Raikkonen Questions Rosberg's Decision To Return To F1, Reveals Post-Retirement Plans

Kimi Raikkonen recently admitted he was surprised by Nico Rosberg’s decision to return to Formula 1 in a media capacity almost immediately after announcing his retirement from the sport.

The former Mercedes driver shocked the F1 world when he announced his retirement just five days after beating Lewis Hamilton and winning his maiden Drivers’ championship in 2016.

Rosberg admitted at the time that his sole reason for entering the sport was to win a title and with his goal achieved, he was ready to walk away and focus on spending more time with his family and indicated that it will be away from F1.

However, it has not taken long for the German racer to return to the grid as he made a number of appearances as a television expert for Sky Sports in England and Germany. And Raikkonen is puzzled as to why Rosberg is back in the sport that he quit so abruptly.

“When he explained why [he is stopping] I thought it was cool and I understood,” Raikkonen said during the launch of his book “The Unknown Kimi Raikkonen” in Helsinki recently, according to Planet F1.

“Now he’s standing there with a microphone. I cannot understand why given the reasons he gave for wanting to leave,” the Finn added.

Raikkonen, currently 38 years old, is in the later stages of his career in F1. He is keen to continue racing, but his current employers Ferrari are yet to hand him a new deal for next season. The Finnish racer has shown that he is still capable of competing at the sharp end of the grid, but made it clear it will be easy for him to walk away from the sport when the time comes.

Raikkonen has always maintained that he is in F1 only to drive the car and does not care much for the other aspects of the sport, mainly media and sponsor activities. He is open to staying in F1 after retirement, but he wants to remain in the background and help develop a car rather than stand in front of a camera, similar to a number of former drivers, who turned to television after ending their careers.

“No it will not be hard to stop this job. I will be relieved when all of the things not involving driving will end. The driving is great but nothing else,” the 2007 F1 Drivers’ champion explained. “Yes, I’m interested in doing something like developing a car, but in the background not in public. It will not be standing with a microphone.”

Raikkonen is currently in the final three months of his contract with Ferrari, after initially looking like it could be his last season with the Italian team, the latest reports have veered toward a new deal to remain in F1 — a two-year contract, with a clause that allows Ferrari to change the terms after the first year.