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Ferrari F1 team and Kimi Raikkonen in no hurry over 2017 deal

Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen are not in a hurry to confirm their plans for the 2017 Formula 1 season, according to team principal Maurizio Arrivabene

The Finn's contract expires at the end of the season, with speculation linking several drivers, including Valtteri Bottas and Romain Grosjean, to his seat.

Raikkonen, who was not confirmed for 2016 until the summer break last year, has said he wants to stay at Ferrari.

He has had a stronger start to this year, scoring three podiums and accumulating nine more points than at this time last season.

When asked by Autosport if Raikkonen's 2016 performances were enough to justify a new deal, Arrivabene said: "Kimi is back on and is fully concentrated on doing his job.

"On Sunday, he demonstrated that he is a good team-mate of Sebastian [when he let Vettel through as he was on fresher tyres]

"But if you look at Kimi in a certain sector he was the faster one at one stage.

"We are looking, we are not in a hurry and I must say that he is not in a hurry."

Raikkonen is currently only 15 points adrift of Vettel, whereas he trailed his team-mate by 48 after eight races last year.

A 2017 deal would extend his current Ferrari stay into a fourth year and be his seventh season at Maranello in total.

Arrivabene said 2017 driver talks had to take a back seat all the time Ferrari was struggling to beat Mercedes to wins in '16.

"It is too early to talk about next season because the number of victories we have is still zero," he said.

"There is a long way to go."

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