Kimi Räikkönen

Raikkonen expects midfield battle

2012-01-27T09:53:00.003+01:00

Kimi Raikkonen has admitted that he doesn't expect to be challenging the front-runners during the 2012 season.

Raikkonen makes his comeback this year having been absent for two seasons since leaving Ferrari. The 2007 world champion has had his motivation questioned, with some observers doubting how long he will remain with Lotus if not given a competitive car. However, Raikkonen said that his expectations for this season were not high, and that it was a situation he was familiar with.

"I expect to have to fight in the middle group," Raikkonen told the BBC. "But it will not be a drama. It's no different to my last year at Ferrari."

Raikkonen did admit that he aspires to win another title, but said it wasn't the main reason for his return.
"Of course the championship is the goal," he is quoted by Turun Sanomat. "It's fine to try it, but I am not obsessed about having another championship or not."

With pre-season testing yet to get underway, Raikkonen has only driven the 2010 Renault in a private test so far. He said that one he gets to drive the new car his initial impressions will give an indication of how competitive he can be this year.

"Generally, if the car feels good right from the start, you are usually competitive (for the season). The races I don't think are so different (from 2009). Vettel was strong even then even though there is much more passing now, but that depends on the moving wing. I haven't tried it (DRS) yet, or the KERS because it was the 2010 car (at Valencia). But it's just one or two more buttons to push."

Niki Lauda says Kimi Raikkonen needs an exceptional car to return to his very best in F1

2012-01-19T12:19:00.002+01:00

Kimi Raikkonen will only return to his very best in Formula 1 this year if Lotus is able to provide him with an exceptional car.

That is the view of former world champion Niki Lauda, who welcomes the return of the 2007 title winner to F1 but thinks his potential will be very dependent on what machinery he is driving.

"It's excellent news that he will be back," Lauda told AUTOSPORT. "He is an exceptional personality and will create huge interest and excitement with media and fans.

"It is a good move for Renault or Lotus as the team is called now. It depends on how good the car will be, because Kimi will only shine in an excellent car."

Lauda believes that Sebastian Vettel's rivals are also going to face a mammoth task if they want to overhaul the double champion - and he has not ruled out the German dominating the forthcoming season again.
"For sure this is possible," he said. "Sebastian has gained a lot of confidence last year, and doesn't make mistakes. He will be the benchmark again. Who ever wants to beat him, must rely on a perfect car."

Speaking about his predictions for the 2012 season, Lauda added: "Right now nobody knows how the new cars will perform. However, from a logical point of view, Red Bull should be out in front again because they only have to modify the exhaust and the diffuser.

"The loss in downforce will be regained by aerodynamic improvements. The question is: who will find the smartest solutions? Who had a very good car in 2011 has the advantage now too.

"Red Bull had an excellent car last year and they only need to do further developments whereas, say, Mercedes have to build a proper new car. That includes the risk of going in the wrong direction, though they added some well-known technicians. The same for Ferrari.

"It is easier to improve from a solid basis than to start from scratch. Having said that, we all have to wait for the first tests."

Räikkönen will win again - Hill

2012-01-19T12:08:00.002+01:00

Former world champion Damon Hill says that Kimi Räikkönen, who won the world championship in 2007, has the potential to win more F1 world titles.

Speaking on the Autosport website about the Finn's drive with Lotus Renault in 2012, Hill said: "It is great - and good luck to him. He is going to have to show that he has still got it, and he has got a good team in which to show that, and he is still young. He has won a world championship already, and I had only just got into F1 at his age, so he has definitely got a couple more world championships in him."

Räikkönen spent the last two seasons in a private team in the World Rally Championship where he had more fun than impressive results, but feels he has matured and is now ready to return to his first love - Formula One.
"I have been surprised at how big the reaction has been so I guess people must have missed me!" said Räikkönen on the Lotus Renault web site. "Before my two years of rallying I had nine seasons, 157 races and 18 wins in Formula 1. I know the sport well. When I went to rallying and when I tried Nascar, there were many new things to learn, but with Formula 1 I feel like I'm coming home. I can't wait to get behind the wheel."
"I am more motivated than ever and I don't think I've lost any speed," he continued. "Getting on top of the tyres will be the hardest thing, of course, but I'm not really worried. Although the technical regulations don't seem to change much, they apply to a lot of areas and quite a few elements will have to be redesigned. As a result, the cars will be significantly different next year. The order could be shaken up, which will make things very interesting."

