Raikkonen: I'm back in the groove

23/01/2012

Kimi Raikkonen has expressed his delight following his first day of re-acclimatisation running with Lotus after two years away from F1.

The Finn was clearly delighted after completing almost 190 miles of running in the 2010 R30 at the Circuito Ricardo Tormo in Valencia.

"It was a good first day!" said Raikkonen. "Having not driven a Formula 1 car for two years and obviously with a new team, there is a lot to get used to. I'm happy because I was pretty quick to get back in the groove. Obviously you get more into the zone with the more laps you complete, as you discover more about the car and the tyres. Knowing when to turn, brake, and when to get on the power didn't take long at all.

"The good thing is that running today gives me something to compare the new car to," he added, "so I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully we'll be fast straight away and it's going to be an interesting season."

"I must say today was very positive," said team boss Eric Boullier. "You can see that the whole team is pleased with Kimi's feedback, and Kimi himself seemed very happy to be back behind the wheel. He got the feel of the car very quickly and it's good to see him building a strong relationship with the team. Obviously, the R30 is different to the new car, but he is clearly excited to get started at the first test in Jerez. Our team is made up of true racing people, and Kimi fits into that very well."

"The day went pretty much as we planned, which is great," added Trackside Operations Engineer, Alan Permane. "Kimi was on the pace we expected straight away. He completed around 300km, going through three sets of tyres. It leaves us with four sets for tomorrow, meaning we can run a bit longer. We worked on getting him comfortable in the car, giving him a feel for the setup changes, and helping him get to know his engineers. It's always great to work with a top driver who is not just quick, but professional, and Kimi has all of those characteristics. His feedback is excellent, his requests are concise and to the point. We're looking forward to a good season with him."

The two-day test concludes tomorrow (Tuesday).