Kimi Raikkonen has matured as a driver since he last drove for Ferrari, according to team principal Stefano Domenicali.
The Finnish driver has begun his second stint with the Italian outfit and despite winning the title with the team, his motivation faded in 2009 and he was bought out of his contract and replaced by Fernando Alonso.
The 34-year-old spent two years competing in the World Rally Championship before returning to F1 with Lotus where he impressed massively.
Domenicali believes this has given Raikkonen time to mature and he’s seen evidence of a more motivated driver.
“I’ve found him more mature, like all of us, more experienced, very close to the team,” Domenicali told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“He has come [to the factory] often already, and will come back to Maranello practically every week.”
Domenicali also believes that Raikkonen is spurred on to do better than ever and to beat his team-mate because of the fact that the team has been built around Alonso.
“He is conscious of his capabilities,” he added. “Kimi knows what team he’s in, he knows this is a very important challenge for him, he knows he has to deal with an ace like Fernando, with whom he’ll have to work in an integrated way.”
