Raikkonen expects to be competitive

Kimi Raikkonen believes that the small rule change for the next F1 season will change the pecking orders of the teams in F1.

The Finnish will drive for the Lotus in 2012 after two years in the WRC. His return coincides with some small changes to the rules, mainly regarding the location of the drains, but Raikkonen hopes they can lead to significant changes.

“Although it seems that the technical rules have not changed much, they involve many areas of the car and many elements will have to be redesigned,” said the Finn. “As a result, the cars will be very different next year. The order can change and that makes things very interesting.”

“I feel more motivated than any other time and I don't think I've lost speed. Getting the most out of the tires will be the most difficult thing, of course, but I'm not really worried."

Raikkonen said he will train hard over the Christmas break and revealed he is planning a test with one Renault of 2009, in order to prepare for the first pre-season test in early February.

“We won't test the new car until February, so it's going to be a long wait,” he says. “Anyway I should be able to test a 2 year old car in January, it will be excellent training, but I also need to work with the team to get to know them better and be more confident in order to understand the changes that have taken place since I left F1."

Furthermore, the Finn also said a few words about his recent accident in Austria.

“I was surprised by the amount of attention there was for my fall from a snowmobile,” he added. “You can see what happened on YouTube and it will probably be the smallest and slowest accident I've ever had. It's almost embarrassing! I won a snowmobile race before the 2007 season started and this last one wasn't too bad for me…so who knows what might happen in the next one?”

Stefano Rifici