“We like Kimi and we want him with us next year. We will be very pleased if he wants to stay with us,” admitted Quesnel, who will not only have to fight against the prospect of Raikkonen going back to Formula One, but also the other rally teams that seem to be interested in his services.
Earlier this week, the Iceman admitted he's having much more fun competing in rallying than what he had experienced in Formula One, but avoided giving any verdicts for 2011. Additionally, he also hinted his managers are talking to other WRC teams, so his collaboration with Citroen might terminate at the end of this year.
“I have enjoyed the season so far and it would be good to stay to make the most of what I have learned, but nothing is confirmed at all,” said the Finnish driver.
Quesnel admitted that his team did not hold any talks with Raikkonen or his representatives during the last weekend's Rally Germany, but expects some rounds of negotiations will take place soon enough.
The Finn ended his poor form in the WRC this year with a 7th place finish in Germany, confirming that he's much more comfortable on asphalt than on tarmac. Things could have gone better for Raikkonen last weekend, as the Finn fought side by side against Stobart's Matthew Wilson until the last special stage of the event, losing out to the more experienced Brit by less than 4 seconds.
So far, Citroen have confirmed the presence of only two drivers for the 2011 WRC campaign, both for the works team: Sebastien Loeb and Sebastien Ogier. Current part-time works driver Dani Sordo is yet to announce his future plans in the series, as he is also negotiating a potential switch to Ford in parallel.
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