Raikkonen WRC switch 'more than a rumour', admits Citroën chief
Speculation that 2007 F1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen will be competing in the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2010 is ‘more than a rumour’, Citroën Total World Rally Team chief Olivier Quesnel has confessed – as sources hint that a deal has now already been done. 
Ever since it was officially confirmed that he was being shown the door by Ferrari in favour of Fernando Alonso – and the possibility of a return to former employers McLaren-Mercedes foundered due to a failure to agree financial terms – it has been widely expected that Raikkonen will be going rallying next year, either as an F1 sabbatical or else as a full-time career switch.
Whilst the Finn’s name has also been linked to the second seat at Mercedes Grand Prix alongside ex-Williams ace Nico Rosberg in 2010, he himself has denied any such talk – as many now anticipate a move to Citroën as part of the multiple title-winning French manufacturer’s junior team. Quesnel has done little to dampen those suggestions.
“It is not signed and I have never even spoken with Raikkonen on the telephone,” the Frenchman told Radio-France, “but it is more than a rumour; it is a real possibility.”
He went on to describe Raikkonen’s WRC debut in an S2000-spec FIAT Abarth Grande Punto on his home event, Rally Finland during the mid-summer F1 break, as ‘amazing’ – and he waxed lyrical about the 30-year-old’s talent behind the wheel, describing him as an ‘incredible driver’ who ‘did not become [F1] world champion by accident’.
Source: Raikkonen WRC switch 'more than a rumour', admits Citroën chief
Ever since it was officially confirmed that he was being shown the door by Ferrari in favour of Fernando Alonso – and the possibility of a return to former employers McLaren-Mercedes foundered due to a failure to agree financial terms – it has been widely expected that Raikkonen will be going rallying next year, either as an F1 sabbatical or else as a full-time career switch.
Whilst the Finn’s name has also been linked to the second seat at Mercedes Grand Prix alongside ex-Williams ace Nico Rosberg in 2010, he himself has denied any such talk – as many now anticipate a move to Citroën as part of the multiple title-winning French manufacturer’s junior team. Quesnel has done little to dampen those suggestions.
“It is not signed and I have never even spoken with Raikkonen on the telephone,” the Frenchman told Radio-France, “but it is more than a rumour; it is a real possibility.”
He went on to describe Raikkonen’s WRC debut in an S2000-spec FIAT Abarth Grande Punto on his home event, Rally Finland during the mid-summer F1 break, as ‘amazing’ – and he waxed lyrical about the 30-year-old’s talent behind the wheel, describing him as an ‘incredible driver’ who ‘did not become [F1] world champion by accident’.
Source: Raikkonen WRC switch 'more than a rumour', admits Citroën chief
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