Bullish Horner doesn’t rule out Kimi

Red Bull Racing will not rule out Kimi Raikkonen according to team principal Christian Horner.

Raikkonen’s manager Steve Robertson had previously told the media that talks between the two parties had broken down and that the 2007 Formula One World Champion would not be joining Red Bull in 2014 after being the favourite to take the seat following Mark Webber’s announcement to retire.

Instead the rumour mill has speculated that a more likely move could be for Raikkonen to return to Ferrari where he had previously won his only F1 title.

In more recent days he’s also been linked with a return to former team McLaren, which seems an odd one with Sergio Perez and Jenson Button both locked into deals for 2014.

So is the possible deal with Red Bull dead?

‘Has he signed for anyone else? It’s up to him.

‘Kimi’s manager ruled him out I think. I’ve only seen what you’ve seen.’ Horner told Sky Sports.

With Kimi seemingly out of the running, reports in Germany had suggested that Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo would be confirmed in the seat this weekend.

However the Australian has stated that he has heard nothing from his sister team, while Horner then alluded that perhaps Kimi and Ricciardo were not the only options on the table to partner Sebastian Vettel.

‘You have to make sure you consider all the options and there’s more options than you could possibly think, There’s been quite a lot of interest. So we just take the time. It’s not going to be much longer I’d have thought. I’d have thought by Monza or shortly after Monza we should be clear.’