Galacticos of F1! But Raikkonen's exit to join Alonso at Ferrari is a bunny old game

Galacticos of F1! But Raikkonen's exit to join Alonso at Ferrari is a bunny old game

The rabbit was out of the bag long before Ferrari officially announced that former world champion Kimi Raikkonen was returning to the team.
But extraordinarily it was 'the rabbit', not the driver, who caused the bigger stir.
For Lotus, the team Raikkonen will be leaving at the end of the season, bizarrely tweeted a picture of two bunnies copulating, alongside the message: ‘So Kimi is off to Ferrari for 2014. It hurts a little bit...’

Working closely: Kimi Raikkonen (right) will join Fernando Alonso at Ferrari

Is the car really the star? Alonso and Raikkonen could be the 'Galacticos of F1' at Ferrari

The cryptic - yet explicit - tweet led to speculation about its exact meaning.
Were Lotus saying that Raikkonen had, er, done them over? Probably, though there is a context: the team have adopted a light-hearted tone in a number of their previous tweets about Raikkonen.
On Monday they put out a twist on the ‘Keep calm and carry on’ theme, saying: ‘Keep calm and let Kimi decide what to do.’
Lotus sought to defuse the rabbit controversy with a follow-up tweet.
It read: ‘Wow, what a reaction! Thank you, and if that one came as a bit of a shock, sorry. We’ll be sure to warn you next time.’ The accompanying ‘picture’ joked: ‘ADVISORY: EXPLICIT CONTENT’.
FIA spokesman Pierre Regent drew a line under the ribaldry, saying: ‘We spoke to Lotus and they assured us that no offence was intended.’

Champagne moment: Kimi Raikkonen celebrates winning the Belgian Grand Prix in 2007 during his first stint at Ferrari

Leaving: Felipe Massa is to depart Ferrari

Back at Ferrari, they issued a chaste statement confirming that Raikkonen would join Fernando Alonso in their driver-line-up for the ‘next two racing seasons’. Raikkonen’s deal is estimated to be worth £20million.
The return of 33-year-old Raikkonen is partly a result of Ferrari favouring an experienced driver to help them adapt to rule changes going into next season. That ruled out Nico Hulkenburg of Sauber, the other leading contender for the seat that will be vacated by Brazilian Felipe Massa in November.
Another advantage with Raikkonen is that, despite being wilfully monosyllabic, he has a cult following and possesses the better marketing appeal.
Raikkonen’s move is a shot in the arm for the sport, pitching two star drivers against each other in intra-team rivalry. Most observers would expect Alonso to prevail over the course of a season, but wait for the fireworks if Raikkonen betters him more than once in a while.

Share or comment on this article