A decision on Ferrari's 2014 driver line-up will be made in the next few days, president Luca di Montezemelo has said.
Word in the paddock is that it is a straight fight between current driver Felipe Massa and former employee Kimi Raikkonen.
Massa's future at the team came under fire 12 months earlier and his cause hasn't been helped after yet another troubled campaign so far this season.
Meanwhile Kimi Raikkonen has performed strongly for Lotus since his return to Formula 1. The 33-year-old is out of contract for next season and was linked to a drive alongside Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull Racing before the Milton Keynes based squad confirmed Daniel Ricciardo.
With attentions now turning to Ferrari, Luca di Montezemelo has confirmed that a decision on their 2014 driver line-up is imminent.
He is quoted saying: "We will take a decision in the next [few] days, and we haven't made any kind of decision yet. We haven't signed any contract with anybody. We will talk with Massa and then we will decide.
Di Montezemelo added: "Now is the time to make a decision."
Nico Hulkenberg is also being linked to the drive and his stand-out qualifying performance in Italy would have helped his chances, but paddock gossip stipulates that it is a straight fight between Raikkonen and Massa.
Raikkonen famously won the 2007 world championship with Ferrari before leaving the team a year before his contract ended in 2009, with the Ferrari president not ruling out a return to Maranello for the Finn in 2014.
He told Reuters: "What happened in the past with Kimi? We won a World Championship. First of all, Kimi is a good driver. For us it was a big satisfaction to win with him the first championship with the new team without Michael [Schumacher], without Ross [Brawn].
"I think there are also the possibilities of some other drivers but there is also the possibility as last year that we decide to continue with Felipe. We haven't taken any kind of decision yet at all."
Alonso would undoubtedly favour Ferrari retaining Felipe Massa, a clear number two driver. However recent criticism from Alonso may help Raikkonen's cause with Ferrari eager to reassert their authority.
It is a possibility and Ferrari certainly has a number of strong options. We won't have long to find out though.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Massa's future at the team came under fire 12 months earlier and his cause hasn't been helped after yet another troubled campaign so far this season.
Meanwhile Kimi Raikkonen has performed strongly for Lotus since his return to Formula 1. The 33-year-old is out of contract for next season and was linked to a drive alongside Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull Racing before the Milton Keynes based squad confirmed Daniel Ricciardo.
With attentions now turning to Ferrari, Luca di Montezemelo has confirmed that a decision on their 2014 driver line-up is imminent.
He is quoted saying: "We will take a decision in the next [few] days, and we haven't made any kind of decision yet. We haven't signed any contract with anybody. We will talk with Massa and then we will decide.
Di Montezemelo added: "Now is the time to make a decision."
Nico Hulkenberg is also being linked to the drive and his stand-out qualifying performance in Italy would have helped his chances, but paddock gossip stipulates that it is a straight fight between Raikkonen and Massa.
Raikkonen famously won the 2007 world championship with Ferrari before leaving the team a year before his contract ended in 2009, with the Ferrari president not ruling out a return to Maranello for the Finn in 2014.
He told Reuters: "What happened in the past with Kimi? We won a World Championship. First of all, Kimi is a good driver. For us it was a big satisfaction to win with him the first championship with the new team without Michael [Schumacher], without Ross [Brawn].
"I think there are also the possibilities of some other drivers but there is also the possibility as last year that we decide to continue with Felipe. We haven't taken any kind of decision yet at all."
Alonso would undoubtedly favour Ferrari retaining Felipe Massa, a clear number two driver. However recent criticism from Alonso may help Raikkonen's cause with Ferrari eager to reassert their authority.
It is a possibility and Ferrari certainly has a number of strong options. We won't have long to find out though.
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