Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Caterham, Pirelli, Kimi Raikkonen and More

Kimi Raikkonen accepts he will finish his Formula One career at Ferrari, and believes he could have at least two more years left with the Scuderia.

But he may need to find a way to improve his form. The team's fourth place in the constructors' championship could be under threat with McLaren set to continue development of their car all the way to the final race of the year.

Closing the 45-point gap will be tough for the Woking team, but with the MP4-29 getting better all the time, it's certainly not impossible.

Elsewhere in the F1 world, Pirelli have been the subject of criticism from several drivers. Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel want improvements to be made to the wet weather tyres, while Felipe Massa has a problem with the company's tyre choice for his home grand prix.

Boss Paul Hembery has responded.

Also responding is Caterham team principal Manfredi Ravetto, who has expressed bewilderment at Kamui Kobayashi's comments regarding his retirement in Sochi.

Read on for a full roundup of the week's top stories.

Article originally published 17th October 2014.

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel Call for Pirelli Wet Improvements

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Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel feel Pirelli need to do more work on their full-wet tyres.

During the Japanese Grand Prix, drivers switched to green-marked intermediate tyres immediately after the safety car came in, despite the track remaining extremely wet.

World championship leader Hamilton says this is due to the blue-marked wet tyres having a significantly lower level of performance. He is quoted by BBC Sport's Andrew Benson, saying:

"

They're not great tyres. That's no secret.

There's always going to be spray but we need to work hard. It's an area that's not always focused on so much. The slicks are always being improved and worked on but there is not so much focus on the wet.

You want a tyre that clears the water. And not forcing us to go on to the inter because it's so much quicker when it's probably not safe enough to do so is something I think the FIA and Pirelli will work on.

"

He added that the tyres provided by Bridgestone—the sport's sole supplier between 2007 and 2010—were superior to the current rubber.

Sebastian Vettel gave a similar opinion when asked by Autosport for his views. He said:

"

Currently the extreme tyre has a very narrow window and the intermediate is quicker.

As soon as you've got rid of most of the water, you try to put the intermediate on, taking a lot of risk into account, just because it's the quicker tyre. That's something we need to work on.

"

The behaviour of race control with regards the safety car in Japan suggests the only time the full-wet is viable is when the track is "officially" considered too wet to properly race on due to low grip levels and huge amounts of spray.

By the time the SLS AMG returned to the pits at the start of the race, the intermediate was at the very least equal to the full wet. This is shown by the pace of Jenson Button—the first driver to switch to intermediates—on the FIA's lap time information chart.

But anyone who saw the race would agree the circuit was absolutely drenched at the time and remained so until the red flag was shown.

The performance of the intermediates at Suzuka demonstrated they have a vast working range. They can be used on everything from a near-dry circuit to a track which is fully wet.

The problem may not be that the wet tyre is useless—rather, that the incredibly versatile intermediate is too good.

Caterham Boss Manfredi Ravetto Surprised by Kamui Kobayashi Remarks

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Caterham team principal Manfredi Ravetto has revealed his surprise at comments made by Kamui Kobayashi during the Russian Grand Prix.

The Japanese driver retired on the 21st lap and shortly afterwards gave an interview to Sky Sports F1 on their live TV coverage. In it, he indicated he was unsure why he had been told to stop the car.

He later spoke to NBC Sports' Will Buxton, and told him:

"

I don’t know actually, nothing. We could have done the race. Maybe I think management decided we’re not fighting with anyone, so we stop racing.

I think we have limitations with the mileage and we want to save it. I don’t understand what happened, but this is what I get from the top management.

"

The team later published a review of the race on their own website, in which Kobayashi appears to backtrack, stating there was a problem with his brakes overheating.

Now Ravetto has added his own view, in a Q and A session published on the team website. He said of the Kobayashi incident:

"

Actually, I was very surprised to hear Kamui referring to some mileage-saving instruction coming from the team's management: we saw via telemetry that there was a potential issue with the brakes and we decided to avoid any risks; Kamui officially confirmed this as well and I'd like to add that he had also asked us to change the previous set before qualifying because he felt some vibration. To be clear: yes, we instructed Kamui to retire because the safety of our drivers is our first concern!

Regarding Kamui's comment, all I can say—and again, I'm answering with facts—is that the team has continuously made progress since the British Grand Prix, we've managed to qualify very well in the last two races, getting very close to Q2, and in Suzuka we repaired Kamui's heavily damaged car in time for the next session without any problems, so I cannot understand his comment.

"

Though the issue is officially cleared up now, we're left to wonder why the highly experienced Kobayashi failed to notice a braking issue on a circuit with a number of big stops.

Also confusing for fans is—even if he didn't notice it—why he wasn't informed of it while out on the track. One would expect the normal procedure in the event of a braking problem is to immediately let the driver know, so he can take appropriate action to mitigate any risks.

It's also unclear why he would make up such a curious story about what the team management had told him.

Perhaps we'll find out more in Austin.

Pirelli Boss Rejects Felipe Massa's Tyre Selection Criticism

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Pirelli have hit back at Felipe Massa's claims their tyre choice for the Brazilian Grand Prix is "dangerous."