Hill agrees, and is hoping to see a more competitive season in 2012 where more teams can challenge the supremacy of Red Bull.

"We want to see someone upset the applecart, although I think Adrian [Newey] is fantastic, and [Sebastian] Vettel, [Mark] Webber and Red Bull Racing is a great team at the front - and they seem to be fun loving," said Hill. "It is good to have that, but I know that they want to fight for it. They don't want it too easy. So a good titanic battle between three top teams would be fantastic to see."

Raikkonen ignoring comeback critics

2012-01-13T13:40:00.004+01:00

Kimi Raikkonen says that any negative comments about his return to Formula One have "no effect" on him.
After two years away from the sport Raikkonen will return with Lotus (formerly Renault) this season. Following a seat fitting for the team, Raikkonen told the official Lotus Renault website that he doesn't pay attention to any comments - positive or negative - because he isn't interested in other opinions as long as he is happy.

"It has no effect on me," Raikkonen said. "Sometimes you hear some nonsense and sometimes you hear nice things. The main thing is that coming back is what I wanted and I have a good opportunity with the team so I'm happy. I have never really looked at what people say or think. I do my own thing and as long as I'm happy with it then that's the main thing for me."

Raikkonen also said that he was pleased to be back and involved with the pre-season preparations.

"There has been quite a bit of noise in the press about my comeback and there have been a lot of rumours. For me, coming back to Formula 1 is a good thing and I hope it will be for the team and the fans also! I love this time of the year at the factory. There's a real buzz surrounding the new car, every single department is working flat out in order to have everything ready on time. You can really feel people's dedication and it's nice to be a part of it."

'The order could be shaken up in 2012' - Raikkonen

2012-01-13T13:39:00.002+01:00

Kimi Raikkonen reckons regulation changes could shake up the order when he makes his return to Formula One next year.

Raikkonen will drive for Renault (soon to be renamed Lotus) in 2012 after two years competing in the World Rally Championship. His comeback coincides with some relatively small changes to the regulations, mainly regarding exhaust positioning, but Raikkonen is hoping they will make a significant difference.

"Although the technical regulations don't seem to change much, they apply to a lot of areas and quite a few elements will have to be re-designed," he told Renault's official website. "As a result, the cars will be significantly different next year. The order could be shaken up, which will make things very interesting."
Raikkonen added: "I am more motivated than ever and I don't think I've lost any speed. Getting on top of the tyres will be the hardest thing, of course, but I'm not really worried."

Raikkonen said he will be training hard over the Christmas break and revealed that he plans to test a 2009-spec Renault in January in order to prepare for the first official pre-season test in early February.

"We don't test the new car until February so it's a long wait," he said. "However, I should be able to jump into a two-year-old F1 car in January. Of course, there will be the usual training, but I will also be working on getting to know the team better and making sure I fully understand all the changes since I have been away."

And Raikkonen played down his recent snowmobile accident in Austria.

"I was surprised by how much attention there was over me falling off a snowmobile," he added. "You can watch what happened on YouTube and it was probably the smallest and slowest crash I've ever had. It is almost embarrassing! I won a snowmobile race right before the start of the 2007 season and that year didn't go badly for me so who knows?"

Raikkonen escapes injury after snowmobile accident

2012-01-13T13:38:00.002+01:00

Kimi Raikkonen has escaped with just a sore wrist after crashing out of a snowmobile race in Austria on Saturday.

Raikkonen was taking part in the Swatch Snow Mobile race in Saalbach Hinterglemm when he came off his Red Bull Mobile Team snowmobile and had to be treated by paramedics. He was soon cleared of any serious injury and his Renault team tweeted: "We just spoke to Kimi. There's nothing to worry about, he only has a sore wrist. He might have it checked again on Monday, but that's all."

