Raikkonen to test for Ferrari at the end of January

Kimi Raikkonen will have to wait until the end of January to get his first taste of Ferrari power. The Scuderia has confirmed that the Finn will have his first test for the team at Mugello, between 21 and 23 January.

By the time of the test, Raikkonen will have been out of the cockpit for three months, having not driven an F1 car since the season-closing Brazilian Grand Prix on 22 October. No other driver on the 2007 grid will have had such a long break.

Raikkonen visited the Jerez test session at the start of December as a guest of Ferrari, but he was unable to drive because he was still under contract to McLaren (which expired on 31 December 2006). While he was at the test, he spoke at length to Felipe Massa and to the Ferrari and Bridgestone engineers.

With the Australian Grand Prix on 18 March, Raikkonen will have a lot to learn – a new team and Bridgestone’s new-for-2007 tyres – in a short space of time. But Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo expects his new signing to hit the ground running.

“Raikkonen must understand that 2007 is the time to win the title,” di Montezemolo said. “It must be said that in 2005 he would have won the championship with a more reliable car. He broke down five times, and he was always in the lead."

"We are ready to get back to winning ways. This way Jean Todt would be able to retire serenely and so would I. Schumacher arrived at the right time and now arrives Raikkonen, also at the right time."