Hakkinen cast doubts over Raikkonen

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Former double World Champion Mika Hakkinen is undecided as to whether his countryman Kimi Raikkonen can bounce back and bridge the performance gap which currently separates the Ferrari driver from his team mate Sebastian Vettel.

While Vettel has clinched three victories this season and a further ten podiums, his Scuderia counterpart has only twice enjoyed a top 3 finish, visibly struggling on pace compared to Vettel.

In 2014, Raikkonen had already been subjugated to Fernando Alonso's authority, finishing some 105 points behind the Spaniard in the championship.

Yet, following an extensive review of his performances, Ferrari top brass decided over the summer to extend Raikkonen's contract into 2016, but it remains to be seen how the 36-year-iold and 2007 World Champion can step up his game.

"That's a very good question, and one which is worth asking Kimi himself," Mika Hakkinen told Finnish paper Ilta Sanomat.

"There is definitely no easy answer. I think if Kimi knew it already, he would be faster already."

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