Returning Kimi Raikkonen insists passion for racing is back

The 2007 world champion has been away from F1 for two years after his contract with Ferrari was terminated. The 18-times grand prix winner has since raced with mixed fortunes in the World Rally Championship and had a brief foray into NASCAR.

Raikkonen’s Ferrari exit came after the Finn appeared to fall out of love with the sport and was firmly put in the shade by team-mate Felipe Massa.

But Raikkonen insists he is enthusiastic about making his comeback. He said: “I wouldn’t come back if I wouldn’t be motivated. 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.

“The main reason [for returning] was that I never really lost the passion in racing in F1. My time in the World Rally Championship has been a useful stage in my career, but I can’t deny the fact that my hunger for F1 has recently become overwhelming.”

Raikkonen agreed terms with Renault – to be renamed Lotus from 2012 – after a mooted deal with Williams fell through, and the 32-year-old is looking forward to returning to a familiar environment. “When I went to rallying I did not know what would happen there, when I went to NASCAR I had no clue how it would be, so in that way is should be much easier to come back and should be pretty normal.”

Raikkonen’s first stint in F1 was with Sauber in 2001. He scored points on his debut before being snapped up by McLaren for 2002 With them he won nine grands prix and finish as championship runner-up twice during a five-year spell. A move to Ferrari reaped instant rewards as he won six races en route to winning the 2007 title by a single point, but his motivation appeared to take a nosedive in 2008 and 2009, prompting his sabbatical.

Lotus Renault Team owner Gerard Lopez said: “Kimi’s decision to come back to Formula One with us is the first of several announcements which should turn us into an even more serious contender in the future.”