Raikkonen no longer Red Bull candidate - Horner

Kimi Raikkonen is no longer a candidate for a race seat at Red Bull, team boss Christian Horner has said.

Last year, the 2007 world champion - who left F1 in 2009 and has since been racing in the world rally championship as well as NASCAR - was linked with a return to formula one with the energy drink’s premier team.

Red Bull’s Austrian broadcaster Servus last week conducted a viewer survey about who should be Sebastian Vettel’s teammate next year.

Mark Webber received 26.2 per cent of the vote, ahead of Finn and former Ferrari and McLaren driver Raikkonen with 26.1. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button received 17.4 and 16.4pc of the vote respectively.

"Kimi is a great driver," Horner is quoted by Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, "but I believe he has put F1 behind him."