Former Ferrari boss Jean Todt said the decision to hire Kimi Raikkonen as driver instead of Fernando Alonso was proven right by the way the last Formula One season unfolded.

Todt said he passed up two-time world champion Alonso as the replacement for Michael Schumacher, who retired in May 2006, because he believed Raikkonen's character fit Ferrari better.

"Is Kimi better or worse than Alonso? I can't answer that — for me they are both excellent drivers. The car makes the difference," Todt said in an interview with the German trade magazine Auto, Motor und Sport released Thursday. "But I am sure, or at least as sure as you can be on something like this, that Kimi is happy at Ferrari."

Raikkonen and Ferrari overcame a bumpy start and caught McLaren and its two drivers, Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, in the season's final races. The Finn became world champion and the team claimed the constructor's title, after McLaren was kicked out of the team standings because of the F1 spy scandal.

"Kimi has been one of the best drivers for five or six years," Todt said. "That's why I never could understand the people who were disappointed by his performances in the first half of the season."

Todt quit as Ferrari's sports director after the season ended, and was replaced by Stefano Domenicali. However, he said Schumacher had been the ideal successor.

"He was the best candidate for this job, but he didn't want it," Todt said.

The 61-year-old Todt said he will no longer be involved in Ferrari's daily business, but will still attend some of the races.