“It is not signed and I have never even spoken with Raikkonen on the telephone. But it is more than a rumour; it is a real possibility,” Quesnel told Radio-France over the course of last weekend.
The WRC official site last week cited sources close to Raikkonen as saying that the Finn's chances of making the 2010 official entry list are very high. The former Ferrari-an had 2 options to choose from – either a programme with Petter Solberg's team or a full-time deal with Citroen – and has apparently set his sight on the winning team of the 2008 & 2009 titles.
The deal between Raikkonen and Citroen is believed to be backed by common sponsor Red Bull (energy drink) and would include all rounds of the 2010 schedule. Apparently, the French officials were very impressed with how Raikkonen performed in his first WRC outing of career – Rally Finland – when he competed on a Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000.
Even if he failed to finish the rally, Raikkonen was running in 15th place until his crash on Saturday. His car suffered from both engine and mechanical problems, the cause of the crash being actually related to a mechanical error rather than a driving one.
“What he did there in a S2000 was amazing,” added Quesnel, referring to Raikkonen's outing in Finland.
However, he did mention that Raikkonen would not be fielded alongside Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo in Citroen's premier team, but in the Junior Team. Nevertheless, the Citroen C4 WRC would be exactly the same – in terms of rally specifications – which would mean a huge step for Kimi from his S2000 car in 2009.
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