The chief organiser of the race, Andy Wernig told Sport10.at: "Our doctor has examined Kimi's left hand and he is wearing a small bandage."

The accident comes just two weeks after Raikkonen signed a contract to race for Renault in 2012.

Raikkonen 'very important' for Renault

2012-01-13T13:37:00.001+01:00

Renault owner Gerard Lopez says that Kimi Raikkonen's acquisition is "one of the very important steps" to make the team more competitive.

After it was announced earlier this week that Raikkonen would be returning to Formula One to join the team on a two year deal, the lack of a second driver on the FIA entry list confirmed that Vitaly Petrov's future was uncertain. With Nick Heidfeld and Bruno Senna also having driven for the team this year, Lopez said that Raikkonen's ability would help improve the performance of the 2012 car.

"I think we decided that we had to look forward in terms of performance and the key way to see how good a car is, is to have a good driver," Lopez said. "Kimi has proven in the past that he is among the fastest and in terms of age he's still in his prime.

"In terms of motivation from what I have seen and spoken to him, he is probably as motivated as ever. And the more people question the better it is because it is going to increase his motivation even more to prove that they are wrong. I'm excited that he is here because I think it's one of the very important steps in getting the team to where we want it to be - which is one of the top teams in Formula 1…"

Despite a lot of interest surrounding his return, Raikkonen said that he hadn't been paying attention to the coverage and that it would not add any extra pressure.

"It is my first time in Enstone so it is very nice to see the factory - it feels good," Raikkonen said. "It is a very warm feeling and I'm very relaxed. I haven't really read the newspapers about all the excitement but it is quite normal, isn't it? It doesn't put any more pressure on me. I always try to do my best, so I don't put myself under pressure. It will be exciting, yes, but no pressure really and we will see how it goes."

Raikkonen confident he can adapt to Pirellis

2012-01-13T13:35:00.003+01:00

Kimi Raikkonen is confident he will be able to adapt quickly to the Pirelli tyres when he makes his comeback with Renault next season.

Raikkonen last drove in F1 in 2009 when Bridgestone supplied tyres to the grid with very different characteristics to the current Pirellis. This year the new P Zeros have been engineered to degrade at a faster rate and that has caught some experienced hands, such as Mark Webber, off guard.

Raikkonen will return to the sport with less knowledge of the Pirellis than some of his rivals, but he said it was not a concern, pointing out that he won his championship in 2007 on Bridgestone tyres after spending the previous five years on Michelins.

"The biggest difference is the tyres as it takes some time to learn how to use them the best way," he told Turun Sanomat. "But it was more difficult when I changed from the Michelin to the Bridgestone tyres. Now, I haven't driven on F1 tyres for two years so I did not get used to something else. In this way it will certainly be easier. I have talked to my friend Pedro de la Rosa and from what he told me, they [Pirelli] feel pretty good, with good grip from the outset, which for me is important."

He added: "I can drive this year's car as long as it is on GP2 tyres. Just a familiarisation. I don't know the schedule yet but when the new car comes I will test it."

And he is not concerned about the added complications of DRS and KERS.
"It probably will not be so difficult," Raikkonen said. "I drove F1 cars for a long time, and the last time was with the KERS and with a lot of buttons on the steering wheel."

Raikkonen's manager Steve Robertson said his driver was very keen to return to F1 and probably should not have left the sport at the end of 2009 when he was replaced at Ferrari by Fernando Alonso.

"He is back where he should be," Robertson said. "My personal opinion is that when he left F1 after 2009 he was too young and too good to be doing so. He still has a lot to give to the sport, and when he asked us to explore the possibilities, he was constantly pushing us forward.

"Everyone seems to know about our discussions with Williams. They continued for many weeks but on some of the things we could not agree. Then shortly before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix we started talking with Eric Boullier. Both sides wanted to come to an agreement quickly."

