Vassell: Not upgrading the car is not the option Raikkonen would expect

In deciding that Kimi Raikkonen would not develop An alfa Romeo cars in his final season in F1, Frederick Vassell admitted that this was "not" the driver would have chosen.

While it was thought that 2020 would be his final season in F1, with Raikkonen scoring only four points in the pandemic, the Finn decided to stay here for the 19th season. It was definitely not a success, and Alfa Romeo decided at the beginning of the season not to develop the C41, but to focus all the design work and budget on the brand new car in 2022.

While Raikkonen did improve in 2020, with he scored 10 points last season and two P8s late in the season, his top ten finish was limited to four of the 22 games.

Announcing in September that 2021 would be his final season in F1, he said at the time: "It's not an easy decision, but after this season it's time to start a new life. ”

While Vassell did not say that Alfa Romeo's decision not to improve C41 this season had any impact on Raikkonen's decision, he admitted it was a decision that was difficult for drivers to accept.

"Of course, when we had to make this decision from the perspective of the company or the team, for Kimi maybe it wasn't the option he was looking forward to, I totally understand," he said. ”

Asked if the 2007 world champion had ever expressed his "disappointment", the Frenchman replied: "No, because I think he's professional enough not to do something like that." My job is to put myself in their shoes and I totally understand those guys and I can fully understand that from their point of view. ”

Although Alfa Romeo has more points in 2021 than in 2020, he has fallen to ninth in the constructors' standings. This season, the team has a brand new squad of Walteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.