Arrivabene: I wish for more competition between Kimi and Sebastian

Team principal Maurizio Arrivabene has suggested Kimi Raikkonen needs to move closer to the pace of his Ferrari teammate in 2016.

Ferrari toyed with the idea of replacing the 36-year-old Finn this year, but ultimately signed a new one-season contract with the 2007 world champion.

When asked about the drivers duringt Ferrari's stock market debut in Milan on Monday, team boss Arrivabene said: "(Sebastian) Vettel is a great driver and Ferrari needs him.

"Raikkonen went quite well in the second half of the (2015) season," he added. "What I wish, however, is that there is more competition between them."

Raikkonen and Vettel have been friends long before they became teammates, at Ferrari last year, when Vettel left Red Bull to join the Maranello outfit. Since then the pair have enjoyed an amicable partnership, with Ferrari finishing second in the championship behind Mercedes.

Vettel won on three occasions and was on the podium 13 times, while Raikkonen did not win (and has not won since he rejoined Ferrari at the start of 2014) and finished only three times on the podium in 2015.

The consensus was that the Finn was well and truly beaten by his German teammate in their first season together, hence it came as a surprise that he was retained for another year by the Italian team.

Meanwhile Arrivabene said Ferrari's 2016 car is on track to debut at the first winter test in Barcelona. Auto Motor und Sport reports that the car, whose official designation and livery is yet to be announced, is set to have a vastly redesigned front suspension layout.

"The name and graphics are already done," confirmed Arrivabene on Monday, "and we will let you know (what they are) at the right time."