However president Luca di Montezemolo isn’t convinced of the idea considering they paid Raikkonen millions to leave the team a year early.
“Signing Raikkonen would be an admission they had made a mistake when they chose to end his contract a year early at the end of 2009 and pay him not to drive for them in 2010, when Alonso joined,” it added.
Jordan predicted a decision would be made at or around the Italian Grand Prix in September.
