Lotus boss Gerard Lopez reckons Kimi Raikkonen will challenge for the world title this year after silencing the doubters in 2012.
Lopez said he was proud of the Finn’s strong performances last year, particularly as so many “experts” were convinced he would be lazy and unmotivated on his Formula One comeback.

He added the team’s policy of letting Raikkonen concentrate on driving, with the bulk of his time free of the media and promotional commitments he loathes, had paid off handsomely.

Lopez, who owns Lotus through his investment firm Genii Capital, said the pessimistic views of those who thought Raikkonen would flop had made him smile.

He added: “I was sure it would work out like it did.

“Raikkonen put in a great workload to compliment his talent and the results are the fruit of that.

“Here, he feels like he is being used for what’s most important and for the rest of the time he is free. He has found a balance.

“I speak to him every week and he feels good. He has enthusiasm and desire. I want drivers, not robots.”

Lopez is now expecting the 2007 world champ to spearhead a serious attack on this year’s title.

He believes Lotus proved four key points last year — the quality of their drivers, the speed of Raikkonen’s team-mate Romain Grosjean, their ability to build a competitive car and their staying power in F1’s never-ending development race.

Lopez, who wants the team to be in the top three at season’s end, said: “If we can optimise these things we’ll be at 100 per cent.”

Grosjean has been re-signed by Lotus despite a crash-strewn 2012 that saw him banned for one race and scoring 111 points less than Raikkonen.

Lopez said: “There were other drivers who had more reprimands than him but he paid the price for the others. “However he showed he’s quick. I’m expecting a lot from him this year.”

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