Since his arrival in Enstone, Kimi Raikkonen has been gradually winning over his team and giving them the motivational boost that was sorely missed after Robert Kubica’s tragic rallying accident prior to the start of the 2011 season.

“After the frustrations of 2011 and the loss of the model that we had built around Robert, the arrival of Kimi has been the secret to the galvanisation of the team. It has been a big boost,” said Lotus team principal Eric Boullier, in an interview with Autosport.

Although Boullier has already confirmed that the Finn’s contract does not state that he is Lotus’ number one driver, Raikkonen is beginning to establish himself as the team’s de facto number one.

“Very few people in the team knew Kimi but after the first running he did in the car, they started to understand how he worked. The charisma of the guy is strong. He is a racer, he loves competition, loves Formula 1 and racing,” added Boullier.

According to Autosport columnist Edd Straw, the general consensus in the paddock during the Jerez test is that Raikkonen has not lost any of his speed after two years away from Formula 1.

“Raikkonen is still quick. He was clearly leaning on the car from early on and was easily the most exciting driver to watch during the first day, showing that he was eager to get on with it, despite the main priority of his programme being data collection and validation,” said Straw.

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