'Ferrari target Bottas the right age, but inconsistent'

The pressure is continuing to pile on Kimi Raikkonen. Amid swirling speculation about the Finn's future, Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene departed Silverstone with the message: "What I want now is for Kimi to remain calm so he can do his job."

But as far as the specialist Italian press is concerned, Arrivabene is only ramping up the pressure. La Repubblica correspondent Marco Mensurati said: "Arrivabene made clear after the race that the strategic decisions in Britain had been made by the drivers. I understood it to mean 'Vettel is a genius and Raikkonen is stupid'."

Sport Mediaset's Giorgio Terruzzi agrees: "The intermediate tyre choice (made by Raikkonen) was wrong. Too bad, because until then everything was going well. The fact is, he (Raikkonen) already seems to be out of the house: unprotected and under constant fire."

Former Ferrari boss Cesare Fiorio thinks it is time for the 2007 world champion to go. "Two years ago I raised question about his lifestyle and age," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "These doubts have been confirmed."

And former F1 team owner Gian Carlo Minardi agrees: "Kimi is no longer delivering what Ferrari needs. I would put a young driver in his place. Maranello's own academy has two promising youngsters: (Raffaele) Marciello and (Antonio) Fuoco," he added. Raikkonen's manager, Steve Robertson, commented: "We would like to know Ferrari's decision before Monza."

Pino Allievi, La Gazzetta's veteran correspondent, said the obvious favourite is Valtteri Bottas, although many believe the Finn has been increasingly outperformed by Felipe Massa in 2015. "If the Ferrari of the future must have a driver who has lost to the Ferrari of the past (Massa), it is better to wait and think before making a decision," he said.

Fiorio agrees: "He (Bottas) is the right age, but pretty inconsistent, and I think Felipe Massa really has the upper hand at Williams. I would like to see another top driver there, even if it causes problems with Vettel. Ferrari should try to get (Lewis) Hamilton, and if that fails, then (Nico) Rosberg," he added. (GMM)