By now you would have heard about the return of the Iceman to Formula 1. Yes, Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion, is back in the sport, after spending two years in the World Rally Championship. The former McLaren and Ferrari driver joins Lotus Renault GP, which will be just called Lotus next season.
The Finn has signed a two-year deal with Lotus, and will make it six world champions on the grid next year. Kimi, now 32, was also linked with a Williams race seat, but that one fell through. What’s for certain is that he misses F1 a lot, saying that “my hunger for F1 has recently become overwhelming.”
Lotus has not officially confirmed its other race seat, but for sure it will not be Robert Kubica, who is still recovering from his pre season rally crash. Will Vitaly Petrov, who has strong Russian financial backing, be Kimi’s teammate next year?
An interview with Raikkonen, provided by the team, is after the jump.
Q: Kimi, good news today, you have decided to come back to Formula 1. Why are you coming back?
Kimi Raikkonen: The main reason was that I never really lost the passion for racing in Formula 1, just maybe for all the other things around it. But when I did some NASCAR races this year I noticed that I was increasingly missing the racing side – to race against each other – because in rallying you really race against the clock. And then I got the call from certain people in Formula 1. All sorts of things happened and we managed to have a nice conversation with Lotus Renault GP and make a deal – I’m really very happy with that!
Q: Why did you choose Lotus Renault GP?
KR: Really there were two options – it was this team or Williams. And everything worked out here as we wanted, so that’s really the reason.
Q: Have you been following the team and the performance this year?
KR: I didn’t follow Formula 1 much at all last year. This year I followed it a bit more but not really any specific team. I watched the last 20 laps of the last race, the Brazilian Grand Prix, and because I knew this was going to happen I also watched how the Lotus Renault GP team did. But before that I didn’t know anything about what was going to happen or that there would be a deal in Formula 1 for next year, so I just watched Formula 1 as a whole. I saw a few races but nothing special.
Q: Do you think F1 will be very different for you from what you know from 2009, with the DRS, Pirelli tyres, etc?
KR: Comparing 2009 to next year the biggest difference will probably be the tyres. I don’t think there is a lot of difference with the cars. DRS is a new thing but this is basically similar to before. The button that used to be for the front wing has disappeared, so now it’s for the rear wing. I would guess the main difference is really the tyres.
Q: Personally, what’s the main difference from the Kimi Raikkonen we saw in 2009 – in which way are you a better driver?
KR: I don’t know – I’ve been away for two years. I haven’t driven and I haven’t even sat in a Formula 1 car since the last race in 2009. I’m interested to get back into the car, I’m two years older now and I don’t think anything else has really changed. It has been really nice to try to learn rallying in the last few years. On some days it was hard. It’s been easier this year than last year but still it’s a very difficult sport. I’m really looking forward to coming back. At least Formula 1 is something where I know how everything works as I’ve been there for many years – compared to rallying when I didn’t know what would really happen. Then I went to NASCAR and I had no clue how it would be. So in that way it should be much, much easier to come back and it should be pretty normal.
Q: Have you already changed your training routine?
KR: I kept training the whole time for the rallying but of course it’s not so physical – in the rallies it’s more that you have to sit in the car for the whole week. In Formula 1, it is more physical but over a shorter time. A month ago I started to get back into proper training for Formula 1. The neck is the most difficult thing to get ready but we still have plenty of time.
Q: When you think about your last race in 2009, what is the feeling you have of driving in Formula 1?
KR: I certainly remember all the braking and how quickly everything happens. But compared to rallying, say, you have slightly more time. In rallying, it doesn’t give you a second chance. When you make a mistake you go off. There are no run-off areas. In Formula 1 you have a lot of run-off areas, you can run a bit wide and it is not such a big deal. You lose a lap in the practice or in qualifying but in the race you maybe don’t even lose a place. So this time, the braking and the G-forces will certainly come back very quickly. The biggest thing will definitely be to get the neck used to it again. All the rest will take a while but it’s not really a big thing.
Q: Six world champions on the grid next year, you are coming back to Formula 1 – how big of a boost is it for your motivation?
