Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsFerrari

Raikkonen struggling mentally at Ferrari - Massa

Felipe Massa says Kimi Raikkonen is struggling to deal with the pressure at Ferrari.

Following a spin in Canada which cost him a podium finish, Raikkonen crashed out on the opening lap at the end of a difficult Austrian Grand Prix weekend. The Finn has an option on his contract for 2016 which Ferrari has yet to take up, prompting speculation he could be replaced, with Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo linked with the seat.

Former Ferrari driver Massa says Raikkonen will be feeling the pressure despite his 'Iceman' persona.

"It’s not nice to be in that position, I think that is what is important to mention," Massa said. "For sure, one of the problems that Kimi has is here [in his head] and it’s not really easy to be in that position. Definitely he is suffering more with the pressure than other things.

"Everyone says he’s an Iceman, but he’s not really like that. He can suffer also with the pressure and it shows in the results. He just needs to relax and try to do his best because he is definitely a big talent and can do a lot better than he is doing, everybody knows that.

"It’s just related to him, but it could be possible the team is looking for another driver, so you have some names on the line that maybe the team is looking for. I don’t think I will go there, so it’s not my problem."

And Massa says the pressure driving for Ferrari is above the level at any other team in F1.

"I think the team supports you definitely, but it’s a big company and it’s not just the team. Every day you are in the media for good or for bad and sometimes this is not helping the driver or the team to control the driver in the best way as well. But Ferrari is Ferrari and the biggest, most famous team in Formula One, so you have a lot more pressure there than at another team."

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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.