Kimi makes himself comfortable in the Lotus Renault
Kimi Raikkonen insists that he is unfazed by the inevitable criticism of his F1 comeback with Lotus this year.
The Finn, who was at the team’s factory today for a seat fitting, says that the important thing is that he is happy with what he’s doing – and he’s not worried about what others think.
“It has no effect on me,” he said in a Q&A on the team website. “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.
“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.”
Although he briefly tried the cockpit on a previous factory visit today’s seat fitting was the first time that Kimi has properly sat in an F1 car – with a helmet – since the 2009 Abu Dhabi GP.
“It felt a bit odd at first because the cockpit seems a bit small, but that’s normal. It’s just like in the past when I have done seat fittings – it feels a bit strange when you first step into the car but you quickly adjust. It will be nice to get back to racing.”
Adam Cooper F1 
See if he’s still interested in July…
Lets not forget this is the same Kimi Raikkonen who couldn’t be bothered to fly to Australia for last year’s WRC round.
I wonder how he’ll feel being dragged around the world for a car which will most probably be sixth quickest at best..
…not to mention the non-stop attention from his obsessive fan base.
And lets not forget in 2011 he had to set up his own team to be able to race in WRC. Red Bull stopped sponsoring Citroen’s junior team and the team was terminated. There wasn’t much sponsor logos in his car was there. Even Petter Solberg found it hard work to get funds for his own team and he at least was WDC in 2003. Now Solberg has returned to the factory team of Ford. So it’s kind of harsh to say he couldn’t be bothered to fly to Australia when Ice One team was operating with minimal budget.
I think of all the teams Kimi could have returned to, Lotus is the best combination of performance and working enviornment. Given the strong start they had last year, there certainly is the prospect of a good start this year, especially with a driver who is well and truly a winner and champion. I’d look for Lotus to be the spoiler for Mercedes, Ferrari and Mclaren.
Wow, I’ve never seen so many quotes from Kimi in one place, did he swallow a dictionary?