The summer has started which means we're getting towards Formula One's 'silly season' where rumours abound of driver moves and contracts running out. Perhaps the biggest question in the paddock this year is will Ferrari keep Kimi Raikkonen?
Raikkonen's second stint at Ferrari hasn't been an unmitigated disaster or anything but the Finn is out of contract at the end of the season and the team haven't made a decision on the driver's future.
Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo is well fancied to take the seat should the Scuderia decide to do away with the last driver to win the Driver's Championship with them and the Aussie didn't exactly put an end to those rumours. In an interview with Autosport the driver seemed to talk up the chances saying:
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"I understand if they were to make a change I'm a driver on their list. They haven't made anything clear to me. There haven't been any calls saying 'we're going to get rid of Kimi, we want you, can you do it with your contract?' this or that.
"I'm aware they'd be interested, I don't blame them. But other than what's been said in the media there's been nothing else, honestly."
Ferrari are second in the constructors title race to Mercedes at the moment with Ricciardo's Red Bull team in third however both teams are still someway off the Silver Arrows, with Max Verstappen the only man to pick up a race win other than Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.
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If Ricciardo was to move to Ferrari then he'd come into direct competition with former teammate Sebastian Vettel but despite the German's well publicised troubles with another Aussie teammate, Mark Webber, the younger Australian said he has no problem with Vettel but would only move to fight for title's not to fight the German:
"He was solid and we actually got on well and obviously the season went better for me than it did for him.
"He never really made excuses and if I beat him he shook my hand like a man and said "good race", so he was a good team-mate. I like him, he's a strong guy ... I wouldn't turn it down.
"But the only reason I would jump ship and go up against him again would be to fight for a world title.
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"Otherwise, if it's just to have a [different] team-mate, I would rather try against a Lewis [Hamilton] or Fernando [Alonso] or something different."
"He is quick and I would expect if we were to be team-mates again one day I'm sure he would put up a fight and it would be a good rivalry."
Would a move to Ferrari be good for Ricciardo?
(Via: ESPN)
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Formula One, Daniel Ricciardo