Raikkonen narrows future to three teams
McLaren's Formula One title contender Kimi Raikkonen says there are only three teams that can hope to sign him for 2007
"In the end there are not many positions where I want to go and everybody knows them," said the Finn, championship runner-up to Renault's Fernando Alonso last year and to Ferrari's Michael Schumacher in 2003.
"There are only really three top teams so I don't think it's going to be a big surprise whatever I decide. But I don't know, we'll see."
Spaniard Alonso, the youngest champion at 24, has already signed to join Mercedes-powered McLaren next year while Raikkonen has been linked strongly to Ferrari, either as Schumacher's teammate or successor.
Renault are looking for a replacement for Alonso while Ferrari, waiting on a decision from Schumacher about whether he wants to continue or retire, insist they have not done any deal with Raikkonen despite making their admiration clear.
Of the other leading teams, Honda have a fixed line-up for 2007 while big-spending Toyota have struggled to match last year's form that took them to fourth place overall in the championship.
McLaren are also hoping to persuade the Finn to stay in a dream line-up reviving memories of the stormy pairing of Brazilian Ayrton Senna and French champion Alain Prost in the late 1980s.
Raikkonen said the decision would be his.
"I talk to my wife but she's not going to decide where I go," he said. "I'll speak to my managers about what we want to do and what's the best for us.
"There's only really been three teams over the last two years that have been capable (of winning the championship)...so I don't think it's going to be too difficult to decide between them.
"The money is not going to be much different wherever I go, so it's not going to decide," he added. "It's all going to come down to small things, small things will decide it.
"First of all you want to have the best car but you are never going to know what you are going to get next year. You just hope you make the right decision."
Ralf hits 150 races in Michael's shadow
Thursday's press conference - Europe
Why physical fitness is an understimated challenge for IndyCar rookies
The lack of in-car physical fitness is an “underestimated” hurdle for an IndyCar Series rookie, according to Dale Coyne Racing's Indy Lights graduate Sting Ray Robb.
Bubba Wallace ‘got dumped’ by Austin Dillon in NASCAR Clash
Bubba Wallace says Austin Dillon “dumped” him out of second place in NASCAR’s chaotic Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday night.
Albon warns Williams has "long road ahead" to recover in F1
Alex Albon admits that his Williams Formula 1 team has a “long road ahead” as it tries to progress up the field this year.
Toyota won’t put more pressure on Katsuta at WRC Rally Sweden
Toyota World Rally Championship boss Jari-Matti Latvala says the team won’t "put more pressure" on Takamoto Katsuta to deliver in his first drive for the factory team this weekend.
The pioneering F1 car that preceded Lotus’s terminal decline
In the hands of Ayrton Senna the actively suspended 99T would be the last F1 race-winning Lotus but, as STUART CODLING reveals, it was a complicated machine that caused more problems than it solved
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
How do the best races of F1 2022 stack up to 2021?
OPINION: A system to score all the grands prix from the past two seasons produces some interesting results and sets a standard that 2023 should surely exceed
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.