F1 News: Raikkonen Not Worried About Step Back, Happy To Join Sauber

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday will also be Kimi Raikkonen’s last for Ferrari before he joins the Sauber F1 team for the 2019 season. The Finn has spent eight seasons with the Italian team in two different stints and is also the last driver to win the F1 Drivers’ championship for Ferrari in 2007. The 2018 season has been Raikkonen’s best with the team since he rejoined in 2014 — he even won his first race in over five years.

It came as a surprise when Ferrari decided to replace the Finnish racer, who has complimented Sebastian Vettel well during their time together at the team. It was expected he will remain for at least one more season, but will now make way for young rising star Charles Leclerc.

The Monegasque driver has impressed during his debut season with Sauber and will now be thrown into the deep end from the start of the 2019 season. It was expected Raikkonen will hang up his helmet when Ferrari made their decision to let him go, but he surprised everyone by announcing a two-year deal to drive for Sauber.

It is a step back for the 2007 world champion, who has been accustomed to fighting for podium places in the last four seasons with Ferrari. However, Raikkonen has made it clear he is looking forward to joining the team with whom he made his debut in 2001.

Raikkonen is not known for his public relation qualities and has always been clear he comes to the races to drive the car and nothing else. The Finn believes he will get to do more of that with Sauber compared to Ferrari where sponsor commitments would have been much more.

"I still like to drive, and that's the only reason why I will continue to drive next year," Raikkonen told La Gazzetta dello Sport, as quoted on GrandPrix.com. "At Sauber I can focus more on what I love — driving," Raikkonen added.

Raikkonen is also not concerned he is joining a team that usually fights at the wrong end of the grid — they have proven otherwise in 2018 after securing multiple top ten finishes.

The 39-year-old referenced to his time with Lotus when returned to F1 in 2012 after two years away from the sport. He gave Lotus Renault their only Grand Prix win in 2013 — which earned him a return to Ferrari.

"Why should I worry about going to Sauber?" the Finn added. "My goal is to try to help them to succeed and to have fun. ... When I came back to formula one for Lotus, people said that I had made a mistake and could not do anything, but instead things went differently. It could happen again.”