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Kimi: Serious with Williams?

VIENNA, Austria - British F1 team Williams is considering Finnish World champion Kimi Raikkonen as a driver for the 2012 racing season.

Raikkonen, now 32, won the F1 Drivers' title for Ferrari in 2007 but left F1 in 2008 to move into the World Rally championship.

Williams' Austrian owner Christian Wolff told the daily Kronen Zeitung: "Yes, it's true we're in talks with Raikkonen. This isn't a publicity stunt - we're having very serious discussions."

FIRST WITH SAUBER

However, Raikkonen was "just one option" for the team - "it would be a strategic decision". If recruited, Raikkonen would probably replace Brazilian veteran Rubens Barrichello, 39, as team mate to Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado.

Raikkonen's first F1 season was with Sauber in 2001. He won 18 of 156 GP's in a career that also saw him race for McLaren before moving to Ferrari.

Williams, once one of the sport's greatest teams and frequent winner in the 1980's and 1990's, has struggled of late. 2011 was the worst season in its history; with only five race points, the team is ninth out of 12 on the Constructors' table.

Wolff added that Williams was also "interested" in Force India's Adrian Sutil and Ferrari's third driver Jules Bianchi.
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