Raikkonen on Red Bull radar

Date published : 10 Feb 2010 - 19:03:09

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner concedes the prospect of Kimi Raikkonen joining his team in 2011 is an "interesting" one.

Raikkonen, the 2007 Formula One world champion, is taking a sabbatical year from grand prix racing after being released by Ferrari at the end of last season. The Finn failed to agree terms on a switch to the McLaren team and subsequently signed with the Citroen Junior Team to contest the 2010 World Rally Championship, which gets under way in Sweden this weekend.

Speaking in Jerez at the launch of his team's new car, Horner refused to categorically rule out a move for the 30-year-old, but insisted his focus was firmly on current Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. Horner said: "I think it is an interesting idea."

Red Bull, who finished second in last year's constructors' championship, were immediately linked with a move for Raikkonen in 2011 after the news of his sabbatical broke, and his association with the Red Bull-backed Citroen Junior outfit has only served to intensify that speculation.

"Inevitably people will write and speculate about it," he added. "But what I can tell you is that Kimi's focus is very much on rallying. There has been no discussion about F1.

"Kimi's heart seems to be in rallying. He had a lot of desire to go there, and it is going to be an interesting year for him.

"We are very happy with our current driver line-up. Next year is a long way away, but we will focus on our current drivers."

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