Raikkonen: F1 hurt by 'bullshit' gossip

Kimi Raikkonen says that the "bullshit" surrounding Formula 1 has begun to harm the sport as gossip drowns out the facts. Ferrari star Raikkonen has made no secret of his displeasure at many elements surrounding F1, but has said his enjoyment of driving will keep him on the grid into his forties.

Raikkonen will swap Ferrari for Sauber in 2019 – a move that itself was the subject of much conjecture and intrigue before it was made official.

Charles Leclerc's promotion to the Scuderia dominated gossip columns for many months before Ferrari confirmed he would fill Raikkonen's seat in 2019.

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The Finn believes a lot of the discussion surrounding F1 only serves to highlight – and magnify – negative elements.

He told Motorsport: "People always complain that, 'Oh F1 is not exciting', 'It's not this', or something like 'Why are people not interested so much?'.

"But to be honest, I think how much bullshit there is in the media, and stories and gossips and stuff – if that wouldn't be that much, I think F1 would be much better.

"People try to create so much nonsense, that it actually starts harming F1. I think if there would be less nonsense and more actual things that are true, and this and that, it would be better for F1 in many ways."

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