Kimi Raikkonen officially confirmed for 2013 with Lotus

Kimi Raikkonen has been officially confirmed at Lotus for the 2013 season, in slightly unorthodox fashion featuring a short video clip released by the Enstone-based outfit revealing the big news. This will see the 2007 World Champion continue to race in black and gold, as he strives to return to his winning ways.

Since announcing his return to the sport for this season, many were skeptical on his return. With Michael Schumacher’s return to the sport yielding highly uncompetitive results, many believed the same bad luck may well befall the Finn. However, despite qualifying a lowly 17th for the opening race in Australia, Raikkonen was immediately back on form by Bahrain as he finished a close 2nd behind Sebastian Vettel.

Not only has Kimi Raikkonen quickly returned to the form of his World Championship winning days, the Finn has also been the most competitive and consistent driver of the season. Raikkonen has successfully completed every single racing lap of the season so far, with the 33-year-old scoring points in every race except China. This stat alone shows just how quickly Kimi Raikkonen can adapt his driving style, after racing in Rallying and NASCAR during his two-year absence from the sport.

Kimi Raikkonen’s team-mate for next season has yet to be confirmed, however it has recently been mentioned that Lotus will more than likely retain Romain Grosjean, despite for Frenchman’s knack of colliding with competitors on the opening laps of numerous races this season. With Kimi Raikkonen currently sitting 3rd in the Drivers’ Championship without even winning a race, who knows how the Finn will do next season if the new Lotus can win races from the word go?

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