Source: lotusrenaultgp.com
In an interview, Renault team owner Gerard Lopez says questions about Kimi Raikkonen’s motivation in returning to Formula 1 will only make the 2007 world champion more determined to succeed.
Kimi came to Enstone today – how was his visit?
It was good. It felt like the right thing to do to bring him here today. We decided that bringing Kimi into the team was the right decision to make. We had to be forward looking in terms of performance and, regardless of how good any car is, you need a good driver. Kimi has proven himself as one of the fastest drivers around and he’s still in his prime. In terms of motivation, I think he’s more motivated than ever. The more people that question it (his motivation) the better, because it’s only going to motivate him further. It’s a very important step in getting the team to where we want it to be, which is one of the top teams in Formula 1.
What was the exact reason for choosing Kimi?
I can summarise it in one word. He is fast. I think he will fit in very well with the way we do things; it’s a good place for him to fit in.
This can be seen as a real statement of intent…
There’s no question of that. We’ve given some drivers the chance to shine. I think they have done ok, but have not all lived up to expectations, but it’s difficult because it’s Formula 1. It’s very different to GP2 or karting. As a midfield-placed team hiring Kimi, you do so with the intent of being at the top.
Is there now an upbeat feeling in Enstone?
Yes, I think there is. We don’t make decisions for the outside world to take note, we make them to help this company succeed. Whether people believe that our past decisions were taken in the interests of business or not, the decisions were taken for the staff. So, if we hire Kimi to come in as race driver we are making the right statement internally, which is that it’s the right thing for the staff, the engineers, mechanics, anyone in this company. I think it’s very motivational; I haven’t got all the feedback yet but it does seem like a motivational decision.
From a press side of things, the noise has been great…
Yes, from a press side I was surprised because I had no expectation, positive or negative. From what I’ve seen so far, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I’m very positively inclined towards this, which the press seem to be too. The fans are obviously looking forward to it too.
This is a massive boost for the whole company…
Everyone knows that if you are given a good car, we are going to be back at the top again.
The interest seems to be higher than when Schumacher made his comeback…
I wasn’t aware of that, but that’s fantastic!
Interview with Eric Boullier
Eric, the announcement of Kimi Räikkönen’s return to Formula 1 with LRGP is big news for the team and for F1 in general…
It is good news for the sport and of course it is good news for the team. Strategically, it is good to have a big name, a high class driver and Formula 1 World Champion to join us. He is committed to racing for us and he is definitely a very good character with the experience he has from driving for McLaren and Ferrari. Also, to have someone like Kimi signing with us shows that the package we have offered was good enough – we convinced Kimi to come back to Formula 1!
There is only about 6 days of testing available per driver during the winter season – how will the team help get Kimi ready for the 2012 season?
First of all, in not so long we will have our simulator ready – this is good news for him and for us. I think that we will also be able to plan a couple of days with the demo car.
Today’s announcement is a real statement of intent from the team and its ambitions for the future?
There are many things that the team will announce soon, in the coming weeks and the coming months. Let’s not forget that the team’s current identity is only a couple of years old and it is clear that we have made some strategic investments like the wind tunnel, like the CFD pole and like the building of the simulator– it will be a state of the art simulator.
We are also in the process to reinforce our team with the recruitment of some key people, some of them have already joined us and some are to be announced soon but we can’t say too much at this stage as some of them are currently on gardening leave.
Next year, we will also have an upgrade of our facilities trackside, in fact it is going to be a complete change with a new engineers truck, a new infrastructure for the team garage, which of course will also have an impact on our image and obviously Kimi joining us is a big step in reinforcing the investment Genii Capital is putting in the team at every level.
(Source)
FUCK ISRAEL 