Alonso F1 return no surprise to Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen has expressed a lack of surprise at seeing former Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso announce his Formula 1 comeback last week.

Next season Alonso will end what will be a two-year hiatus from F1 by again driving for Renault, 15 years on from winning the second of his two world titles with the team.

Asked whether he was surprised by Alonso's comeback, the Alfa Romeo driver said: “No, I’m not surprised at many things in F1."

Raikkonen, who drove alongside Alonso for the Scuderia in 2014, added: “I think it’s good news for Formula 1 and obviously for him.

"We’ll see how that works out for both of them, but they have a lot of history together."

Alonso and Raikkonen both began their F1 careers in 2001 - Alonso with Minardi and Raikkonen with Sauber, and both have enjoyed a period away from the sport.

At present, Alonso is the only world championship-winning driver confirmed to have a seat for 2021 as Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton do not have deals for next year, although the latter is fully expected to be retained by Mercedes.

The driver market was blown wide open before the season had started, with Ferrari kickstarting it into action after announcing it would not be retaining the services of Sebastian Vettel.

As for Raikkonen, he is typically calm over his future prospects, adding: “I’m not in a rush.

"Obviously next year I will be then, well somebody will have to decide, but I think we need to get back in racing and see how we do, what the plans are, and go from there.”

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