F1's sole tyre supplier announced their nominations for the final three races of the year on October 8, and Massa was less than impressed by their choice for his home race. Speaking at the Russian Grand Prix, the Williams driver told press including Autosport:

"

I have no idea why they choose medium and hard, it's completely unacceptable. It's a track that you can have rain, it's a track that can be cold, but you have the hard tyre and it can be dangerous. I don't understand it.

They change the asphalt [for this year], and normally whatever track I go to where they put down new asphalt, it gets even easier on the tyres. I have no idea why they choose these tyres.

"

But speaking to Press Association (h/t Daily Mail), Pirelli motorsport boss Paul Hembery responded:

"

That's a little bit strange as we've raced before there with the hard tyre. The data would suggest, as it has done for the last three years, it's one of the more aggressive circuits we have on the calendar, with a risk of blistering problems.

We know the soft tyre, with the extreme loads, has potential to blister, so the decision was taken to go with the harder tyre.

"

However, as Massa said, the Interlagos circuit has been resurfaced for this year's race. Grip levels on new tarmac can vary greatly—Austin in 2012 gave up very little, while the track at Sochi this year had acceptable levels.

But while grip is variable, a constant seems to be that tyre wear is greatly reduced, and Hembery says this may prompt a rethink:

"

There is one factor, which we need to do a double verification on, which is the surface as they've now completed a full resurfacing. We'll do another check with that.

We have a meeting with the Tyre Working Group, where we have all the tyre experts from all the teams, and we'll discuss it with them. If there is unanimous agreement then we can reconsider, so we are open to change.

But it needs to done on fact, data and details than from a random comment.

"

Since Pirelli arrived in F1, they have supplied the medium and hard compounds for the Brazilian Grand Prix on two occasions (2012 and 2013). Per F1Fanatic, 2013 saw most drivers make two stops, while the 2012 race was held in changeable weather conditions.

In 2011, the soft and medium tyres produced a three-stop race.

With that in mind, Massa's apparent anger at the compound choice seems a little bit excessive. And even if grip levels do turn out to be low, the drivers are capable of dealing with it—like they did at Austin in 2012.

The worst that could happen appears to be a Sochi-style one-stop race.

McLaren Will Continue to Upgrade the MP4-29

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McLaren will continue to add upgrades to their 2014 car until the end of the season.

Speaking during a McLaren phone-in (h/t Formula1.com), sporting director Eric Boullier indicated the primary aim was to acquire data to be used in the development of their 2015 challenger. He said:

"

We are not chasing championship position, we are chasing the final restructuring of the team; to be ready to build on the new structure, to be competitive sooner rather than later.

The reason [for the upturn] is the major upgrade which we brought to Singapore. It is true we have another major upgrade coming before the end of the season. It is not designed to bring advantage for the double points [available in Abu Dhabi], it is more about building the foundations for the future. One hundred percent [of 2014 developments] are applicable to next year's car.

"

The British team went into the Italian Grand Prix on 105 points, two ahead of Force India. A battle to the end of the year for fifth in the constructors' championship looked on the cards, but McLaren have demonstrated a significant upturn in form.

In the last four races, they have outscored Ferrari 38 points to 28. With the MP4-29 looking a much improved car, there is talk they could overhaul the Scuderia to claim fourth.

Boullier isn't ruling this out, but maintains it's not a major goal for the team at this stage.

"

If the performance on our car is good and we can deliver some strong races like Russia we will see if we can take back another championship position—I would be delighted to. [But] I don't think we have a clear target this year other than rebuilding the team and getting ready to fight back as soon as possible.

"

The gap to Ferrari is down to 45 points, with three races to go—one of which has double points.

Closing it is possible, but a couple of retirements for Fernando Alonso would probably be needed. It's likely McLaren will have to settle for fifth.

Kimi Raikkonen May Remain with Ferrari Until the End of 2016

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Kimi Raikkonen has revealed he has a Ferrari contract until the end of next season with an option for 2016—and that he may see it out.

The Finn has been in disappointing form so far in 2014, with a best finish of fourth at the Belgian Grand Prix. His 47 points stack up poorly against the 141 scored by team-mate Fernando Alonso.

But speaking to CNN, he indicated he doesn't think he's at the end of his F1 road just yet. He said:

"

I have a contract for next year and probably for one more year. But I'm not a young guy anymore. I want to do something more with my life than just Formula One. I will finish my career in Ferrari.

I never lost the passion. I will stop the day when I feel I don't enjoy it anymore.

"

He added that he would like to return to other forms of motorsport, including two he has tried before:

"

I really enjoy the whole NASCAR thing. It's just completely different and fun. It was a good experience. Hopefully I can do more [races] some day. I've said I'd like to do some more rallies in the future.

"

Current indications are that Raikkonen will indeed remain with Ferrari in 2015, where he'll be joined by Sebastian Vettel. He has a contract, and it seems unlikely the Scuderia would want to get rid of both their 2014 drivers.

But after such a disappointing season, he'd be entitled to worry that no official announcement has yet been made.