KR: I would not have come back if I wasn’t motivated. There is always a lot of talk about motivation but nobody really knows what I do or what I think apart from myself so I don’t really care about what people say. But I’m happy to be coming back. I wouldn’t put my name onto a contract if I didn’t think I’d really enjoy it – so it will be interesting and exciting to get back!
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Late news is late. But better than never.
“There is always a lot of talk about motivation but nobody really knows what I do or what I think apart from myself so I don’t really care about what people say…”
In a world where people talk about others, he keep on thinking about himself.
He went for rally for a new challenge, and now come back refresh.
A driver to watch…
kimi won his 1st f1 race in sepang…so he is coming ‘home’ so to speak. sepang 2012 can be a signicant event for the calendar.
well done to lotus for getting him back.
but its quite a different f1 he is coming back to. schumi yet to make any impact, if that is a yardstick!
When Schumi left, he never did much racing. Maybe a bit here and there, but certainly not as involved as Kimi did in WRC n NASCAR.
There’s hope that Kimi can be sharper than before. Part of the reason why Kubica did rallying off-season is to sharpen his driving skills, although unfortunately he got into an accident. In any case, as long as the motivation’s there, it should look positive for Kimi.
Now hoping for next year’s R32 to be a lot more reliable and faster.
Kimi started F1 in a Malaysian GLC-backed team. He has come full circle with another GLC-backed team. :-)
This will be good for Team Lotus, maybe we can see more improvement on the race track.
They are not Team Lotus. They are just Lotus. Team Lotus was previously owned by TF which by next year will be call Caterham. Hopefully Team Lotus can finally be laid to rest once and for all.
on FIA Website; next year they’ll will be known as Lotus F1 Team
here we go again….
that ‘team lotus’ was never going to stand the test of time.
going in/out of courts is ok for brand people, not car people.
mighty glad its over.
Sorry for being so inaccurate :0)
The Iceman is back! Hopefully Lotus Renault gives him a competative car to go against Hamilton and Vettel.
Lotus Renault will need to built a tank for Kimi in order for him to complete a full race distance.
One of the craziest driver on F1 tracks is back! I guess he would be pushing Hamilton, Alonso and Shumi to drive harder. And remember, he wrecked Mc Laren F1 cars(mechanically) more when he drove it in the past.
Craziest driver that i saw b4 is Juan Pablo Montoya
Agree. Montoya drives like a bull and sees every car as though they are red in color. :D Seriously a crazy & rough driver.
Good news for the sport provided Kiki can keep himself sharp and motivated. He’ll want to aim for the championship for sure but he’ll need to do it in the right car. Probably a target for him in the next 3 years. For sure not happening in 2012
Car reliability is very important for Kimi. He always push the car to its limit. If he have a reliable car, the top team driver should feel the pressure. If he have a reliable and fast car, he will be the tittle challenger.
agreed.
but every car has its so called limit in F1 to be push, it is depends on driver site.
if the car is quick, and willing to compete with others, no one willing to push that hard across the 1 hour race.
well, kimi was famous with gearbox problem in red horse team previously, and look at how mike. schumacher survive in mers now… its all about the performance and setup for individual.
i rather hope lotus can prepare a great personalisation “setup” for Kimi, to avoid iceman pressing max to the car.
just my 2cents.
lastly, it has been a long waiting from us- kimi fans…
cheers
I’m sure they can give Kimi a ‘personalization setup’ :) Generally an F1 car’s powertrain and its limits is defined by the engineers not the driver. To blame a F1 driver for blowing and engine or gearbox in this day and age is unheard of. Some drivers are just more unlucky than others.
A good driver will know how to push & nurture the car well in order to compete for a race win & to bring the car to the finish line. Without these 2 quality, the driver is not fit to be called a good driver.
Good driver knows how to win. Period.
Whether he does it with 1 gear or 1 cylinder remaining is a different matter.
Anyone who wins the WDC is not that bad of a driver in my books
when i see Vettel drove ROC buggy – he is a very good driver.
Of course and he’s racing as the youngest double f1 world champion next year.
Welcome back flying Fin….!!!