'We convinced Kimi to come back' - Boullier

2012-01-13T13:34:00.002+01:00

Renault team principal Eric Boullier believes his team's potential convinced Kimi Raikkonen to return to Formula One.

The 2007 world champion has signed a two-year deal with the team that will see him return to the sport after a two-year absence. Boullier said the news was positive for the team and proof that it was on the right track for the future.

"It is good news for the sport and of course it is good news for the team," Boullier said. "Strategically, it is good to have a big name, a high class driver and Formula One world champion to join us. He is committed to racing for us and he is definitely a very good character with the experience he has from driving for McLaren and Ferrari. Also, to have someone like Kimi signing with us shows that the package we have offered was good enough - we convinced Kimi to come back to Formula One!"

Raikkonen is adamant he has the motivation to make a successful comeback, but said his two biggest challenges for 2012 would be learning to use the Pirelli tyres and building up his neck muscles. There will be just three four-day tests ahead of the start of the season, but Boullier said Raikkonen will be able to hone his skills and fitness using the team's new simulator and a some runs in a 2009-spec car.

"First of all, in not so long we will have our simulator ready - this is good news for him and for us," he added. "I think that we will also be able to plan a couple of days with the demo car."

Boullier said Renault has plenty to be optimistic about heading into the winter break and that it would be bolstering its team ahead of next season.

"There are many things that the team will announce soon, in the coming weeks and the coming months," he said. "Let's not forget that the team's current identity is only a couple of years old and it is clear that we have made some strategic investments like the wind tunnel, like the CFD pole and like the building of the simulator- it will be a state of the art simulator.

"We are also in the process to reinforce our team with the recruitment of some key people, some of them have already joined us and some are to be announced soon but we can't say too much at this stage as some of them are currently on gardening leave.

"Next year, we will also have an upgrade of our facilities trackside, in fact it is going to be a complete change with a new engineers truck, a new infrastructure for the team garage, which of course will also have an impact on our image and obviously Kimi joining us is a big step in reinforcing the investment Genii Capital is putting in the team at every level."

Barrichello and Sutil unmoved by Raikkonen news

2012-01-13T13:33:00.001+01:00

Rubens Barrichello and Adrian Sutil insist the news that Kimi Raikkonen has signed for Renault will not have a big impact on their own futures in Formula One.

The decision to sign Raikkonen leaves one less seat open on next year's grid and could also be the catalyst for other teams to name their drivers. The Renault drive was arguably the most desirable on the grid, and now that it has gone the options open to the other drivers should be more straightforward - although there is a chance another drive could come up if Vitlay Petrov's 2012 race contract is broken.

Sutil, whose seat at Force India looks under threat from Nico Hulkenberg, had been linked to Renault and he is still believed to be in the running for a place at Williams. Barrichello's best option is stay at Williams but his chances of securing a drive are looking increasingly slim.

"I am not reading anything this week since there's so much gossip," Brazil's Globo quoted Barrichello as saying. "My wife called me to say 'Just so you know, Kimi has signed (for Renault)'. I think it caught many people by surprise and me as well, but I have always said that my best chance is Williams. So my situation remains the same.

"I'm happy with what is happening to me. I appreciate the friendship of Felipe but I want to be there next year, so this time I am listening only to [Michael] Schumacher!"

Sutil's manager Manfred Zimmermann said he had seen the Raikkonen news coming and that it would not impact his driver's negotiations.

"Since I guessed it already, it does not directly affect our future," he told DPA news agency.

However, Sutil and Barrichello face competition for a drive at Williams from test driver Valtteri Bottas, who drove for the team at the Young Drivers Test in Abu Dhabi.

"I think the team wanted to see what I could really do on the track," Bottas told Turun Sanomat. "I don't know whether they were looking for next year, or for the year after. It was really interesting to find out about the car and important for myself too and I noticed that I could do it quite well. If the call comes or not, I really cannot say."

Raikkonen will need time - Vettel

2012-01-13T13:31:00.000+01:00

Sebastian Vettel believes Kimi Raikkonen will need time to adapt before he is back at his best in Formula One car next year.

