Raikkonen backed by Sauber for racing return

Alfa Romeo team principal Frédéric Vasseur has stated the Sauber Group would "be supportive" to help Kimi Raikkonen "find other projects" following his retirement from F1.

After 19 years in the sport and setting a record for most race starts with 349, the last 58 of which were with Alfa Romeo, the Finn finally walked away at the end of last season.

While Raikkonen departed with no set plan in mind with regard to his future, Vasseur has made it clear both he and the Group will help in whatever way they can.

In a post-season interview with GPFans, Vasseur said: "I told him that I could help if he wants to do something else, that even the [Sauber] Group would be very happy to be supportive and to find other projects.

"They are now almost everywhere - Le Mans and in Formula E.

"He was clear in his mind by saying, 'No, I would prefer to close this short-term, and then perhaps in six months, eight months, I would like to do something else'.

"I think it's quite tough when you do so many seasons in a row in F1 to stop and say, 'Okay, next year I will do WTCC' or I don't know what."

In a separate interview, Raikkonen told GPFans he now had the opportunity to focus more on his motocross team.

When asked whether he felt Raikkonen would ever return to the F1 paddock, Vasseur replied: "I don't know. He deserves to have a rest.

"Honestly, I think he had a very good approach. He was always very open with us. This for me, it's the most important because we had an open discussion about this."

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