Kimi Raikkonen: Fernando Alonso wrong to want F1 team radio off TV

Kimi Raikkonen disagrees with Fernando Alonso's belief that radio communication in Formula 1 should be kept private and not broadcast on television

McLaren driver Alonso stated ahead of the Russian Grand Prix that he thinks teams should not have to worry about what they say on the radio being broadcast to the public.

Those comments came after Alonso upset McLaren by referring to his Honda-powered car as having a "GP2 engine" at the Japanese firm's home race last time out.

When asked about Alonso's remarks, Raikkonen said: "It's up to the team and the drivers to keep things in private.

"We have meetings where we discuss many things and it stays private.

"We all know how it works - on the radio sometimes they will broadcast it if it's good for them, so it's up to us.

"If we want to keep it private we can easily keep it private."

Raikkonen believes the radio communications add to F1's TV spectacle, and he sees no reason to complain about it.

"It's a simple thing that we have known for years already - the radio will usually end up on the TV," he added.

"That's the same for everybody, so it's not like it's a secret.

"It's good for the spectators and the TV, it's more interesting if they can hear what's going on."

Alonso said there has been plenty of McLaren radio communication that has not been broadcast this year that would "surprise" people, and his team-mate Jenson Button said it can be hard for drivers to keep their emotions in check.

"When things aren't going your way the emotions are high and you maybe say something you shouldn't," said Button.

"We know it gets broadcast to the world, but sometimes in the heat of the moment there is so much emotion there you have to let it out.

"Doing it in your helmet without the radio on seems a bit strange, so you feel you need to let people know how you feel.

"We express a lot, just not in front of the cameras normally.

"There are always going to be slip ups when emotions are running so high.

"It hurts when you have no defence in a race, you drive around and cars can overtake very easily after all the hard work in qualifying.

"But you have to try and deal with it the best you can, get out of the car and discuss with the team where you go from there.

"There is a lot of emotion involved. It's important we do have emotion because it shows we care and we love the sport."