Kimi Raikkonen says whatever Formula 1 decides with its 2021 regulations will not be the determining factor in whether he extends his career in the championship.
Raikkonen is contracted to Alfa Romeo through the end of 2020, by which time he will be 41, and ostensibly the driver with the most grand prix entries to his name.
“Obviously I have a contract for next year, and after that, we’ll see how things go and if I’m interested,” said Raikkonen.
When asked whether the 2021 rules will impact that choice, the Finn said: “No, no. Because in the end, [when] we make a big rule change, you never know [what will happen].
“Generally, the big teams are still there, because they have the research to do a lot of different things and figure out the best way to do it.
“Maybe it would be nice that if everything got much closer, for the sport, not just for the drivers, but for the sport. But honestly, it’s very unknown.
“We can guess, but it has zero impact on driving. In the end, who knows.”
Raikkonen has slipped down the midfield standings in recent races while Alfa Romeo is now ahead only of Williams, albeit just four points down on fifth-placed Racing Point.
Raikkonen, though, stressed that the team’s overall development, rather than pure results, will determine whether 2019 can be regarded as a success.
“I don’t have something that 'oh we need to be here then I’m happy, if we are five points away from that, I need to be unhappy',” he said. “They’re numbers.
“As long as we have the feeling at the end of the year that we’ve done all we can and we keep going forward, we can be proud.
“I think we started the year okay. I think we could have started better with the first races and then [Spain] was definitely difficult for us. That’s how it goes sometimes.
“We just need to look into our own things and not really look as much at what happens around.
“Obviously we can see the numbers and we are where we are in the championship, but as long as we keep understanding and improving, I think that’s the aim, and obviously taking the team step by step forward.
“If I’m last, I’m last. If I’m 10th or whatever, it’s not really… Once the last race is over, life is no different after that.”
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