McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh has issued a warning to the wayward Kimi Räikkönen after the Finnish driver brushed off reports following his drunken antics at a London strip club at the weekend.
McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh has issued a warning to the wayward Kimi Räikkönen after the Finnish driver brushed off reports following his drunken antics at a London strip club at the weekend.
Recently, Räikkönen’s off-track exploits have often been in the news. CARtoday.com reported on Monday that the Finn and his friends racked up a bill of nearly R42 000 on beverages and exotic dancers at the club. However, the Iceman’s reaction to the show was so distasteful that several customers and club staff were left dumbstruck.
When journalists enquired about the incident at the introduction of McLaren’s new MP4-20, the Finn said: “It’s my private life so what I do in the car is completely different because I am giving everything that I can to the team. It’s part of life and you can’t always believe all the things in the newspapers…”
Whitmarsh has indicated that he will not simply dismiss the reports and has vowed to take the time to have a “talk” with Räikkönen.
“That’s not a welcome thing, either for Kimi or the team. Even if they [the reports] are not entirely true, the perception is extremely negative and that’s something that we have to take seriously.”
“We’ve got a whole range of multi-national brands that are associated with our team, and they don’t invest in Formula 1 for this sort of imagery. We’ll take whatever steps to ensure that Kimi understands the seriousness of the situation. I think he does and perhaps there was a touch of naivete about what happened here and he’s learning that, as a reputation starts to develop, you’ve got to be ultra- sensitive about having fun in a public place.”