Photo by: Citroën Communication
Jan.27 (GMM) Kimi Raikkonen has admitted he will sideline his rallying hobby now that he has returned to formula one full-time.
F1's 2007 world champion moved to world rallying two years ago after losing his Ferrari seat.
In the meantime, Lotus (formerly Renault) struggled last season in the wake of lead driver Robert Kubica's horror injuries sustained in a minor Italian rally.
The Enstone based team, having now signed Raikkonen, has insisted its drivers will not be covered in cotton wool, even though the 32-year-old recently hurt his wrist in a snowmobile fall.
"Kimi is Kimi and it will be difficult to change the way he lives," said Group Lotus' Dany Bahar last month.
Around the same time, Raikkonen's former world rally co-driver Kaj Lindstrom said he hopes the Finn keeps rallying in 2012 "as a hobby".
"If I could continue with rallying at the same time as competing in formula one, I would," Raikkonen is quoted by Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat in Zurich this week.
"But I will have to wait a little while before I do some rallies again," he admitted.
"These days the teams are always a bit nervous about these things," said Raikkonen.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Kubica set to drive Ferrari hypercar in WEC 2024 after joining AF Corse
Kubica: Winning WEC LMP2 title "brings back smile" after Le Mans defeats
Why Kubica brings a new perspective to Alfa Romeo
2024 F1 Chinese GP sprint qualifying results: Lando Norris takes pole
Sainz will have to "survive with what we have" in China F1 sprint
What's been going wrong for Leclerc in F1's tiny margins qualifying game
2024 F1 Chinese GP sprint results: Verstappen wins from fourth on grid
F1 Chinese GP: Verstappen passes Hamilton to win first sprint of 2024
Shanghai F1 grass fire mystery remains; emergency team on standby
The Chinese GP sprint race as it happened
The short-term pain that hides a very real Williams improvement
How a Shanghai to Sheffield journey paved the way for China’s F1 hero
Why F1 2026 worst-case fears could be key to new rules success
How the F1 driver market situation sits for each team with 2025 openings
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments