Lotus team owner Gerard Lopez is happy with the contribution Kimi Raikkonen has made to the Enstone squad's revival, insisting that he always wanted 'drivers, not robots' in his cars.

Lotus F1 team owner Gerard Lopez says that he had no doubts that Kimi Raikkonen would be able to return to his previous best, unlike others who questioned the wisdom of signing the Finn after two years out of the sport.

Despite including a world championship campaign in 2007, Raikkonen's first stint in F1 earned him the reputation of having a laissez-faire attitude and he did little to disguise his contempt for extra-curricular commitments to sponsors and the media, leading to suggestions that Lotus' decision to hire him for 2012 could cause headaches for the team. The Finn, however, proved the doubters wrong by being a podium threat for much of the year, before eventually taking victory in Abu Dhabi en route to third overall in the standings.