Kimi Raikkonen returns to F1 with Lotus F1 Team
Re: Kimi Raikkonen returns to F1 with Lotus Renault GP
@alex_wurz's reply: I am sure Renault read your blog, but it might have taken them 1 year for fundraising ;-)eleanor wrote:@adamcooperf1: Just had a social chat with Kimi Raikkonen, away from the cameras he's really pumped and clearly enjoying every minute. Says he read the story I wrote just under a year ago saying he was the man to replace Robert Kubica! I guess Renault didn't read it...
LOL
'Life is about passions. Thank you for sharing mine.'
Re: Kimi Raikkonen returns to F1 with Lotus Renault GP
thankss for the pics
Re: Kimi Raikkonen returns to F1 with Lotus Renault GP
Thanks a lot for the news, videos and pictures guys!!!!
Re: Kimi Raikkonen returns to F1 with Lotus Renault GP
So, now Boullier has started dreaming:
http://za.news.yahoo.com/boullier-eyes- ... 12631.html
http://za.news.yahoo.com/boullier-eyes- ... 12631.html
What is wrong with people Even if I am a fan of Kimi, I think getting to podium this year at least once or twice would be excellent resultBoullier eyes European success for Kimi
Team Talk – 5 hours ago
Lotus team principal Eric Boullier believes Kimi Raikkonen will be back up to race winning form by the time the European season kicks off.
Raikkonen made a headline-grabbing return to Formula One on Tuesday as he posted the fastest time on day one of the first pre-season test in Jerez.
Although the Finn has warned that not much should be read into the times ahead of the new season, Raikkonen fans will no doubt get ahead of themselves and expect him to do well right from the word go.
Boullier is also cautions and believes the 32-year-old will be back at the performance level of a race winner from the Spanish Grand Prix in May.
"He will be a potential race winner if we give him an adequate car," the Frenchman told the official Formula One website.
"Obviously this is the package that he needs to have. My guess is that at the beginning of the European 'season' he will be ready."
While many drivers take time to adapt to a new team, Raikkonen has had no problems settling in at Lotus.
"Kimi is very confident and he is very happy with the car, its balance and handling," Boullier said.
"We are heading into a long test programme that hopefully will bring some satisfaction in Melbourne for all of us. The chemistry is already working well."
Re: Kimi Raikkonen returns to F1 with Lotus Renault GP
Kimi's final stint of the day was fantastic!
Re: Kimi Raikkonen returns to F1 with Lotus Renault GP
yes, it was, so far everything seems OKBoudica wrote:Kimi's final stint of the day was fantastic!
Re: Kimi Raikkonen returns to F1 with Lotus Renault GP
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97428Kimi Raikkonen pleased with early findings after first comeback test
By Simon Strang Wednesday, February 8th 2012, 19:09 GMT
Kimi Raikkonen says he has the answers he was looking for from his first experience of the new Lotus E20 after completing 180 laps during two days' testing at Jerez.
The Finn did not match his pace from the opening day of the test, where he hit the headlines by going quickest of all. But Raikkonen declared himself satisfied by what he learned from the car and Pirelli's tyres.
He now hands over to team-mate Romain Grosjean for the final two days of the test.
"I think the main thing was to get a lot of mileage right now," said the 2007 world champion when asked by AUTOSPORT for his summary of the test. "The car feels pretty OK straightaway, and I think we improved it today, but today the conditions were a bit more tricky than yesterday.
"I'm happy with what we did over the two days."
Raikkonen added that the starting point for the E20 appeared to be positive when he could get the Pirelli tyres in a good operating window, as he continued his education process with the Italian rubber.
"Some compounds worked better than others," he said. "When they are new they are always good but once they get used... and it was quite cold so some of them were slightly better than others.
"But when they worked the car feels quite good so... I have no idea what the others are doing but I was quite happy about how things went."
"If the conditions are good for that compound and they get heat in them it seems to be fine but then some of them don't like it when it's cold and the tyre just doesn't work," he continued. "But when they work normally it's not too bad, at least here, but it can be a really different story in Barcelona."
Raikkonen had a couple of off-track moments during his second day in the car and was delayed in the morning when he ran over a kerb and damaged the plank under the chassis - which then needed to be replaced.
"I ran wide under braking for Turn 6, and just driving back in the gravel the edge of the kerb on the circuit was very high and it hit the front of the floor and we damaged that," he explained. "So it took a while to fix it. Unfortunate."
Re: Kimi Raikkonen returns to F1 with Lotus Renault GP
Kimi addmits it was his own fault the floor broke down.
http://www.mtv3.fi/urheilu/f1/uutiset.s ... yvauhdissa
http://www.mtv3.fi/urheilu/f1/uutiset.s ... yvauhdissa
Raikkonen was wondering: Car broke down on walking pace
08.02.2012 19:33
Kimi Räikkönen's car suffered a rare damage in Jerez on Wednesday at the beginning of the test.
- The floor of the car broke down in the morning. I went to the sand and drove back to the track at walking pace. The edge of the track was so high that the floor hit it. It took a little time to repair, Raikkonen told MTV3.
Regarless of the floor damage Raikkonen was drive staggering 117 rounds on Wednesday. He was fifth fastest in the day's results.
- The car does not have any special problems, of course there are some small jobs, but they more or less standard things, which may occur anytime. Even the floor problem was not a tecnical defect but my own fault. In first tests the most important thing is to get a lots of laps, Raikkonen said.
Räikkönen has one improvement in mind for the E20 car.
- Steering needs to be improved. I think we get it fixed before the season starts.
Getting used to Pirelli tyres has gone well to Finnish driver.
- I do not think the tyres will cause any problems. Today some of the compounds were better than others. It certainly depends on weather. Soft tyres did not work on so cold. Even Pirelli said that the hard tyres were the best of all. There is not any problems with the tyres when they work properly, Kimi stated.
MTV3, Jani Merimaa, Jerez
Re: Kimi Raikkonen returns to F1 with Lotus Renault GP
High res day 2
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