Lotus is happy to let Kimi Raikkonen just be himself, owner Gerard Lopez has revealed. En route to his first victory since returning to F1 last year, the laconic Finn told his race engineer Simon Rennie in Abu Dhabi to "Just leave me alone, I know what I'm doing."
Lopez told Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper: "Kimi is Kimi. It was just what he felt at that moment. Kimi is certainly the most honest guy in F1. That's why so many people find him so refreshing. We don't want our drivers to come out of a mould -- they are what they are and they say what they say. I believe that is why Lotus is appreciated as we are. We are a natural team," said Lopez.
Lotus memorialised Raikkonen's radio outbursts with t-shirts and memorabilia, but the 33-year-old world champion of 2007 does not look back with any particular fondness on Abu Dhabi.
"I'd rather fight for the championship, but it didn't happen," he is quoted as saying.
Told how popular his Abu Dhabi radio messages were, Raikkonen added: "I just try to do my thing. It was just something that happened during the race -- it wasn't planned in advance.
"I'm not the biggest fan of the instructions," he confided. (GMM)
Pre-order the new Kimi Raikkonen merchandise directly!
Lopez: "Lotus liked for being a natural team"
- Published on 19 Feb 2013 10:25
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- By: Danny Sosef
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Team profile
- Team name Lotus F1
- Base Enstone, United Kingdom
- Daniel Ricciardo 3
- Kimi Räikkönen 7
- Romain Grosjean 8
- Kimi Räikkönen 9
- Romain Grosjean 10
- Pastor Maldonado 13
- Pastor Maldonado 13
- Kevin Magnussen 20
- Nico Hülkenberg 27
- Jolyon Palmer 30
- Esteban Ocon 31
- Carlos Sainz jr 55
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