Kimi Raikkonen to drive for Lotus-Renault and not Williams F1: It’s Official

Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen or the Ice Man as he’s called in his fan circle is all set to return to Formula 1. Kimi will be driving for the Lotus-Renault F1 team alongside Vitaly Petrov who is yet to decide whether he stays with the team. Having said that, Raikkonen seems to be a worthy contender for the team since their #1 driver Robert Kubica will not be participating in the 2012 F1 world championship fight. Earlier, the Fin was in talks with Frank Williams of William F1 for a seat in the 2012 machine.

Kimi was spotted at the Williams headquarters which was quickly turned down by the team management to be just a factory visit with no strings attached. However, Raikkonen was in talks with the team for a possible F1 seat for the 2012 season. This was further proven when McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh advised Williams to sign Kimi for the next season. Probably, both parties failed to make the deal which gave Lotus-Renault an opportunity.

The team has given Vitaly Petrov until December 10th to decide whether to remain with the team or move on. Petrov had signed a two year deal with Lotus-Renault last year. Petrov has also brought in sponsors which could also benefit the team if he stays with them for a second consecutive year. With Kubica ruled out to return to F1 next season it will be important for the team to get their act together and finish ahead of the mid-field. Of course, the teams success will also depend on the 2012 machine.

As far as Kimi Raikkonen is concerned, it will be interesting to see the past rivals back on track. Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso will be more than eager to fight for the championship along with Raikkonen who will be under pressure to prove himself. Raikkonen’s short stint with rallying failed to pay dividends but it will be good to see him back in a more familiar machine.

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November 30, 2011 | By Tushar Kelshikar · Tags:

Comments

One Response to “Kimi Raikkonen to drive for Lotus-Renault and not Williams F1: It’s Official”

F1 Guy on December 5th, 2011 10:52 am

Yes, finally its confirmed that he’s back, the Iceman himself. Hopefully Lotus F1 will deliver a good car for him, else his motivation will lapse in no time. There are plenty of challenges ahead of him in 2012 and you can read an interesting update on that here and more over, Lotus F1′s biggest challenge for 2012 will be Kimi himself! 6 WC drivers on the grid for 2012, this should be fun!

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