Alfa Romeo driver Kimi Raikkonen says the delay to Formula 1’s new regulations will not influence whether or not he remains in the championship beyond 2020.
Raikkonen is poised to become the most experienced Formula 1 driver in history, with the Finn 10 starts shy of Rubens Barrichello’s current record of 322, having made his debut in the category back in 2001.
Raikkonen, 40, is comfortably the eldest driver on the grid, five years older than reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton, and is about to enter the second season of a two-year deal with Alfa Romeo.
Formula 1 was set to introduce overhauled regulations for 2021 but these have now been pushed back by one year due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It hasn’t,” said Raikkonen on whether the rules delay has affected his mindset.
“That’s how it’s going to be with the rules, but it doesn’t dictate what happens in the future.”
“We haven’t done a single race. It’s a very odd situation this year, we’ll wait and see.”
Alfa Romeo finished eighth in last year’s Constructors’ Championship but Raikkonen was typically coy on where the team will slot into the 2020 pecking order with its C39.
“Testing every year… it’s impossible to say who is where,” he said. “There’s a lot of speculation.
“But in the first race, we always see what is the real story, and we never managed to do the first race.
“Now months later, we’re obviously going to do it. Then we’ll see where we are. People are bringing updates, so who knows. We’ll see.”
