Kimi Raikkonen excited to be back in F1

30 November,2011 08:10 AM IST |   |  PA Sport

2007 champ Kimi returns to F1 after two-year stint in rally racing


2007 champ Kimi returns to F1 after two-year stint in rally racingu00a0


Kimi Raikkonen has brushed aside concerns about his motivation after agreeing to return to Formula One with Lotus Renault next season. The 2007 world champion has been away from F1 for two years after his contract with Ferrari was terminated at the end of the 2009 season.


Kimi Raikkonen. Pic/Getty Images

The 18-time grand prix winner has since raced with mixed fortunes in the World Rally Championship and had a brief foray into NASCAR racing. Raikkonen's exit from Maranello with a year remaining on his contract came on the back of a fallow period, during which the Finn appeared to fall out of love with the sport and was firmly put in the shade by Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa.

"I wouldn't come back if I wouldn't be motivated," Raikkonen told lotusrenaultgp.com. "There's always a lot of talk about motivation to race, but nobody really knows what I do or what I think apart from myself, so I don't really care what people think. I wouldn't put my name on the contract if I didn't think that I would really enjoy it. It will be exciting to get back."
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