Kimi Räikkönen’s Formula 1 comeback was confirmed on 29 November 2011, with the 2007 World Champion joining Lotus for the 2012 season after two years away from the championship.
Räikkönen had left F1 after 2009 and spent time in rallying and other racing. The break made his return feel unusual, but not implausible. His speed had never really been questioned. The larger question was whether he still wanted the constant routine of Formula 1 enough to make it work.
Lotus gets a champion
For Lotus, the signing was a major statement. The Enstone team had shown flashes of competitiveness but needed a stable, high-level driver reference. Räikkönen brought experience, racecraft and a famously uncluttered approach to feedback. He was not likely to deliver motivational speeches in three acts, but he could tell engineers what the car was doing and then drive it quickly.
The comeback also suited the early Pirelli era. Tyre management had become central to race performance, and Räikkönen’s smooth style translated well. He scored consistently in 2012, won in Abu Dhabi and finished third in the championship, which was a fairly efficient way of answering anyone who had wondered whether he was still serious.
The comeback that worked
F1 returns often sound better in announcements than in lap times. Räikkönen’s was different. The Lotus deal restored a champion to the grid and gave Enstone one of its best post-Renault periods. It also proved that time away from Formula 1 does not necessarily dull a driver, provided the driver in question is Kimi Räikkönen and apparently immune to normal explanations.
Reader signal