Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/864549
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 23 AUGUST 2017 20 Sport SPORTTODAY FORMULA 1 Kimi Raikkonen staying at Ferrari in 2018 KIMI Raikkonen will be rac- ing for Ferrari again next sea- son after the Italian Formula One team announced on Tuesday a contract extension with the Finn for 2018. The popular 2007 world champion, who will be 38 in October, would have been out of contract at the end of this year with plenty of rivals eye- ing up his seat at the sport's most successful and glamor- ous team. Raikkonen has not won a race since he was at Lotus in 2013, and is currently fifth in a championship led by Ger- man team mate Sebastian Vettel, who has won four of the season's 11 races to date. Vettel is also out of contract at the end of the season and the short Ferrari statement did not mention him. How- ever, he is expected to remain once a longer and more lucra- tive deal has been hammered out. The timing of Ferrari's statement was earlier than expected, since the team have often made such announce- ments at their home Italian round at Monza which fol- lows on from this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix. They had also been tipped to confirm both drivers at the same time. Vettel, a four times world champion with Red Bull, has also been linked in some me- dia speculation to champions Mercedes where Finland's Valtteri Bottas has yet to be confirmed for 2018. By opting to keep Raik- konen, Ferrari have gone for an experienced driver who is still quick and who will not rock the boat in what is likely to be his final season. He first raced for Ferrari between 2007-9 and then returned in 2014. He and Vettel get on well, with the German keen on him staying, and Raikkonen has shown his loyalty this season by accepting team or- ders to his detriment. The Finn has twice finished second behind Vettel, in Mo- naco and Hungary, while also taking third place in Britain and Russia. He started on pole position in Monaco in May, his first appearance at the front of the grid since June 2008, and has a strong track record at Bel- gium's Spa-Francorchamps where he was won four times. His future was called into question in July, however, when Ferrari chairman Ser- gio Marchionne called him "a bit of a laggard". "I think Kimi has got to show a higher level of com- mitment to the process," he had told reporters at the Aus- trian Grand Prix. Marchionne has also em- phasised that he wants Vettel to stay. Kimi Raikkonen Renault to update engine at Spa, Monza RENAULT will bring software and hardware updates to the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix, as it pushes to close the gap to rival power unit manu- facturers. Renault is still lagging be- hind Mercedes and Ferrari in Formula 1's engine battle, having spent time overcom- ing reliability issues early in the season. But while a major upgrade has been ruled out in 2017, Renault engine chief Ré- mi Taffin outlined further tweaks for the next two rac- es, with "more things in the pipeline". "Spa and Monza will see new software and hardware updates," said Taffin. "We are looking at Monza as a benchmark as it could provide a clear picture of the ranking of the engines. "Being in the top 10 will be a good result as these next two circuits are power-hungry. "After Monza, we have more races and more things in the pipeline, the next two months will be important for the 2017 season outcome." Taffin made clear that Re- nault continues to "give close attention" to reliability, though expressed optimism over the progress made so far. "We know we're not the fastest on the grid, but as a team we are showing we are the force after the top three," he commented. "Qualif ying pace has looked good, with Britain and Hun- gary exemplif ying our ability to be the fourth best team. "It's just a case of building on that and bettering the race pace. "That comes from levelling up everything, we need to show off reliability and mile- age and that is something we are giving close attention. "We are on a good trend and we will keep adding per- formance in terms of both aerodynamics and engine so hopefully this can be seen in the upcoming races." Renault sits back in eighth position in the champion- ship standings, but is only 15 points away from fifth-placed Williams, in a tight midfield fight.