Kimi Raikkonen says he is looki🦂ng forward to focusing on “pure racing” with Sauber in the 2019 Formula 1 season.

Raikkonen will return to Sauber after 18 years away, having rejoined the team he made his F1 bow with in 2001 after making way for the arrival of Charlesꦿ Leclerc at Ferr꧒ari.

Th💝e Finn spent four of the last five years of his Ferrari tenure alongside multiple world champion Sebastia𝐆n Vettel, and while the pair largely enjoyed a harmonious relationship, Raikkonen says he is looking forward to a change of environment.

“I’m really looking🃏 forward to it,” Raikkonen said.

“It’s going ಞto be different in many ways, but the aim will still be the same.

“It’s more pure racing than ꦚthe other stuff there. Hop𝕴efully it will turn out to be good for both of us - that’s the aim.

“I think that’s what w♏e can do but I’m may be completely wro🥀ng, but I have a good feeling about it and that’s why I accepted to go back there.”

The move marks a step down the grid for Raikkonen but he stressed he is relishing the prospect of helping Sauber continue its rapid rise up the midfield order, foll🥀owing the impressive gains made by the Swiss outfit in 2018.

Raikkonen admitted he🥂 was surprised not to feel a bigger difference between Ferrari and Sauber’s respective 2018 challengers when he linked up with the team to conduct post-season testing in Abu Dhabi, though he was keen to avoid setting any targets ahead of the new season.

“I haven’t really thought abo✤ut it, we’ll see once we 🔴start driving the new cars,” he explained.

“We’ll s♊ee where we are and we’ll go purely by feeling, and we g🐓o from there.

“Obviously it’s a d🔯ifferent cha🧔llenge but I enjoy that, so that’s why I took it. If you ask many people there are many different opinions on how it will go.

“We’ll find ou🅰t and we’ll do our best and I think we have good chance to do some greatꦑ things.

“Where that is goin🌟g to take us, who knows? We’ll find out.”