Citroen Confirms Raikkonen Deal for 2010

Kimi Raikkonen has been confirmed as official Citroen driver in the Junior Team squad, while backed by his and Citroen's major sponsor Red Bull energy drink. The Finnish driver will however not be teammate with Sebastien Loeb in 2010, but with last year's rookie Sebastien Ogier, who will make his second consecutive full-time appearance in the series for Citroen Junior Team.

Talking to the media about his new commitment with Citroen, via Red Bull, Raikkonen did not dismiss the possibility of continuing his deal with the Austrian energy drink from 2011 onwards, either in the WRC or back in Formula 1.

“I always wanted to compete in rally, especially in the World Rally Championship at some point in my career. Thanks to Red Bull, I have the opportunity to drive the best car of the series with the Citroen C4. This is a new but very exciting challenge,” said Raikkonen.

Raikkonen's deal with Red Bull includes 12 of the 13 events scheduled to take place in the 2010 World Rally Championship, meaning the Finn will not make the trip to New Zealand next year.

As far as Citroen goes, the French manufacturer is also a winner in this situation, but not only because of signing a Formula One champion – therefore, from a marketing standpoint – but also because their relationship with Red Bull has strengthened in the process.

“Red Bull's commitment and energy are a perfect fit for Citroen's ongoing thirst for victory. We will continue to count on Sébastien and Dani to defend our world titles in 2010, and we will also be prolonging our association with Sebastien Ogier who showed outstanding potential this year,” said Citroen's boss Olivier Quesnel.

“Last but not least, it is with immense joy that we welcome Kimi Raikkonen to our ranks. We are very proud that he has chosen Citroen. In addition to the confirmation of these four crews, we will hopefully be able to announce other programmes over the coming weeks.”