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"If you want to win, hire a Finn"
So said Finnish F1 champ Keke Rosberg - and Lotus have followed his advice by taking on a certain Kimi Raikkonen. Here, the Iceman and his team give an exclusive insight into their challenge for the title
Rosberg's famous mantra has done the job for Williams, McLaren and even Ferrari in years gone by. And now Lotus, the Enstone-based team formerly known as Renault, seem to have taken his suggestion on board as they set their sights on another world championship. Make no mistake: Kimi's two-year sojourn in rallying has done nothing to blunt his speed. He's as quick as ever and a natural team leader - and now he has a decent car there's a real belief that the Finn can win a world title for Lotus. With the team set to make their 500th grand prix appearance at Monaco this year, the crown would be a welcome boost for a squad keen to emulate past glories.
It's fair to say the team have been reeling over the past few seasons. A number of crises have rocked this corner of rural Oxfordshire leading to some notable high-profile departures. First the 'Crashgate' scandal led to the pull-out of title sponsor ING and the removal of two key figures, Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds, the latter a stalwart of those early Toleman days. Then the team bid farewell to their talisman Fernando Alonso. That was followed by the quiet departure of Renault who are now present only as engine supplier to the team.
With the arrival of new owners, Gerard Lopez and his Genii Capital financial group, and the appointment of Eric Boullier as team principal, there have been a few rocky moments along the way. There has been a shortage of funds, a complicated legal dispute over naming rights, technical innovations that have backfired, not to mention the serious rallying accident that befell Robert Kubica - all of which have hampered the team's rehabilitation process.
But as the 2012 season reaches Europe, it appears that the teething problems are now being resolved as the team continued on their upward cycle of growth. The appointment of Kimi Raikkonen was a significant shot in the arm, allied with the signing of new sponsors over the winter; the arrival of Total-backed Romain Grosjean and the continued excellence of their innovative technical director James Allison. Suddenly, the Lotus E20 is living up to its heritage and is delivering results. That double podium in Bahrain was an early indication of future potential success.
"It makes everybody's life a lot easier when the car is quick," enthuses Kimi Raikkonen, who's in an unusually chatty mood today. "If you have a bad car then the atmosphere changes and everyone is less happy. It definitely helps that the baseline of the car is good and there's a good group of people here."
The only question now is whether - in this year of topsy-turvy results - the inscrutable Finn can take the E20 to the top step of the podium and mount a serious title challenge...
READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN THE JUNE 2012 ISSUE |
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