IT WAS difficult to judge which was the more surprising. That Monza was lashed by torrential rain and thunderstorms yesterday morning during the first free practice session, or the news Kimi Raikkonen has signed a contract extending his stay with the Ferrari team at least until the end of 2010.
The Finn, who was at the centre of last Sunday's controversial Belgian grand prix incident that saw Lewis Hamilton demoted from first to third place after being found guilty of gaining an unfair advantage by overtaking Raikkonen in the closing stages of the race, had seemed mired in a disappointing rut after a succession of poor race results over the past couple of months.
Yet Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo said recently he expected Raikkonen would soon recapture last season's form.
"All this criticism him reminds me of when (Filippo) Inzaghi was at Juventus," he said. "If he didn't score for three games, everyone would say he was in crisis," said Di Montezemolo.
The news seems to end any prospect of Fernando Alonso joining Ferrari in the foreseeable future, as Raikkonen's team-mate Felipe Massa also has a firm contract in place lasting to the end of 2010.
This will be a blow for the Spaniard, who might now find a berth in either the Honda or BMW Sauber teams after marking time this season driving for Renault after falling out with McLaren.
Although the track surface steadily dried out prior to yesterday afternoon's second free practice session here, the forecast for today's qualifying session and tomorrow's race is for consistent, heavy rain on a circuit where Hamilton believes his McLaren has the upper hand.
For his part, Raikkonen set the fastest time at the end of yesterday's second session.
McLaren's appeal against Hamilton's 25-second penalty is to be heard on September 22nd. The FIA's international court of appeal will meet in Paris, with a decision expected to be made public the following day. Doubts remain about whether McLaren are allowed to appeal and the FIA will decide at the hearing if it is admissible.
Meanwhile, FIA president Max Mosley has claimed he is under pressure to stay on at the helm beyond 2009 despite his involvement in a sex scandal.
He had declared in April, before he won a vote of confidence from members, that he would step down in October next year.
Making his first appearance at a Formula One race weekend since he won a court case in Britain against the News of the World for invasion of privacy, Mosley said at the Italian Grand Prix his inclination was still to step down but nothing was certain.
"I have to say there is an awful lot of pressure coming from different parts of the world saying 'continue', which is very nice of them, and is very widespread, I have to say that," said the 68-year-old Briton.
"But it's very hard work and I am really quite ready to take a less active role. So there comes a point with that sort of thing where you think maybe a slightly quieter life would be ideal, but we shall see.
"You can't rule anything out. No. You should never say never, as the old cliche goes. But at the moment my inclination is that I would like a quiet life."
Guardian Service
