Raikkonen may leave F1

Departing Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen revealed he may walk away from Formula One if he cannot land a competitive drive for next season.

The Finn, who pipped Lewis Hamilton to the world championship in 2007, will be replaced at the Italian team by double world champion Fernando Alonso after the Spaniard's switch from Renault on a three-year deal was confirmed on Wednesday.

"If I do decide to stay in Formula One, I wouldn't go to any of the small teams where I wouldn't have the chance to fight for the championship," he said. "If I race next year, that would be my goal otherwise there'd be no point in being in Formula One. I achieved what I wanted but if I race then of course I want to win more races and titles."

Raikkonen has been widely tipped to replace Heikki Kovalainen at McLaren next season but is confident his professional outlook is bright whatever he decides to do.

"I'm still happy with what I've done in making this decision and I still think I'll have a good future," he added.

"There were reasons it didn't work out but I'm okay with how things have turned out. With Ferrari, I've achieved what I set out to do in winning the title.

"We had good times and sometimes more difficult times, but that's part of this business and you just have to get through those moments.

"We won many championships - one for me, two for the team - and I have happy memories."

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali, meanwhile, paid a glowing tribute to the Finn.

"He is a great talent, a great champion and he is in the history of Ferrari, he won the world title." he said. "You have to make decisions for the future and take into consideration a lot of things. You will never hear me say anything negative about Kimi, I feel he is one of the strongest in the field."