Kimi Raikkonen favorite to join Ferrari

Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen has risen as the favorite to replace Felipe Massa at Ferrari despite rumors about Nico Hulkenberg making the cut.

With Ferrari to begin it talks about the 2014 line-up on Monday, the team will be considering the Finn along with a minor possibility of retaining Massa.

There are widespread rumors saying Raikkonen has already signed for Ferrari, but the team president Luca Di Montezemolo said that no decisions has been made yet.

“Listen, we have Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, [Paul] Di Resta. I have seen so many names [in the media].Now we will think very, very carefully, because we don’t have a gun here [points at his head] to decide tomorrow or after tomorrow, but after Monza this will be something I want to decide,” he said in an exclusive BBC Sport interview.

Raikkonen is unlikely to stay at Lotus after they lost their highly rated former technical director James Allison to Ferrari. McLaren are also in the frame to hijack Raikkonen.

Felipe Massa has been struggling with his form recently and is likely to be shown the door at the end of the season. However, Fernando Alonso is not too keen to join up with Raikkonen but his relationship with Ferrari is tense after a disappointing year.