Raikkonen expects midfield battle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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."