I hope Kimi is allowed to work for himself and not only for Seb
quoteYesterday at 2:01pm Grand Prix winner and former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi feels Kimi Raikkonen can aid teammate Sebastian Vettel in winning the title.
The Italian outfit confirmed Raikkonen for 2016 in August, ending speculation regarding the Finn's future amid average results.
When asked by Motorsport.com if Ferrari were right to retain the Finn, Alesi said: "Yes, they were."
Elaborating further on the reasons, the ex-F1 driver related a Formula 1's team structure with that of a football team.
"Because in this team what makes the performance is like in football, even if you have Maradona but if he is not surrounded by good players, he cannot score.
"In F1, it is the same, the group spirit is very important and with Raikkonen, he has nothing to prove. The only thing he can is to help Vettel to be world championship."
He also added that Fernando Alonso was right in leaving the team. New management brought results
After a difficult 2014 season, Ferrari bounced back in 2015 finishing second in the championship which Alesi thinks is down to the changes within the team structure.
"I think for Ferrari with the new management, they made a big, big jump," he said.
He agreed Vettel's inclusion helped, but insisted that it was a team effort.
"Vettel is a top driver but what is very important is to see the new management with Arrivabene and Marchionne, they re-create the group.
"Because, I think the previous group was not working together, but now they are back together and I think it will be good for the future."
Ferrari threat in 2016
While the Maranello-based team challenged Mercedes on odd occasions in 2015, the French driver thinks they will be not far off in 2016.
"For the 2016 championship, it is not something which is impossible," he said.
"Because if you look this year with Vettel even if he had no chance at the beginning, he made a such a good job to be on the podium very consistently.
"And I am sure next year Ferrari will be not far," he added.
Scuderia Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen says the team's only target for 2016 is to build on the improvements made this year.
The Italian team had a season to forget in 2014, finishing fourth on the Constructors' Championship after Raikkonen and then teammate Fernando Alonso combined to achieve just two podium places.
Ferrari went on to make major strides in 2015 (the second season after the switch to V6 turbo engines); finishing second behind McLaren, with Raikkonen and new teammate Sebastian Vettel claiming fourth and third respectively on the drivers' championship.
"We’re going to give our best and hopefully it’s enough to fight for championships," Raikkonen told F1i.com.
"We keep improving, following our own way of doing the things that we’ve done from last year to this year and hopefully then it’s enough to be where we want to be as Ferrari.
"So, we can promise a lot of things. Is it going to happen? Who knows? I really hope for all the guys there in Ferrari that we will come back strong – or stronger next year than this year – but there’s no point to make big promises. We’re going to do our best and then we’ll see."
Vettel, a four-time champion, was largely responsible for Ferrari's comeback last season; claiming three victories, three second places and seven third place finishes in total.
Raikkonen, the 2007 champion, claimed one second place and finished third twice in 2015 and says he hopes to ascend the podium more often next season.
quoteArrivabene wants more competitive Raikkonen in 2016
Ferrari F1 team boss Maurizio Arrivabene has suggested Kimi Raikkonen need more competitive performance in 2016
Maurizio Arrivabene has suggested Kimi Raikkonen needs to move closer to the pace of his Ferrari teammate in 2016.
Ferrari toyed with the idea of replacing the 36-year-old Finn this year, but ultimately signed a new one-season contract with the 2007 world champion.
When asked about the drivers duringt Ferrari’s stock market debut in Milan on Monday, team boss Arrivabene said: “(Sebastian) Vettel is a great driver and Ferrari needs him.
“Raikkonen went quite well in the second half of the (2015) season,” he added. “What I wish, however, is that there is more competition between them.”
Arrivabene said Ferrari’s 2016 car is on track to debut at the first winter test in Barcelona.
Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reports that the car, whose official designation and livery is yet to be announced, is set to have a vastly redesigned front suspension layout.
“The name and graphics are already done,” confirmed Arrivabene on Monday, “and we will let you know (what they are) at the right time.”
By AutoSport Last update 1 hour ago - Published on 06/01/2016 at 11:22
Ferrari delayed work on its 2016 Formula 1 car to allow it to fully develop the race-winning SF15-T last season.
The Italian team bounced back from a winless 2014 campaign to emerge as Mercedes' closest challenger and finish second in the constructors' championship, with Sebastian Vettel taking three wins.
Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne is confident the delay will not have an impact on it providing a stern challenge to world champion team Mercedes next term.
"Maurizio [Arrivabene, team principal] will tell you we delayed some things to allow for the 2015 car to be finished," said Marchionne.
"Hopefully he will not bitch about this. We pushed the start of some of the work on the '16 cars on the chassis, delayed it a bit.
"But we have had adequate time and adequate financial resources to do the right thing given the rules. Secrets of the Ferrari revival "So I'm confident we will give Mercedes a run for their money.
"We approached the 16 car with a very clear idea and very clear interpretation. "It is incredibly unlikely that the car will not offer Mercedes a proper challenge.
"For me to determine whether it will win or not would be very gutsy. "I have no excuses to give you this year, in the sense that we started developing the car at the proper time."
Mercedes won 16 of the 19 races in 2015 as it won the constructors' championship with four races to spare, while Hamilton defended his title with three races left.
Marchionne concedes Mercedes is still a team to be "afraid of" but he believes the outfit has developed a greater respect for Ferrari following its challenge in 2015.
"They are competitors to be afraid of because Mercedes is a company which the suitable financial resources to properly manage the races of 2016," he said.
"They have a high level of know-how so they are not to be underestimated.
"They made huge progress in 2015, so I'm certain their car will be enormously improved for 2016.
"We respect them, they are competitors, but we are not afraid of the battle on the race track.
"I remember at the start with [Mercedes boss Dieter] Zetsche, in spite the fact we are friends, he had a bit of arrogance about Ferrari.
"They lost a bit of that but not too much because they won the championship. "If you talk to him now, I think he now respects Ferrari a little bit more
"The only way to get respect is to gain it on the track with results."
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Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:05 pm
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everybody
what will it be? 
