Source: autosport.com | bbc sport
Kimi Raikkonen has returned to the wheel of a Formula 1 car for the first time since the end of 2009, driving a two-year-old Renault R30 at Valencia as he reacclimatises himself to the sport with Lotus.
Raikkonen arrived at the track at 0830 CET and took to the wheel of a two-year-old Renault R30 car – painted in Lotus’s contemporary black and gold livery and using Pirelli’s demonstration-spec rubber – for an installation lap just after 0900.
The Finn is taking part in a two-day session designed to help him reacclimatise himself with grand prix machinery. His first test with the team’s 2012 car will take place at Jerez early next month.
Under the terms of F1’s strict testing limitations, teams are not allowed to run contemporary F1 machinery apart from at designated tests. However, machinery that is two years old is free from such restrictions – which is why Lotus is able to run him in a 2010 Renault car that is fitted with demo rubber.
Raikkonen last raced in F1 in 2009, when he was dropped by Ferrari and chose to switch to the World Rally Championship for the following year. He competed there for two seasons.
Keen to return to racing, however, Raikkonen briefly tried the NASCAR truck series last year before eventually agreeing a deal with Lotus to return to F1 in 2012.
Raikkonen said last month that he believed the biggest hurdle he faced in returning to F1 was getting used to the tyres.
He told the Lotus website: “I don’t think I’ve lost any speed. Getting on top of the tyres will be the hardest thing, of course, but I’m not really worried.”
Video:
Kimi warns he’ll need time to settle back into F1
“It was nice to get back in the car,” explained Raikkonen. “It was quite a few years since I have driven last time, [and] of course it takes a little while to get used to it. But the main driving, braking, turning, that doesn’t take many laps. But of course to start learning about the car and team and tyres, that will take time.”
Raikkonen also suggested that he never took it for granted that he would make a return to F1 after he had embarked on a career in the World Rally Championship.
When asked if he had expected to be back in F1, he said: “Not really. I didn’t have any plans for the future.
“There were different choices to do this year and I really wanted to do racing. We did some NASCAR stuff last year and I enjoyed it a lot, racing against other people.
“That is where I decided to do racing, and [if you are] doing racing, F1 is the highest level and probably where most people want to be. I found a good chance to come back and do racing with Lotus.”
New Lotus Passes Final Crash Tests
Source: autosport.com
Kimi Raikkonen will definitely have his new Lotus ready for the first Formula 1 pre-season test after his outfit passed the last of its mandatory crash tests on Monday morning, AUTOSPORT can reveal.
As the former world champion began a private test at Valencia in Spain in a 2010-spec R30, exclusive pictures of which can be seen here, sources have confirmed his Enstone-based team was completing the last of its crash tests.
For the first time this year, F1 teams must pass the stringent FIA crash tests before they are allowed to run their cars on track – as opposed to only being required to do so for the first race of the campaign.
Lotus will unveil its 2012 car on its official website on February 5, prior to an official showing at the Jerez circuit the following day.
Raikkonen is due to kick off running of the new car for the first two days of the test from February 7, before handing it over to team-mate Romain Grosjean for the final two days.
FUCK ISRAEL 