The title? Räikkönen doesn’t make a big deal out of it

Among the questions that Kimi Räikkönen constantly hears are those about a possible second world championship title after the one he won in 2007 with Ferrari. With a 48-point deficit, the Finn is still in the race, and the impression that Lotus is close to achieving its first success only reinforces the feeling that Iceman could be a serious rival for Fernando Alonso. But as usual, the Finn remains cool and takes things as they come.

« I have always said that I would be happy if I win but I’m not desperate. We do everything we can to try to win but if it doesn’t happen then it’s not a big deal. It doesn’t change my life. We try to win races and championships but it’s not like it will suddenly change my life, » explains Räikkönen at Spa.

After two years in WRC, Räikkönen was somewhat expected to prove himself upon his return, especially since a certain Michael Schumacher had also attempted a comeback which, after 2 seasons, was not the most successful. Seeing him in such a good position is thus good news for his fans: « It was difficult to expect anything. It was a new team and we hoped to have a good car, but it was hard to say if we would have an easy time, so I’m happy with the way things have gone, but we clearly could have done a bit better. But it could also have been worse, » relativizes Iceman.

And when asked if winning a title with Lotus would have a different flavor than the one won with Ferrari in 2007, the answer is unsurprisingly filled with common sense: « I only won the title with Ferrari so it’s hard to say. I had good times there, won my title. Things could probably have ended in a better way but that’s life. Now we are here [at Lotus] and I am happy with them and hopefully we can win races and fight for the championship. »

From our correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps