Kimi Raikkonen confident in a quick adaptation to Pirelli tyres

Kimi Raikkonen is optimistic about his chances of adapting quickly to Pirelli tires when he makes his return to F1 with the Lotus in 2012.

Raikkonen last drove in F1 in 2009 the covers were the Bridgestone, and they had very different characteristics compared to the Pirellis. This year the P Zero they were designed to degrade quickly and this has put some pilots in difficulty, including Mark Webber.

The Finn will return to the wheel of an F1 with less knowledge of the Pirellis than many of his rivals, but has announced that the latter do not worry him, also highlighting the fact that he won the world championship in 2007 with Bridgestones after 5 years with tires Michelin (at Mclaren).

“The big difference is that the tires take a long time to learn the best mode to get the most out of them,” says Raikkonen. “It was very difficult for me when I moved from Michelin to Bridgestone. I haven't driven an F1 (and consequently also the tires ed.) for two years, but in the meantime I haven't adapted in any particular way to anything else, which is why I think it will be easier for me than in 2007. I spoke to my friend Pedro de la Rosa and from what he told me, the Pirellis are excellent, with good grip, which is important for me.”

“Then I can drive there this year's car with the GP2 tyres to gain confidence. I don't know the test calendar yet but when the new car arrives I will test it."

He also doesn't say he's worried about KERS and DRS.

“It won't be very difficult”, “I've driven F1 cars for a long time and the last time I did it I had the KERS and many other buttons on the steering wheel".

Raikkonen's manager he also stated that his client was very "taken" from a return to F1 and probably shouldn't have left at the end of 2009 when he was replaced in Ferrari da Fernando Alonso.

“He's back to where he should be,” says the manager. “My personal opinion is that when he left F1 after the end of 2009 he was still very young and could have achieved a lot. He still has a lot to give to the sport and when he told us to explore the possibilities of a return, he was constantly in contact with us to find out what we had found."

“It seems like everyone knows about our discussions with the Williams. They maintained contact for many weeks but we did not agree on some things. So before Abu Dhabi GP we started talking with Eric boullier. And after this both parties quickly came to an agreement."

Stefano Rifici