Source: Ferrari Media

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Hamilton: F1 would miss Kimi Raikkonen

Hamilton: "F1 would miss Kimi Raikkonen"

04-09-2018 09:54
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Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

With reports coming out again that Kimi Raikkonen will lose his place at Ferrari to rookie Charles Leclerc next season, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton has said that the F1 as a sport would miss the Finn if he retired.

Even though new Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri is keen to retain the services of Raikkonen, it has been reported that former Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne, who passed away this July, had already signed a deal with Leclerc to guarantee him a seat at Ferrari in 2019. It is believed that Ferrari will be respecting the wish of their former leader. This would leave Raikkonen without a seat at Ferrari, likely prompting him to retire.

“Would I miss Kimi? I think it’s always a difficult question to say if you miss someone,” Hamilton said according to PlanetF1.

“I think the sport would naturally miss him, yeah.

“I made it no secret that before I even got to Formula 1, when I was playing the PlayStation I was always Kimi in the McLaren, imagining that was me.

“And then I remember the first car at McLaren which was Kimi’s set-up and the suspension that he would use, I remember it like it was yesterday.

“It was an amazing experience and it was cool because I think our driving style was kind of similar, which meant that I ended up being quite comfortable with the set-up that he used back then."

According to the four-time champion, Raikkonen is still as competitive as he was years ago, despite his age of 38.

“He’s had an incredible career and it’s been a real honour to race against a great Finn such as him – but he looks like he’s just ice-cold.

“He’s just got plenty of years left in him.

"He’s not seeming to age. 

"I don’t know what it is about Finnish people - I think it’s the sauna and the ice thing.”