Räikkönen is thirsty for victory
Despite his two podiums in Bahrain and Barcelona, Kimi Räikkönen admits to being disappointed not to have won a Grand Prix with Lotus yet.
Who will be next? After seven winners in as many Grand Prix, the list of contenders for a first success in 2012 is shrinking: Michael Schumacher, Romain Grosjean, and Kimi Räikkönen are clearly among them, not to mention a surprise is always possible given the very small gaps between the cars this year.
At Lotus, Räikkönen has reached the podium twice since Melbourne but for various reasons he hasn’t managed to cross the finish line as a winner.
« Obviously, when you get good results and you get close to victory, then you are disappointed when you don’t win. But if you had asked us before the start of the season whether we would have been happy with these results, we would definitely have said yes, » explains the Finn in Valencia.
It is true that before the first winter tests, Lotus was not necessarily seen as a regular podium contender after a 2011 season that saw the team regress race after race. From this perspective, the start of the 2012 championship is therefore positive, even if the Finn misses the taste of victory.
« The team probably did not expect us to be so well placed. But when you are high in the hierarchy and you don’t win, it’s disappointing. So if you give yourself the chance to do it then you expect more. »
The heat of Valencia should, theoretically, suit the Lotus E20 well, which has often shown strong performances in such conditions, as we have seen in Bahrain, for example. Enough for Kimi Räikkönen to become the eighth different winner this season? The bets are on!
« We always try to win, but it’s not easy. We don’t know how we will perform here. We will see tomorrow and Saturday. Hopefully, we can be in the mix on Sunday, » concluded the 2007 world champion.
