Kimi Raikkonen didn't make his Formula One comeback with Williams, because Lotus was offering him a more competitive car.

That is the claim of Adam Parr, the former Williams chairman who now admits to trying to secure the services of the 2007 World Champion at the end of 2011.

Ultimately, the Williams talks collapsed and former McLaren and Ferrari driver Raikkonen, now 33, returned to F1 after a two-year rallying hiatus last year with Lotus.

Famous for his laconic and truly unique personality, he surprised many in 2012 by winning in Abu Dhabi and finishing his return season with third place in the World Championship.

Briton Parr, who left his role as Williams chairman early last year and is now promoting a book, confirmed he had talks with the Finn about driving for the famous British team in 2012.

"I wanted to bring Kimi to Williams in 2012," he is quoted as saying by Italy's Autosprint, "but I could not guarantee a competitive car for him.

"When I spoke with him, I was impressed by his hunger and his determination," said Parr.

"Nevertheless, his value at the time remained unclear, and we didn't know just how strong our car would be."

In 2012, Pastor Maldonado won the Spanish Grand Prix and, alongside Bruno Senna, the pair helped Williams to finish eighth in the constructors' World Championship.

With Lotus, Raikkonen also won just a single race but also an impressive tally of 207 points.

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Kimi Raikkonen is hopeful McLaren will be severely weakened by Lewis Hamilton’s departure as Lotus target a top-three finish in this year’s Formula One world cham-pionship.
Hamilton’s decision to quit McLaren after 14 years with the team – the final six of those in F1 – and join Mercedes continues to be a main talking point four months on after the announcement was made.
For Lotus, an impressive fourth in the constructors’ title race last year, just 75 points behind third-placed McLaren, Hamilton’s exit could see them push the top two in Red Bull and Ferrari.
Lotus F1 chairman Gerard Lopez said on Monday, upon the unveiling of his team’s new car: “Our expectations are to hopefully do better than we did last year, which is quite a lofty expectation. But it’s what we are shooting for.”
Whether Hamilton’s replacement in Sergio Perez can amass the number of points the Briton regularly achieved is open to debate.
Asked whether McLaren are now less formidable without Hamilton, 2007 world champion Raikkonen said: “Hopefully, yes.
“We will wait and see in testing, and then go from there. It will be interesting to see what happens.”
On his return to F1 last season after two years away, Raikkonen was a class act, finishing in the points in 19 of the 20 races en route to claiming third in the drivers’ championship behind Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.
Significantly, the Finn scored the team’s first win since 2008, when they were known as Renault, by taking the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi in November.
Given such success, Raikkonen admits there is obvious cause for early optimism for the E21, although he added: “It’s not going to be easy to improve on what we did last year.
“But that’s the aim, to do better, and hopefully we can do it. If you can qualify further up the grid, then it gives you a better chance to win races and makes your life a lot easier on race days.
“It’s the whole package they’ve tried to make faster, and hopefully we’ve managed to do it.”
With few alterations to the regulations, momentum could be everything going into the new F1 season that starts in Melbourne, Australia, on March 17.
Technical director James Allison concedes this year’s car bears a “family resemblance” to last season’s model, but insists he and his team of designers and engineers have not stood still.
“I can assure you we have done a lot. The whole team has worked heart and soul on this thing for a long time,” said Allison.
“The rules for this year are very similar to those for last year, but as ever in F1 the devil is in the detail.
“In this car that adds up to a significant amount of performance, so we’ve a mixture – some neat new ideas, and a pushing of the same sort of concepts as we’ve been working on for a few years.”

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 Kimi Raikkonen couldn't have hoped for a better return to Formula One after a three-year hiatus. Finishing third behind Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso was the best result the former champion could have hoped for in 2012.

The 2007 world champion will now hope to go one better with his performance in 2013 as he prepares for a second season with Lotus.

Excerpts from an interview...

What are your thoughts heading into your second season with Lotus F1 Team?

I'm feeling pretty good. Last year was my return to Formula 1 and it went pretty well. This year will be my second with Lotus and my 11th season overall in F1 so I've got a pretty good idea of what to expect. I'm sure it will be an exciting season and I'm sure there'll be lots to talk about. For me, I will continue to do the best I can. Let's see how good our car is, and how good the cars of the opposition are too.

Is the continuity with the team beneficial to you?

It helps. It's not a massive thing which will suddenly mean you start winning all the races, but it's nice to be at the same team as you understand how they work, and they understand how you work. We quickly developed a pretty good way of working together last year and there's no reason to think that won't continue this season.

Are you still learning as a driver?

I don't think you ever stop learning, but there is less to learn than if you're a rookie. I don't think I could say I'm a rookie. We had new tracks last year, that's always something nice to learn and for me best learnt on the tracks themselves. There will be a new car which we'll want to develop and get working at its best. There are always changes in the sport -- some small, some big. Generally everything's pretty similar, and the feeling of racing on track is pretty familiar.

This is the second year of a two-year deal, are you thinking of 2014 and beyond?

I'm not really thinking beyond this season at the moment, but I'm sure there will be talk before the end of the year. I enjoyed my comeback to F1 last year and there's no reason to say I shouldn't enjoy the 2013 season too. I know there will be big changes to the cars and regulations for 2014, so who's to say that won't be exciting.

Have you set yourself targets for this season?

To do the best job I can. I've not driven the E21 yet so it's difficult to say what could or could not be possible. We know we had a good car last season, but everyone is working hard to make the best car. I will be working with the team to help get the car as strong as we can, then in Melbourne we'll have our first taste of results. It's a long season from there. 2012 was a good start, let's see what we can do in 2013.

Do you think the team has what it takes to win a championship?

Yes, I think they do. It's clear from working with them that they are racers, and you can see in their history that they've won championships. Nothing I saw last year made me think that another championship was impossible in the future. Of course, there is some pretty tough competition out there and everyone wants to win. The team have beaten everyone before and there's nothing to say they can't do it again.

Do you think you proved a point in 2012?

Maybe for other people, but not for myself. I knew I could still perform well in F1 given the right opportunity; it was only other people who had doubts.

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