Kimi Raikkonen has mixed emotions after two races with Lotus, admitting that on one hand the start has been encouraging, but on the other it’s been frustrating.
The Finn made his return to Formula 1 with the Enstone based outfit in Australia in March, but a qualifying mix-up meant he started a lowly 18th before climbing to seventh.
The next race in Malaysia was a little more straight forward on Saturday with Raikkonen managing fifth, but a five-place grid drop for changing his gearbox, then torrential rain during the race has masked his and the E20’s true pace.
“I think we’ve got off to an encouraging start,” said the 32-year-old, “[but] it’s been frustrating sometimes with the chassis issues in testing, the qualifying mix-up in Australia and the gearbox change in Malaysia, but we’ve shown we can deal with any problems and come back stronger.”
Raikkonen is hoping for some better luck in the next few races as he’s confident the car has the potential to challenge the front-runners.
“It feels like I’ve never been away; the team has done a good job and I’m working well with them which makes things easier,” he added. “The car feels good and we clearly have the pace to be at the front; we just need some better luck.”
The 2007 world champion believes the atmosphere within the Lotus team has helped him to feel more at home than in previous years, allowing him to focus on racing.
“I’m still the same person as I was before,” he said. “Maybe people see me as more relaxed, which I think is down to the team. It’s a different atmosphere to what I’ve experienced before; everyone is very open and laid back but at the same time they work extremely hard and pay a lot of attention to detail.
“I feel comfortable here which helps me to focus on racing; I guess that’s why people seem to think I’m a different person, but I’m just as focused and motivated as before.”
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