Ferrari bid farewell to Kimi: He gave his all

KIMI RAIKKONEN

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Monday 2nd November 2009

Stefano Domenicali has bid farewell to Kimi Raikkonen, apologising for not giving the Finn a car worthy of his talents in his last season with the Scuderia.

Having come to a mutual agreement to end their association a year early, Raikkonen drove in his final grand prix for Ferrari at Sunday evening's Abu Dhabi race, finishing down in 12th place.

It was a disappointing end to his stay with the Maranello team, and yet somewhat fitting given the disaster than was Ferrari's 2009 campaign.

But throughout it all, Domenicali says the Finn gave it his best.

"This was Kimi's last race with us and again he gave it his all," the team boss told the Italian stable's website.

"We are very disappointed that this year, we did not give him a competitive car and I thank him for never having thrown in the towel, in fact, fighting even harder when the situation was at its trickiest."

The Scuderia's dismal performance in Abu Dhabi on Sunday also meant they were not able to fight McLaren for third place in the Constructors' Championship, losing it by one point.

"It's disappointing to see third place in the Constructors' Championship elude us by a single point, but we have to accept the verdict dished out on track," Domenicali said.

"We took a strategic decision regarding the development of the F60 a few months ago and we knew that, as time went by, the road ahead would get ever steeper.

"All the same, I wish to congratulate the entire team who, despite the difficult situation, continued to keep their concentration up, getting on with their work with determination and tenacity."

The Italian is now focusing his full attention on next year's Championship, when Ferrari hope to be back fighting at the front.

"Now we must continue to work on the design of the new car, because we have a very simple aim: that of getting back to being in the fight for race wins."