Kimi Raikkonen Signs For Mclaren

Kimi Raikkonen has signed an “outline agreement” to kick off a second tenure with the McLaren team beginning next season, the Mirror newspaper reported on Sunday.

The British newspaper said the 29-year-old Finn, who raced with the Woking based outfit between 2002 and 2006, must first reach an agreement with Ferrari, with whom he is under contract for one more season.

The Mirror cited “paddock sources” in claiming that Raikkonen is prepared to vacate his contracted Ferrari seat in 2010, but only if the famous Italian outfit pays his salary. The newspaper estimated Raikkonen’s 2010 Ferrari contract at nearly US $49m.

The report also said the news ties in with Nico Rosberg’s link with Brawn and the Brackley team’s burgeoning relationship with Mercedes-Benz.

The German manufacturer Mercedes was said to be pushing for Rosberg to replace Heikki Kovalainen at McLaren, but may now have resolved to push the German driver to Brawn and increase its involvement with the Ross Brawn-led outfit.