Lotus owner Gerard Lopez has dismissed Red Bull’s flirtations with Kimi Raikkonen as ‘game playing’. In reference to what Red Bull owner
Dietrich Mateschitz told the press last week.
Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen finished 2nd in the
Chinese Grand Prix, last Sunday. Was Raikkonen showing his raw talent to the Red Bull bosses? Or was he proving he's already at their level with team Lotus? With the relationship between world champion Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber at an all-time low, Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has already been sounded out about potential replacements, and described the Finn as ‘cool and fast and always a candidate’.
However, Lopez is taking comments from Mateschitz with a pinch of salt.
‘Kimi’s position is going to be based on a bunch of things and not on what Red Bull say – I think they have their hands full right now,’ Lopez said inclining at the battle between Vettel and Webber.
‘As far as we are concerned, the relationship with Kimi is excellent. We are where we want to be, he is where he wants to be, and I can guarantee you Kimi is not the kind of guy who is going to sign any sort of pre-contract – not with anybody. If we keep giving him what he wants then I don’t see there is any reason for him to go anywhere, and we are happy so we don’t see any reason for us to replace him. With regard to Red Bull, it’s part of the whole game right now as they’ve got their own issues. In saying something like that, maybe they’re trying to see if that can help them, but I don’t see how. We are where we are, and I think Kimi will stay.’ Lopez told
The Mirror.
After finishing third in last season’s drivers’ championship, and with the 33-year-old Finn firmly in the hunt for this year’s title after three races, Lopez knows Raikkonen’s form is attractive.
On a run of 20 successive races in the points, Lopez added: ‘Kimi is a past world champion, and he can be world champion on any other day given the quality of his driving and his experience. He finished third last year, and I’ve said he can go higher, so now we will see how much higher he can go.’
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