Ferrari boss says no deal with Raikkonen

Speculation has been intensifying in recent weeks that Raikkonen will join Ferrari in 2007 and would then team up with Schumacher if the seven-time champion decided that he wanted to continue.

But di Montezemolo said today at Imola that his team has not signed Raikkonen ahead of an expected decision from Schumacher, which could come in a matter of weeks.

"Why do you assume about a decision on Kimi?" di Montezemolo said, when asked if the team would wait for Schumacher before making a decision on Raikkonen.

"I'm surprised. Inside your questions you assume that it is done - it's not like this. It's not like this.

"I think that Michael will not wait too long. And I think in the next few weeks, he will be in touch with us. For sure the decision will not be made in Monza, but before."

Di Montezemolo said the team were not putting any pressure on Schumacher to hurry up and make up his mind about his future plans.

"Regarding Michael, he has no pressure from us, and he knows that if he continues we will be extremely pleased and ready.

"He will decide, and only he will decide. We will understand that in life, there has to be an end for all of us."

Di Montezemolo said that Schumacher would likely only continue if he believed he could be competitive.

"Michael is fit, Michael is strong, Michael is concentrated and, as always, Michael is looking at the details.

"I hope that he will continue, and I am sure that if he will continue, he will be competitive, because if he decides to be competitive, it will be because he is fit in the mind and not just the body.

"The decision will come from himself, so we will wait. In the next few weeks it will be possible to talk, but today is too early."

Speaking about the rumours that Ferrari were ready to put Schumacher and Raikkonen together in the same team, di Montezemolo explained: "Look, I am old in Formula One. It is a complete waste of time to say Michael will stay, Michael will not stay. He's a fantastic driver - but it's the same with [Valentino] Rossi in motorcycles.

"Raikkonen is young, quick, tough, he's one of the three best drivers in Formula One. So he's with McLaren and I hope that he won't be too successful this year. And next year I really don't know - we will have to see. At the moment we are fully concentrating, from the president down to the mechanics, to go back to victories."

When asked if there had been any discussions between Ferrari and Raikkonen, the Italian responded: "I have not had - unfortunately - any contact with the fantastic driver Kimi Raikkonen....If someone at Ferrari has done something, I will not tell."