Interesting scenario. McLaren is considering the Ferrari money in their deal. That is like Kimi inheriting $100M and they tell him, "your rich so we don't need to pay you." Has nothing to do with what he is worth to them. So we have the 2007 world champion. Many race wins, poles and fastest laps (even in crappy cars), with a career 597 WDC points. Your number 1 rival has paid him not just a tidy sum, but TENS OF MILLIONS to stay out of F1 because they know what next year will be like with him in a McLaren with Lewis. I do not get McLaren on this one. Honestly, Heidfeld! If the 2010 WDC comes down to a few points between them, who would you rather have in the car? If $5M is on the line? $10M? Nick or Kimi? Who will push Lewis harder? I don't blame Kimi for holding out. He deserves a fast car and big money, otherwise he might as well go try to become the best in something else. If you are not fighting for the championship, screw it. That is as blunt, honest AND MOTIVATED as it gets folks.

Sounds screwy to me. Auto Motor und Sport is published in what country? And Nick Heidfeld is a citizen of what country. Come to think of it it is not only screwy it is self-serving.

How many over-inflated egos does it take to fill the field at an F1 race ? Very many it seems....too much crybaby syndrome for me......imho.

Kimi is being treated with a total lack of class by both teams here. First by Ferrari, they don't want him on there team, but they don't want him to race for anyone else. At least I can understand Ferrari's position on this, but what McLaren is trying to do is tantamount to stealing. Like someone else said, McLaren thinks he is rich so they don't have to pay him. Their stance is ridiculous, Kimi is a WDC, should have been a multiple WDC but their car let him down the first time around.

Excellent post alandon01! Kimi gave it his best with a piss-poor car this last year. Nothing against Heidfeld, but not even in the same league as Kimi. Pay Kimi what he's worth.

It would be a damned shame if Kimi did not race in 2010. We need more of him and fewer Liuzzis and Grosjeans. But I also think his termination compensation from Ferrari should have NOTHING to do with his future compensation as a driver with another team.
In the "real" world, if you lose your job and get 6 months severance compensation, that fact does not automatically make you available for less money to your next employer. That would be stupid, and nobody would accept that. Pay the man what he's worth, McLaren, or get out of the way. If he had worked out his entire contract, you wouldn't DREAM of offering him just 5 Million - why are you doing that now?

McLaren would put up the cash for Kimi if they needed a No. 1 driver. I don't doubt that. There is no logic in spending full price on a redundant position. That's a fools proposition. This isn't a sound business practice unless you have little faith in your current talent. The smart money lies on a competent support driver. McLaren knows that they hold the trump card.

Has anyone considered that nowhere in this article does it actually mention either Kimi or his management team stating any of this. This all seems to be based on speculation (of the wild sort) from Auto Motor und Sport.
How do we know any of this is actually happening? Or that Kimi is truly considering sitting out the season for $2M more dosh? I need to ask this before we all, again, go down the road of actually believing that Räikkönen is even considering this.
The $5M offer from McLaren may well be true, and it is a ridiculous offer on their part, but it's not a cause-and-effect for Kimi seemingly planning a year off.
...I'm still holding out hope!

I agree with Hellaciouss that Kimi should have one even two championships at McLaren had the engines and wheels stayed together. McLaren owes Kimi proper compensation and a the same quality of car that Lewis will be driving.

subgrav I have to agree with your previous post. "Raikkonen Eyes Lucrative Sabbatical?" I found it interestingly enough that Formula1.com posted a similar article and the title is "Raikkonen hoping to race on - with the right team." Whomever wrote this article needs to be sacked. I, like Kimi cannot stand the gossip and drama of Formula 1. This is yet another example of a "filler" article by Speed TV. Keep up the great work guys!