Lotus team principal Eric Boullier believes Kimi Raikkonen is enjoying at Lotus – Formula 1
Lotus team principal Eric Boullier says that Kimi Raikkonen is more than happy with Lotus.
Since Raikkonen returned to the sport after a two year hiatus, it was rumoured that Raikkonen will find it difficult to find his comfort zone with Lotus and in the sport. While the Finn maintained that he had no issues upon his return he also suggested that
he has had absolutely no trouble with Lotus and the management has been very good with him.
Critics questioned Raikkonen’s commitment and motivation but after five races have gone by in the season those questions have been answered quite clearly. The Lotus driver has struck two back-to-back podiums and both were near miss potential wins. He is
only twelve points behind the leading duo of the board Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.
Boullier explained to the official Formula 1 website that the team has worked towards minimising all of Raikkonen’s media and PR commitments. All to let Raikkonen the space he requires so that he can focus on racing and not let other issues that he wants
to avoid bother is prep.
“I think he is fitting in quite well,” Boullier said. “We at Enstone - and I say Enstone on purpose - have racing spirit. I would say we cannot be compared with any other team, although I am aware that every team has its own culture and personality. We try
to keep politics outside and try to give our drivers what they need.”
“We know that Kimi doesn't like PR, doesn't like media. So why should we bother him with it? Sure we need a balance between his demands and the requests from our sponsors. But he knows that we care very much about his schedule and try to minimise his obligations.
That's it. He is a racer so he races for winning and hardly cares about the rest!” he added.
Raikkonen has clearly shown that he has not let the two years out of the sport affect his pace. There no signs of rustiness either and if he can keep up the form he has shown he will be able to strike a victory soon enough.
The competition has clearly become much more exciting with his inclusion and the battle for the championship title is very much on.
Tags: