JOIN USKimi Raikkonen will race for Ferrari next season in a two-year deal that takes the 2007 world champion back to the glamour team he left in 2009 and creates the strongest pairing in Formula One.
Ferrari said in a statement on Wednesday that the 33-year-old 'Iceman', currently with Lotus, will replace Brazilian Felipe Massa alongside Spain's double world champion Fernando Alonso.
"Scuderia Ferrari announces that it has reached an agreement with Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn will join Fernando Alonso in the driver line-up for the next two racing seasons," the statement said.
The famously taciturn Finn told the Ferrari website (www.ferrari.com) that he was happy to be returning to Maranello.
"I can't wait to be driving a Prancing Horse car again and to reacquaint myself with so many people with whom I had such close links, as well as working with Fernando, whom I consider a great driver, in order to bring the team the success it deserves," he added.
Alonso, who has a contract to the end of 2016, had left little doubt that he would have been happy to continue with Massa and thanked the Brazilian for his support in their four years together.
"Come the end of the season, it will not be easy to say goodbye to a team-mate like him," said the Spaniard. "He has always been truly professional and loyal to the team."
Alonso did not mention Raikkonen by name, welcoming instead his "new travelling companion."
Massa, championship runner-up to Lewis Hamilton in 2008, had already announced on social media that he would not be driving for the Italian team in 2014.
Raikkonen and Alonso should be a force to be reckoned with, although there could also be fireworks.
Raikkonen should have no problems fitting in at Maranello, with Pat Fry and James Allison - his former technical directors at McLaren and Lotus (formerly Renault) - now with Ferrari. Both men also worked with Alonso, who won his two titles with Renault, at those teams.
The Finn won nine races for Ferrari between 2007 and 2009. "I sense he is very happy to be returning to Maranello and very determined to tackle the work that awaits him in the best way possible," said team principal Stefano Domenicali.