Former Formula 1 driver Mika Salo has said that compatriot Kimi Raikkonen is "basically" a number 2 driver at Ferrari. His comments come following the Monaco controversy in which many has accused Ferrari of giving Sebastian Vettel the best strategy in order to win.
"Vettel has a good chance of winning the world championship," Salo said. "He's doing a very good job against Hamilton. Kimi is already quite a lot of points behind, so basically, he's the second driver in everyone's eyes," said the former F1 driver.
"Of course Kimi may not believe it until it is mathematically impossible to win the championship, but the team's interest means Kimi is probably the second driver," Salo added.
While the 2007 champion races for a team that looks fully capable of winning the 2017 championship, the Finn sits 62 points behind his teammate. Ferrari could give more blatant team orders later in the year in order to aid Vettel's championship chances.
"That sort of thing cannot happen anymore, although it may be a bit worse than a pit strategy or something else. We haven't seen it yet, but I bet we will if Vettel continues to lead and Kimi happens to be faster somewhere. There may be the need to change places," he added.
Fergal Walsh
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