And it was the very Citroen WRC boss Olivier Quesnel who gave Raikkonen the green light, saying that the Finn is in no way bind by contract to compete in the 2011 World Rally Championship. The 31-year old has been linked with recent talks with Lotus Renault to come and replace injured Robert Kubica for the 2011 Formula 1 season.
“If he wants to leave, I couldn't say anything because he is a client,” said Quesnel in a recent interview with RMC Sport.
After doing a whole WRC campaign in 2010 under Red Bull sponsorship and as part of Citroen Junior Team programme, Raikkonen announced he will be driving the Citroen DS3 WRC in at least 10 rounds of the 2011 season, under the Ice 1 entry. And since he's a privateer and not a works driver, what he does or doesn't do this year is completely up to him.
“He has rented a car from us and drives with his own sponsors,” added the Citroen boss. “I suppose there may be considerable pressure from Bernie Ecclestone, the FIA and the whole world of F1 who want to see him come back because he is still an emblematic driver for the sport.”
If he lets him do his own thing in F1, that doesn't mean Quesnel actually believes Kimi will give up rallying for an all-of-a-sudden move back to the Great Circus.
“If he is taking phone calls, they would have to be very convincing to get him back there,” he concluded.
It was reported that as soon as Renault boss Eric Boullier found out about the gravity of Kubica's medical situation, the first driver whom he asked to be called was Kimi Raikkonen. However, the Finn's management is still keeping quiet on the rumors.
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