Kimi Raikkonen says ex-Ferrari F1 boss was doing a good job

Ferrari announced on Monday that Mattiacci was departing only eight months after replacing Stefano Domenicali, and despite the Italian having stressed his commitment to the team's restructuring during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last weekend.

Asked by AUTOSPORT how he had rated Mattiacci's contribution, Raikkonen replied: "Obviously I think he did a very good job. I liked him.

"I didn't really know him before - we hadn't met before.

"I think coming from outside of Formula 1 into the position he came into is definitely not easy, and I think he did a good job."

New Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene comes to Ferrari from a senior role with its backer Phillip Morris, and has also been a member of the F1 Commission.

While backing Mattiacci, Raikkonen acknowledged that Arrivabene is well-qualified for running the F1 team.

"Obviously there was a change now," he said. "I know Maurizio from the past and he's a very nice guy.

"I think he's the right guy in the position he's been put in.

"There's a lot of hard work, not just for him but for everyone in the team.

"He's known Ferrari for a long time and he's known the business for a long time, and I think he has the right way of putting things in the right order and pushing the team to where we should be."

VETTEL JOINS FERRARI AT TEST

Although Raikkonen's 2015 team-mate Sebastian Vettel was denied permission to try the Ferrari during this week's test, he joined the team in the garage on Tuesday.

Raikkonen said he "wasn't surprised" that the German had chosen to get an early start on working with his new team, but he had not talked to him much yet.

"We were busy today so not much time to talk, plus he hasn't driven the car yet," said Raikkonen.

"Obviously our aim is to get the Ferrari where we should be as a team.

"We'll fight against each other, but first of all we have to get the team where we're supposed to be."