Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsFerrari

No need to chase Raikkonen replacement - Arrivabene

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Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene says he has no need to chase a replacement for Kimi Raikkonen.

With Raikkonen's contract including an option for the 2016 season, Arrivabene warned the Finn in Bahrain he would have to earn an extension through improved results. While Raikkonen duly finished on the podium in Bahrain, he has struggled compared to Sebastian Vettel since and lost out to Valtteri Bottas in the fight for third place in Canada.

With Bottas having been linked to a Ferrari seat in 2016, Arrivabene says there is no need for him to look at other options at the moment.

"I am concentrating on our two guys right now and I know very well that if needed you can have a driver that is ready to jump in a Ferrari any minute," Arrivabene told the official Formula One website. "That is not a problem. The problem is to work with the driver that we have and make sure that he is giving us the best performance."

Asked what Raikkonen needs to deliver in order to retain his drive, Arrivabene replied: "A good performance.

"To add points to the team tally. I am working for a team with a strong tradition and Enzo Ferrari dictated this tradition. For Enzo Ferrari the constructors’ championship was always of greater value than the drivers’ title.

"So for us the constructors’ championship is very important. To win this title you need both drivers delivering. I talked with Kimi straightforwardly, and he knows very well: the more points he can deliver, the better his chances to stay!"

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.