Prior to the Canada GP, Canadian media report a alleged sexual harassment case by Kimi Raikkonen.

The former 2005 Canadian Grand Prix winner Kimi Raikkonen has been at the centre of some unusual allegations involving a waitress. A woman accuses the Ferrari driver of sexually molesting her in 2016 in the club “Velvet Speakeasy” when paying the bill. A lawsuit was issued back in April against Kimi, and his lawyer has filed counterclaim for blackmail and harassment.

“When I leaned over the table, he put his hand in my clothes and grabbed my right breast. At the same time, one of his companions caught my pants and touched my genitals” the waitress wrote in October 2016 in a blog. At that time Raikkonen was not mentioned by name, she wrote only of “a Formula 1 driver”. Raikkonen’s lawyer Mathieu Piche-Messier: “Our client denies everything he is accused of and makes it clear that everything this woman does is illegal.”

According to Canadian media, the woman threatened the racer to go public if he did not pay a sum of seven-digit amount. The police in Montreal have not commented on the case so far.

Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne, said during a Capital Markets Day organised by the Fiat / Chrysler Group in Balocco, Italy:

“We investigated the case internally and know that Kimi is not involved. We stand behind him and ready to defend him at all costs. ”

Marchionne rules out that this strange case has any effect on Räikkönen’s employment with Ferrari, neither on the present nor on a possible one for 2019. Ferrari is said to have one option to retain the services of Kimi for the upcoming season, which expires in the summer.