Vasseur's condition: 'Raikkonen can stay as long as he does this'

A driver with lots of experience in Formula 1 is hard to come by, although the emergence of the talented Ferrari juniors in 2020 seemed to threaten Kimi Raikkonen's seat with Alfa Romeo. However, Alfa Romeo team principal Fred Vasseur has revealed it was a way of motivating the Finn, and that he is welcome as long as he shows one thing: Dedication.

According to Vasseur, Ferrari pupils Ilott and Shwartzman have not posed a serious threat to Kimi Raikkonen's Formula One seat, and he maintains that the Finn is as motivated as ever at Alfa Romeo. The Frenchman explained, speaking to GPFans.com:"It is clear we wanted to get Kimi on board. It was more a method of motivation for him that he knew at some stage it would become difficult, that's for sure. … It is just a matter of commitment and motivation, and the commitment is still there and Kimi is more than motivated. I am optimistic for the future." 

Vasseur continued: "He is motivated and doing a good job. For sure, with 23 races it will be tough but it will be tough for everybody. It will be tough for me also but I think the motivation is there, that is the most important for me.”

Focus on the near future

Despite this, Vasseur does not want to make any promises for Raikkonen's future at Alfa Romeo

"I don't want to think about '23 or '24. Let's do '21 and then have the discussion during the course of the season."