Schumacher: New Ferrari pairing explosive

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher is pleased to see Kimi Raikkonen link up with Fernando Alonso at Ferrari for next season but believes it will be a volatile pairing. "Ferrari with Fernando and Kimi, that sounds like an explosive mixture," Germany's Schumacher, who won five of his seven Formula One world titles with Ferrari, told German daily Bild. "For motor sport fans, it will certainly mean fireworks and for their rivals, a tough pairing to overcome. "It will be exciting to watch." On Wednesday, Finland's Raikkonen was presented as the team-mate of Spain's Alonso for next season and will return to Ferrari having driven for Lotus for the last two seasons. Raikkonen, who is reported to earn around 20 million euros ($26.6 million) under his Ferrari contract, will replace Brazil's Felipe Massa, who is leaving Ferrari at the end of the current season. The 33-year-old Finn won his only world title with Ferrari in 2007 during three seasons with the Italian team, while Alonso, the 2005 and 2006 world champion, joined the Italian outfit in 2010. Raikkonen is currently fourth in the world drivers' championships behind second-placed Alonso and leader Sebastian Vettel, who is on course to claim his fourth straight world title and is 53 points clear with seven of the 19 races left. Schumacher, 44, won the last of his world titles back in 2004 and retired last year after spending the last three years of his career with German team Mercedes. Source: AFP