Raikkonen urged to recapture fear factor

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has urged Kimi Raikkonen to start proving why he is one of the most feared drivers in Formula One.

After switching from McLaren to Ferrari over the winter, the Finn made a stunning start to the year with the Italian team by winning the curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix.

Since then, however, Raikkonen – known as ’The Iceman’ – has been distinctly off the boil and now trails championship leader Lewis Hamilton by 26 points.

After replacing seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher- who now supports the Maranello marque in his new role as advisor – the 27-year-old has hardly lived up to his billing or salary, which is reputed to be the biggest in Formula One.

Di Montezemolo, speaking in Gazzetta dello Sport, said: “We are waiting for the real Raikkonen, the one that everyone fears.

“Michael (Schumacher) has said Kimi and Fernando (Alonso) were his toughest rivals, and Alonso has said the same about Raikkonen and Schumacher.

“Kimi has always been in the fight, and now we are waiting for him to go back to being the one everyone fears – and we are convinced that he will do it.”

Di Montezemolo, though, is concerned at the dominance McLaren are now exerting after Ferrari won three of the opening four races of the year.

McLaren hold a 25-point lead in the constructors’ championship, with di Montezemolo adding: “Clearly the two McLaren drivers are formidable.

“We got distracted for a moment and I don’t like this situation. We have to regain our competitiveness.

“We have all the means to fight back and we must work out how to recover the two or three tenths (of a second) that separate us from McLaren.”

Felipe Massa, meanwhile, has dismissed suggestions Schumacher is poised to come out of retirement and return to the cockpit.

Given Raikkonen’s loss of form, combined with the fact Schumacher is a feature in the background at Ferrari, speculation has arisen the 38-year-old German could make a comeback.

But Massa, who formed a close relationship with Schumacher in his final year at Ferrari last season, said: “I’m certain he won’t come back to drive.

“I know Michael well. He’s not someone who makes u-turns.”