Kimi Raikkonen joined the Ferrari F1 testing programme on track at Silverstone yesterday just as widening media speculation links the Finnish driver to an early exit from the team at the end of this year. Brought in to replace the retiring Michael Schumacher and reportedly the highest earning F1 driver, he started the season in perfect style with a win, but since then his championship challenge has faltered and the 27-year-old has been outperformed on several occasions by his team mate Brazilian Felipe Massa.

The Italian press has been busy speculating in recent days about Raikkonen's long term future with the Scuderia, and yesterday Auto Bild reckoned that Ferrari is already on the lookout for a replacement. Suggested names include the reigning Spanish F1 world champion Fernando Alonso who has recently expressed his dissatisfaction with the McLaren team where he has been comprehensively outshone in recent races by his rookie team mate Lewis Hamilton, and the rapid youngster Nico Rosberg who currently drives of the Williams team. Feverish speculation has even linked Michael Schumacher with a Ferrari comeback.

Before Raikkonen got back behind the F2007's wheel yesterday he spoke to the Ferrari website about his thoughts about the last race in Indianapolis. "Of course, we expected much more than nine points from these two races, although it could have been much worse, especially in Canada," said Raikkonen. "I am disappointed. We have lost ground in the championship on our main rivals but it's not over yet. This is a sport where things can turn around very quickly. For sure nobody in the team wants to give in. There's lots of pressure weighing on us, but the same is true of our main rivals."
 

The sorest point for sure is the grid: "We lost points especially because of our performance in the qualifying and then at the starts," continued Raikkonen. "Our performance was less than we had expected. McLaren have taken a step forward. It seems that they are able to heat up their tyres, which gives them more grip and performance on the first lap. During the last two races I had to start on the dirty side of the track. That did not help. On top of that I started with hard tyres at Indy, while all the others started on the soft ones.

"Having said that, we need to improve in this part of the race, because when you loose positions at the start, it makes life very difficult. For example at Indianapolis I managed to pass Heidfeld and Kovalainen and I was able to push. The car was well balanced and I was able to get some really good lap times. Then I closed up on Felipe, and when you're behind your team mate during the closing stages of a Grand Prix, you don't want to risk too much."

At Silverstone there are some modifications that come with the F2007: "We have a new aerodynamic package and some other things. Hopefully we can close the gap on McLaren. One thing is for sure: We really need better results at the upcoming two GPs than we got in North America. There is a lot that depends on the tests this week."