Lotus are confident Kimi Raikkonen will be on their books next season despite rumours linking the Finn to a return to Ferrari.
This weekend the Sunday Times claimed that Ferrari were keen on bringing their 2007 World Champion back to Maranello even after paying millions to break their contract with him at the end of the 2009 season.
"Kimi would be a very good solution. Fast, experienced, unpolitical and out of contract at the end of the year," a 'Ferrari insider' told the newspaper.
"Fernando would have no problem having Kimi as his team-mate. In many ways it would be a dream combination for us, but there is a problem to be overcome."
However, hours later another source told the BBC that the report was "rubbish" while Raikkonen played it close to his chest when asked about a possible return.
"You never know what happens in the future," he said in the wake of his podium finish in Hungary before adding that he is "happy where I am right now" and that "things going pretty nicely."
But while Raikkonen was coy, his team boss was rather blunt in his response when asked about the rumours.
"It is nice that Ferrari is in the newspapers, but I don't know that Kimi has plans to go back to Ferrari," Eric Boullier told Autosport.
Pressed as to whether he expected both Raikkonen and his team-mate Romain Grosjean to remain at Lotus next season, the team boss said: "Definitely. There is no reason for them to leave."
As for Ferrari, team boss Stefano Domenicali has once again insisted that there no decision has been made about whether or not to replace Felipe Massa for next year's Championship.
"Kimi was a World Champion with us and I saw the speculation in the media but nothing more than that," said the Italian.
"I can confirm what I said to you last week; basically we are not in a rush to make a decision or announce anything because we want to take our time.
"We are aligned with Felipe and we want to protect him, and it is important for this Championship. So there is nothing new to report."
Related link
Kimi on Ferrari: You never know
