Raikkonen hopes for final win and a chat
Kimi Raikkonen hopes to finally get a chance to chat with Michael Schumacher before the German retires and makes way for the Finn at Ferrari, but he says his immediate goal is to finally win a race in the remaining three rounds of the current season
Ferrari announced last Sunday that Schumacher would retire from racing at the end of this season, with Raikkonen joining the squad to line up alongside Felipe Massa.
And the Finn, who visited Italy on Friday for the launch of a new Hugo Boss shop in Milan, admitted that he was unable to talk to Schumacher until now because of the secrecy that shrouded the German's and Ferrari's plans for the future.
"Up to now, it's been a bit difficult to try to talk about this with him, with the situation being what it was," Raikkonen told Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Maybe now it'll be easier: people know what will happen, he's decided to retire, so maybe now we'll have a chance to chat a bit."
Raikkonen also said he was confident he will get along well with Massa as his teammate. "I'm sure everything will be fine between me and Felipe," he told the newspaper.
"I know him a bit, and he's OK. He's already part of the team and that helps, so I'm sure we'll work very well together."
But the Finn insisted that his sights remain on winning a Grand Prix in the final three races of this season, before parting ways with McLaren after five seasons.
"Since 2002 there have been a lot of nice moments with them, and some others not as happy," he remarked. "There are people that I'll miss there, but that's life. Sometimes you want something different.
"Ferrari have always been a top team and a big name in F1; they have a great history. We'll see what happens in 2007.
"But first of all, I want to finish this season in the best way, get some good results in the last three races, and maybe win one."
He also downplayed the recent controversy surrounding the title battle between Renault and Ferrari, with claims made that the sport's authorities are favouring the Italian team.
"In these situations, there's always a lot of fuss and claims of favouritism towards one or another," Raikkonen added. "I think it's normal, when the battle is so close.
"In similar situations, with so much tension, there's always been controversy in GP racing. It will be interesting to see what happens in the last races.
"I will support Ferrari because I'm going there, but it's good for Formula One that the battle is so close, as it makes it even more popular."
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