Raikkonen: We Want Reasonable Fees for Superlicense

Talking for the first time about the Grand Prix Drivers Association's decision to delay the signing of the Superlicense agreements for 2009 due to the high fees, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen said the drivers are more than willing to sign the new deals. However, the fees for being able to race in Formula 1 should have a decent level.

In an interview for Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, the Finnish driver insisted that this is not a personal thing between the GPDA and FIA president Max Mosley, but simply a way in which the drivers are trying to let the international body know they don't agree with the new fees. Following the raise by more than 600% in Superlicense fees in early 2008 (added the new increase due to inflation in 2009), F1 has become the most expensive racing series in the world, as far as drivers are concerned.

“Everybody is more or less willing to pay the fees for the 2009 Superlicenses, on the condition they are reasonable. We don't understand why they are so costly in comparison with other racing series. It has to be equal for everybody and reasonable. This is the only problem, nobody wants to quarrel with anybody,” insisted Raikkonen, according to the aforementioned source.

Talking about his much-discussed retirement from the sport, the former world champion reaffirmed his decision to leave Formula 1 as a Ferrari driver, but did not reveal when exactly that will happen. He conditioned his remaining in the sport to how much fun he's going to have in the following 2 years of contract with the Scuderia.

“We'll see in two years time if I'll have as much fun driving in Formula 1 or if I'll have the desire to do other things. Nevertheless, Ferrari will surely be my last team in Formula 1. But that doesn't necessarily mean I'll stop in 2010. Rallying? I don't have anything planned for it, I just do it for fun,” added the Ferrari driver.