Tässä ilmeisesti Autosport plussassa julkaistu Jonathan Noblen juttu:
Why Alonso's Ferrari deal is great for F1
Yet for all Raikkonen's foibles in failing to make enough of an effort sometimes, and team insiders cite his lack of leadership qualities as his biggest weakness, he can also be a hugely stubborn personality at times. And there probably is no coincidence that when Massa was forced out of the cockpit after the events of Hungary, Raikkonen stepped up his game to prove a point.
A run of podium finishes plus a brilliant victory at the Belgian Grand Prix showed that the Raikkonen of old was back on the track, and even inside the team they admitted seeing a different man.
One team insider suggested that, looking at the data, Raikkonen has once again been doing things in the cockpit of a very difficult car that they can hardly believe. He is going beyond what, theoretically, the F60 would be capable of in normal hands as though the Finn's last great act of defiance is to prove to his former bosses that they were wrong.
And that is exactly the sort of attitude that he will likely take with him to McLaren. The Woking-based team will take him back with open arms and none of the hangover from his previous period will be there now that Ron Dennis has switched his focus to the automotive industry.
Raikkonen will show McLaren, and indeed Lewis Hamilton, exactly why he not Alonso was once regarded as the real deal on track. And he would like nothing more than rocking up on Sundays and blowing Alonso into the weeds.
The 2010 season is still five months away, but already the excitement is mounting.