Raikkonen is returning to the sport with Renault in 2012 after a two-year absence from F1 in which he has competed in the World Rally Championship and NASCAR. Vettel and Raikkonen reportedly meet near their Swiss homes to play badminton on occasion, but Vettel warned that his friend could face the same problems Michael Schumacher has since his return to the sport last season.

"We have all seen Michael's comeback," he is quoted by France's 20minutes.fr on a visit to Red Bull's engine supplier Renault. "He [Schumacher] left when he was at the top, but when he came back he said a lot had changed and that he needed time to adapt. If I think about the car I drove two years ago, so many things have changed. It's amazing. Even during a season, new buttons appear on the steering wheel. I can imagine it would be very difficult to return straight away to the same level as before."

Renault boss Eric Boullier revealed on Tuesday that Raikkonen will soon be able to use the team's new driver simulator and get some laps under his belt in a two-year-old "demo car" before real testing begins in February.

Motivation no issue for Raikkonen

2012-01-13T13:29:00.001+01:00

Kimi Raikkonen insists that he would not return to Formula One if he wasn't motivated to succeed, and says he isn't bothered what other people say about his comeback.

Raikkonen has signed a two-year deal with Lotus Renault to drive for the team from the 2012 season onwards, having previously been linked with a drive at Williams. After admitting that his decision was a straight one between the two teams, Raikkonen said that he had always missed the on-track action and would not be returning to the sport if he wasn't sure he would enjoy it.

"I wouldn't come back if I wouldn't be motivated," Raikkonen said. "There's always a lot of talk about the motivation but nobody really knows what I do or what I think apart from myself, so I don't really care what people say. I enjoy [being able] to come back, I wouldn't put my name in a contract if I wouldn't think that I would really enjoy it. So it will be interesting and it will be exciting to get back.

"Coming back to Formula One I think the main reason was I never really lost the passion in racing in Formula One, but maybe all the other things around it. But when I did some NASCAR races this year in the States I was starting to miss more and more the racing side, to race against each other because in the rally you race against the clock really. So that's what I was missing, and then I got the call from certain people in Formula One and all sorts of things happened, and then we managed to have a nice conversation with Lotus Renault and then ended up making a deal with them, so I'm very happy with that."

When asked what the biggest difference would be between next Formula One today and when he last raced in 2009, Raikkonen said the Pirelli tyres would need mastering.

"I think the tyres. For comparing 2009 and now, coming to next year, the biggest difference will be with the tyres probably. The cars, I don't think are an awful lot different. DRS, it's a new thing but it's basically a similar one-button thing like it was with the front wing before and that has disappeared so now it's the rear wing. So really the main difference is the tyres I would guess."

Raikkonen to test R30 in January

2012-01-13T02:00:00.000+01:00

Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov drove the Renault R30 in 2010

Lotus (formerly Renault) has confirmed that Kimi Raikkonen will drive one of its R30's in January to reacquaint himself with a Formula One car.

Having been named as a Lotus driver for the 2012 season back in December, Raikkonen admitted that he hoped to spend some time in a car before the first test having not raced in Formula One for two years. At the time he said: "We don't test the new car until February, so it's a long wait. However, I should be able to jump into a two-year-old F1 car in January."

With rules permitting teams to run cars from two seasons ago on demo-spec tyres, Lotus confirmed on Twitter that Raikkonen would get time in the 2010 car.

"We can now confirm that Kimi Raikkonen will be completing some mileage in the team's R30 car at Valencia on 23rd/24th January!"

Raikkonen has yet to drive on the Pirelli rubber and he admits that the tyres are likely to be his biggest challenge. Pirelli's head of motorsport Paul Hembery told ESPNF1 that the tyres he will run on in Valencia will not help him get to grips with the 2012 compounds.

"It's not going to help him much at all, not really," Hembery said. "They're a different profile, different strength, it's a running profile tyre so it's not going to help him too much."

Valencia's Ricardo Tormo circuit is not being used for winter testing this season. The first pre-season test takes place at Jerez on February 7-10, with the subsequent two tests being held at Barcelona.