Kimi Raikkonen on Tuesday fuelled speculation that he is set to retire at the end of the season.

It has long been rumoured that the reigning world champion would retire sooner rather than later, and comments in his latest blog entry on the Ferrari website make for interesting reading.

Referring to the reaction to his recent performance slump, the Finn wrote: "It's a shame to be involved in many negative stories, but these things happen: it wasn't the first time and it might not have been the last in my career."

His unusual choice of words comes at a time when speculation about his future is rife, and teams make their driver selections for the coming season.

Fascinatingly, a similar blog posted on the 28-year-old's personal website on Tuesday omitted the reference to possibly the "last" negative speculation of his career.

"It's never nice to be in the middle of all kinds of negative stories," the website entry quotes Raikkonen as saying, "but it just happens. It's not the first time in my life and you just have to live with it."

The driver market is currently at an impasse, as team managers wait essentially to see what the former double world champion Fernando Alonso does.

It is believed the Spaniard, who has been linked in recent weeks with Honda, already has an agreement with Ferrari for 2010, with an option for 2009 should Raikkonen retire.

Source: GMM