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I say the house is full everywhere for Massa. Sauber have two paid drivers and need the funding. Unless Tex Mex money dries up...but then why not sign up any number of other talented drivers that have money.

Come on Lotus...keep Kimi and lets see Hulk go to Fezz. But looks like Hulk to Lotus is the go based on comments fromt eh team over the Monza weekend

I say the house is full everywhere for Massa. Sauber have two paid drivers and need the funding. Unless Tex Mex money dries up...but then why not sign up any number of other talented drivers that have money.

Come on Lotus...keep Kimi and lets see Hulk go to Fezz. But looks like Hulk to Lotus is the go based on comments fromt eh team over the Monza weekend

Well if Kimi bolts I hope faceless investment banking corporation has deep enough pockets to fund Lotus properly so we dont get a repeat of the last time they lost a brilliant, charismatic F1 driver.

I am gutted for Lotus. Hulk may be a good signing for them but he wont bring the sponsors, coverage and talk of the team which seems to critical to it at the moment for funding and potential for increased Renault dollars and solid future campaigns :( I hope my buy Romain keeps his seat and they dont sign Julk then go for a funded 2nd driver :(

GUTTED!!!!

Ferrari confirms Kimi Raikkonen's return to F1 driver lineup

  • From: AP
  • September 12, 201312:00AM

KIMI Raikkonen will return to Ferrari as a replacement for Felipe Massa, giving the Formula One team a new partner for Fernando Alonso and two top drivers for the start of the 2014 season.

"Scuderia Ferrari announces that it has reached an agreement with Kimi Raikkonen," the team said last night in a statement. "The Finn will join Fernando Alonso in the driver line-up for the next two racing seasons."

The expected move came a day after Massa announced he will leave Ferrari following the seven final races of this season.

The 33-year-old Raikkonen, who currently drives for Lotus, has been heavily linked with a return to Ferrari in recent weeks. The Finn raced for Ferrari from 2007-09, and his world title in 2007 was the last time Ferrari won the driver's championship.

Alonso and Raikkonen have won three Formula One titles and 52 races between them.

Ferrari wanted to strengthen its driver lineup for 2014, when the F1 regulations change dramatically with the introduction of new 1.6-litre V6 turbo engines.

Massa won 11 races in his first three seasons with Ferrari but he hasn't been the same driver since a life-threatening accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2009. His contract is up at the end of this season.

In the current standings, Alonso is second to Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, Raikkonen is fourth and Massa is seventh.

Of Raikkonen's 20 career F1 wins, nine came during his three seasons with Ferrari. He won the 2007 championship, the only driver's title of his career, by one point ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Alonso, who was then with McLaren.

However, near the end of the 2009 season, Ferrari announced that Raikkonen was leaving the team even though his contract lasted through 2010. He was replaced by Alonso.

The announcement of Raikkonen's return comes during turbulent times at Ferrari, which this season has again been unable to stop Red Bull's dominance.

During last weekend's Italian GP, Alonso and Ferrari were again forced to downplay talk of a rift after the Spanish driver lost his temper with team officials during qualifying.

It remains to be seen if Alonso will also leave or duel for the team's top driver status with Raikkonen next season.

If Alonso does stay, it will mark the first time Ferrari has two former world champion drivers since Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell were at the wheels of the red cars in 1990.

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