I N T E R N A T I O N A L
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Sport
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Raikkonen back behind the wheel Reuters
Kimi Raikkonen’s Formula One comeback picked up speed in Valencia on Monday when the Finn, returning with Lotus, tested a grand prix car for the first time since 2009. The “Iceman”, 2007 world champion with Ferrari and winner of 18 races with the Italian team and McLaren, is returning to Formula One this season after two years in the world rally championship. Lotus, formerly Renault, said in a statement that the 32-year-old aimed to drive as many laps as possible in the two days at the Spanish circuit to get acquainted with his new team and reacclimatise himself with a Formula One car. They issued a picture of Raikkonen on his first lap in the two-year-old Renault R30 - painted in Lotus’s black-and-gold livery - at the Ricardo Tormo track. “It was nice to get back in the car,” Raikkonen, who will be one of six champions on the grid this season, told Sky Sports television at the circuit. “It was quite a few years since I have driven
last time, so of course it takes a little while to get used to it. But the main driving, braking, turning and normal things doesn’t take many laps. “Of course to start learning about the car and the team and tyres and everything, that will take time,” he said. Raikkonen’s new Lotus car will be launched on the team’s website (www. lotusf1team.com) on Feb. 5 before the first official test of the season at the Jerez track in southern Spain starts on Feb. 7. Teams are not allowed to test up-todate cars outside of official sessions
which meant Raikkonen could drive only an older machine using demonstration tyres. The season starts in Australia on March 18. “The day went pretty much as we planned, which is great,” said trackside engineer Alan Permane in a team statement. “Kimi was on the pace we expected straight away. He completed around 300km, going through three sets of tyres. It leaves us with four sets for tomorrow, meaning we can run a bit longer. “We worked on getting him comfortable in the car, giving him a feel for the setup changes, and helping him get to know his engineers,” added Permane. “It’s always great to work with a top driver who is not just quick, but professional, and Kimi has all of those characteristics. His feedback is excellent, his requests are concise and to the point. We’re looking forward to a good season with him.”
Jorge Lorenzo sure Valentino Rossi is not fading yet Valentino Rossi has not passed his peak and is still capable of returning to the forefront of MotoGP, insists his former team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. After leaving Yamaha for Ducati in 2011, Rossi endured his first ever win-less season at world championship level. But Lorenzo, who was Rossi’s Yamaha team-mate from 2008-10, dismissed any suggestion that the Italian seven-time MotoGP champion’s career was in decline.
“There’s no age limit,” Lorenzo told Gazzetta dello Sport. “[Carlos] Checa at 39 in superbikes is in his top form. Valentino is 33, he hasn’t weakened.” Lorenzo suggested that Rossi’s problem was not that his talent was fading, but that MotoGP was now so competitive it was harder to pull off good results on a difficult bike than it had been in the past. “Today in MotoGP there are many strong riders,” Lorenzo said. “To win you
need a great feeling with your bike.” The Spaniard thinks Ducati faces a tough task to close the gap on Honda and Yamaha in 2012, but sees no reason why it cannot eventually rediscover titlewinning form. “It’s an unknown quantity,” said Lorenzo of Ducati. “It won’t be easy to reach Yamaha and Honda, but Ducati beat them in the past. It’s a small factory but with a lot of technology and a great rider in Valentino.”
Italian Ducati rider Valentino Rossi, center, steers his kart during a kart exhibition race on ice in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Friday, Jan. 13, 2012.
AP Photo/Luca Bruno
IBP/ist
Kimi Raikkonen