Renault team owner Gerard Lopez has insisted that Kimi Raikkonen will be out to prove his critics wrong when he makes his return to Formula 1 racing next year.
Raikkonen has been part of the World Rally Championship for the past two years, but Lopez has decided to return to grand prix racing next season.
Despite the fact that the Finn’s motivation has been called into question in the past,Lopez is adamant that the 2007 world champion is completely committed to succeeding next year.
"Kimi has proven in the past that he is among the fastest and in terms of age he's still in his prime," said Lopez.
"In terms of motivation from what I have seen and spoken to him, he is probably as motivated as ever. And the more people question the better it is because it is going to increase his motivation even more to prove that they are wrong.
"I'm excited that he is here because I think it's one of the very important steps in getting the team to where we want it to be - which is one of the top teams in Formula 1."
Lopez is convinced that Raikkonen is just what his teams needs in order to move themselves up the rankings next season, as he is already a proven world champion.
"I think we decided that we had to look forward in terms of performance and the key way to see how good a car is, is to have a good driver," he added.
Raikkonen added that he was happy with the reception he has received from Renault and that he was feeling relaxed about the job in front of him.
"It is my first time in Enstone, so it is very nice to see the factory - it feels good. It is a very warm feeling and I'm very relaxed,” he said.
"I haven't really read the newspapers about all the excitement but it is quite normal, isn't it? It doesn't put any more pressure on me. I always try to do my best, so I don't put myself under pressure. It will be exciting, yes, but no pressure really and we will see how it goes."
Source:http://www.setanta.com/ien/Articles/2011/12/03/Raikkonen-out-to-prove-critics-wrong/gnid-120269/
Despite the fact that the Finn’s motivation has been called into question in the past,Lopez is adamant that the 2007 world champion is completely committed to succeeding next year.
"Kimi has proven in the past that he is among the fastest and in terms of age he's still in his prime," said Lopez.
"In terms of motivation from what I have seen and spoken to him, he is probably as motivated as ever. And the more people question the better it is because it is going to increase his motivation even more to prove that they are wrong.
"I'm excited that he is here because I think it's one of the very important steps in getting the team to where we want it to be - which is one of the top teams in Formula 1."
Lopez is convinced that Raikkonen is just what his teams needs in order to move themselves up the rankings next season, as he is already a proven world champion.
"I think we decided that we had to look forward in terms of performance and the key way to see how good a car is, is to have a good driver," he added.
Raikkonen added that he was happy with the reception he has received from Renault and that he was feeling relaxed about the job in front of him.
"It is my first time in Enstone, so it is very nice to see the factory - it feels good. It is a very warm feeling and I'm very relaxed,” he said.
"I haven't really read the newspapers about all the excitement but it is quite normal, isn't it? It doesn't put any more pressure on me. I always try to do my best, so I don't put myself under pressure. It will be exciting, yes, but no pressure really and we will see how it goes."
Source:http://www.setanta.com/ien/Articles/2011/12/03/Raikkonen-out-to-prove-critics-wrong/gnid-120269/
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