Raikkonen’s back ’ok’ after F1 driving return

Kimi Raikkonen on Tuesday gave the thumbs up as he returned to the cockpit of a formula one car.

Having already signed to switch from Lotus to Ferrari for 2014, the Finn sat out the last few races of last season in order to have a back injury cured through surgery and physiotherapy.

Asked about his return to speed on Tuesday at the wheel of Ferrari’s brand new F14-T, Raikkonen told the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat: "The back is ok.

"At least now, on the first day of driving, I did not have any problems," he explained. "And I don’t expect any either, even if you never know what’s going to happen in the future."

Raikkonen, 34, said he has been able to train normally since the end of December, six weeks after his mid November operation.