Mika Hakkinen is not sure he would advise Ferrari to keep his countryman Kimi Raikkonen beyond 2015.
Finn Raikkonen, who replaced Hakkinen at McLaren some 13 years ago, is currently pushing to be retained by Ferrari and in Bahrain finished second behind Lewis Hamilton. But when asked about Ferrari’s deliberations, Hakkinen said: “At this stage, it is difficult to analyse whether this would be the right or wrong decision for them.”
Today, 46-year-old Hakkinen is a part of Finn Valtteri Bottas’ management team, and the Williams driver is often referred to as a logical successor to Raikkonen at Ferrari.
While Raikkonen impressed in Bahrain, so too did Hakkinen’s 25-year-old charge Bottas, as he resisted late-race pressure from top Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel. “Valtteri showed how well he can handle the pressure,” Hakkinen told his sponsor Hermes in an interview. “It was exactly the sort of strong nerves that drivers need in the fight for world championships,” he insisted.
As for Raikkonen’s race to second place after a fallow period for the 2007 world champion, Hakkinen remarked: “Kimi drove the race as he should have. “We already know what Kimi’s speed and talent is. A very experienced driver like him must regularly be showing the performance that could be seen in Bahrain,” he added.
