Apparently Kimi Räikkönen's manager has confirmed that he will be taking a sabbatical from Formula One next year.
This is due to him not being able to agree a deal with McLaren.
It looks like they called his bluff and now Kimi just gets to sit on his backside for 12 months and get paid £15 million by Ferrari to do so.
He's playing a dangerous game as 12 months out of F1 in this climate could signal the end of his career.
Especially considering his "stock" has gone down since his WDC in 2007.
It would seem that money seems to be the driving force for a lot of drivers these days and not the desire to compete.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/nov/17/kimi-raikkonen-mclaren-snub
This is due to him not being able to agree a deal with McLaren.
It looks like they called his bluff and now Kimi just gets to sit on his backside for 12 months and get paid £15 million by Ferrari to do so.
He's playing a dangerous game as 12 months out of F1 in this climate could signal the end of his career.
Especially considering his "stock" has gone down since his WDC in 2007.
It would seem that money seems to be the driving force for a lot of drivers these days and not the desire to compete.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80187"The options in F1 were with McLaren next season or not at all," Robertson was quoted as saying by respected Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, which has close links with the Raikkonen camp. "Kimi and McLaren were unable to reach an agreement, so he will not drive at the F1 level - at least not next year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/nov/17/kimi-raikkonen-mclaren-snub