Raikkonen takes year out

Kimi Raikkonen’s manager claims the Finn was McLaren’s first choice to be paired alongside Lewis Hamilton at McLaren next season – but failure to agree terms on a deal paved the way for reigning champion Jenson Button to get the nod.

McLaren this afternoon confirmed Button would join the team as partner to Hamilton from 2010, officially barring the way to the only seat in F1 still coveted by 2007 world champion Raikkonen.

McLaren, for whom Raikkonen contested 88 grands prix between 2002 and 2006, were viewed as the 30-year-old’s sole option to stay in the sport next season following his release from Ferrari, but the negotiations came to nothing.

The Finn’s manager Steve Robertson today confirmed Raikkonen would take a sabbatical from Formula One in 2010 as he is unprepared to join a team that could not mount a realistic world championship challenge.

Robertson said of the failed McLaren talks: “Kimi was definitely their first choice.

“We’ve had many, many meetings with them. But they realised and we realised that we couldn’t find common ground.

“Then they started to look at other drivers.”

Raikkonen’s deal with Ferrari netted the Finn around £25m (€28m) a year according to conservative estimates, and failure to reach a financial agreement with McLaren was part of the reason for the deal stalling, according to Robertson.

“We had many meetings with McLaren but we couldn’t find common ground on certain issues, and that is the reason he will not be racing in Formula One next year,” he told Sky Sports News.

“Obviously, financial [issues] were part of it, but there were certain other issues that I can’t really go into that didn’t enable us to do a deal with McLaren.”

With the McLaren deal dead in the water, Raikkonen’s options for 2010 were limited – and bleak.

Seats were up for grabs at each of the new-for-2010 teams – US F1, Lotus, Campos Meta and Manor Grand Prix – but were viewed as too much of a gamble for a former world champion.

Possible openings at Renault, Force India and Sauber were also unattractive to the Finn, while any chance of a move to Toyota evaporated when the Japanese manufacturer pulled out of F1 earlier this month.

Mercedes-Benz’s takeover of Brawn on Monday opened up another avenue of opportunity, but Raikkonen has nevertheless elected to walk away.

“Kimi feels that McLaren offered him the best chance to win the races and compete for the championship next year,” Robertson continued.

“He didn’t feel another team that’s available out there gives him that same opportunity.

“Kimi doesn’t have to do anything – he’s financially secure, he can pick and choose what he does, and he didn’t feel that outside of McLaren, the other teams that were available could give him the same opportunity.”

Raikkonen’s plans for 2010 could include involvement in the World Rally Championship following his impressive debut in the series in a one-off outing earlier this year, while he has also been linked with a drive in the annual Le Mans 24-hour race.

The Finn could return to F1 in 2011, with Red Bull Racing already being touted as a possible destination.