17/07/2015
NEWS STORY
With the 'circus' on an unexpected break following the cancellation of the German Grand Prix, and the resultant lack of real news, speculation over driver moves for 2016 has become the order of the day.
Naturally, following a number of strong performances from Valtteri Bottas, the Williams driver is at the centre of the speculation, along with countryman Kimi Raikkonen, who is under increasing pressure at Ferrari.
Whilst the 59 point gap to his teammate isn't entirely his fault, it must be said that Raikkonen (a Pitpass favourite, it has to be admitted) hasn't really helped himself, the Finn making a number of silly mistakes both in qualifying and in the races.
Team boss Maurizio Arrivabene, though seemingly appearing to cut the Finn a certain amount of slack, will be under pressure from above, and with Sebastian Vettel having made it to the podium six times this year – once as a winner - the Italian will need to justify why Raikkonen has only made one visit, especially as the 2015 package is clearly superior to its predecessor.
Bottas has long been linked with Ferrari, but in recent days the speculation has increased with Corriere dello Sport today claiming that the Italian team has paid its Grove rivals €12m (£8.3m) to release the Finn from his current contract which runs out at the end of 2016. At the same time, the Maranello outfit's option on Raikkonen for 2016 runs out at the end of this month.
Mischievously adding to the fun and games, Didier Coton, who manages Bottas, took to Twitter. "Man, what a morning!" he tweeted. "The heat wave has reached lots of countries especially Italy. Let's turn on the air conditioning and keep cool."
Raikkonen has said that Ferrari will be his last team in F1 which suggests that if he is dropped the Finn will leave the sport. Whilst impressive at Lotus on his return to F1 in 2012, winning the Australian Grand Prix in his second year back, and finishing the year third overall, he has never really convinced back at the team with which he won the title in 2007.
Without doubt, Raikkonen and Bottas are the key to the 2016 driver merry go round, and once the future of either is known we can anticipate some frenzied movement elsewhere.