Raikkonen Wants WRC Stay in 2011

Kimi Raikkonen has given a strong indication of the fact that he wants to continue his racing career in rallying, at least as far as the 2011 campaign is concerned. The 2007 F1 champion, who switched to WRC action at the end of last season, completed a troublesome rookie season with Citroen Junior Team in 2010, which saw him experience plenty of crashes throughout the 11 rounds he contested at the wheel of his Citroen C4 WRC.

Nevertheless, the Finn admitted that he expected a harsh season at debut and plans to make it all worth in the years to come. Though he hasn't signed a contract with any team until now, his will to remain committed to WRC action is quite obvious.

“Not so many people get the chance to compete at this level and I want to use all the lessons I have learned this year,” said Raikkonen, according to Autosport.

“Our season has not gone entirely according to plan, but this is actually what I expected: it's completely normal when you are learning something so new,” he added, hinting that he holds no regrets over his switch from F1 to the WRC. More, the idea of going back to the Great Circus doesn't appeal to him anymore.

In recent weeks, Raikkonen's future in the WRC has been placed between two major energy drink companies: current backer Red Bull and Monster. While an extension to his current partnership with Red Bull would likely keep him at Citroen Junior Team for 2011, going the Monster way would also imply a switch in car marques, as he'd drive a Ford Fiesta WRC.

Until now, no representative of Raikkonen confirmed or denied anything, yet Citroen Junior's Benoit Nogier knows exactly what he wants from Kimi.

“(...) We want him to stay, he will still be learning, but it will be a little bit less hard,” said Nogier.