Under fairly intense pressure from journalists eager to know not only his future plans but those of Fernando Alonso and a whole load of others, Kimi Raikkonen has admitted that he is unsure what he will do once his current contract with Ferrari runs out at the end of next season.

Advised that the general consensus is that he'll retire from F1, the Finn replied: "There's been rumours like that for many years. I always say that I still have a contract until the end of next year.

"I haven't made any decision as to whether I will keep going or not," he added. "So far, that's the last contract that I have and we will see during this year and next year what happens."

Asked, should he opt to retire, whether he would miss F1, the 2007 world Champion said, quite logically: "I wouldn't stop if I thought I would miss it. For sure, I would have found something else to do, something maybe at that time I'd enjoy even more. I don't know what's going to happen after next year. I haven't made up my mind and we will see.

"Maybe we make the decision this year or maybe not and then we will look next year, but until then, I haven't really made any decisions so far. It's hard to say. I think I'm going to race as long as I enjoy it, I think it's the right thing for me, and then when the day comes when it's no longer fun, then for sure I stop. It can be the end of next year, it can be in four years' time. It's too early to say."

Pushed on what he would base his decision, Kimi said: "Like I said, it's purely if I like it or not. That's the reason if I keep going or not. There are many reasons why you like Formula One or not. For sure, many people only like the driving and the rest can be something that you don't enjoy. When there are more things that you don't like, then it's time to stop."

With regards the "things that you don't like", he continued: "I like the racing and all the other stuff is not always the best thing. I think everybody in Formula One is here because of their love of racing and driving. When there are too many things that you don't enjoy or you think that the whole thing is not what you want anymore, then it's time to go away."

Asked to specify, whether he was referring to the media or sponsorship commitments, he replied: "It can be anything. When you've found something which is not good for you, what you don't want to do or what you don't enjoy, when there's too many things like that or things that don't work out anymore for some reason, it can be many things apart from racing. Then that's probably the best time to go away."

The Finn admitted that initial talks regarding a new contract with Ferrari are underway, though he stressed that "there is no decision yet". Furthermore, he refused to entirely rule out signing for a team other than the Maranello outfit.