Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen will make his return to Formula One in 2012 after signing a two-year contract with Lotus Renault, the team said on Tuesday.
Championship leader Kimi Raikkonen gave McLaren their third straight win on Sunday.
If Kimi Raikkonen finishes in the top 10 in Montreal, the Lotus driver will equal Schumacher's record of 24 successive Grands Prix in the points - even if the statistics are deceptive because scoring systems have changed.
Formula One 'Iceman' Kimi Raikkonen lapped fastest for Lotus in the Bahrain desert heat on Friday after Ferrari had set the early practice pace.
The 23-year-old Finn has 48 points compared to the 44 of Ferrari's second-placed Michael Schumacher.
Kimi Raikkonen made a forgettable start to his world title defence when a fuel pump problem ruined his chances of securing pole position at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. The Finn will start Sunday's race from the unfamiliar place of 16th on the grid after his Ferrari broke down at the end of Saturday's first qualifying session at Albert Park.
The Formula One gossip factory is in full swing over the future of Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen. And McLaren are not doing any more to stop the rumour mills surrounding the Finnish driver's next move.
The McLaren driver took the fight to Michael Schumacher with the top time in the first qualifying for Sunday's European GP.
The Finn made a triumphant start to his Ferrari career with a pole-to-flag victory in the season-opening Formula One race.
Kimi Raikkonen will not drive for Formula One champions Red Bull next season after talks broke down, his manager said.
Brazilian Felipe Massa announced on Tuesday he is leaving Ferrari at the end of the season, opening the door for Kimi Raikkonen to return to the Formula One team that took him to the title in 2007.
Kimi Raikkonen took pole position on an all-Ferrari front row for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Toyota have offered Kimi Raikkonen a deal for next season but the 2007 Formula One champion's management wants more, according to the team's motorsport president John Howett. The party-loving Finn has said he wants to be in a competitive car, and Toyota have yet to win a race since they entered the sport in 2002.
Kimi Raikkonen returned to the top of the Formula One podium for the first time since 2009 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, leaving his Lotus team in no doubt that he knew what he was doing.
The Ferrari world champions said on Thursday he had no explanation for the run of four races without a point that has wrecked his title defence.
Sebastian Vettel cocooned himself from distraction, took inspiration from Kimi Raikkonen's astonishing 2007 title comeback and then shed tears of joy on becoming Formula One's youngest champion on Sunday.
He will start on the front row alongside Renault's Fernando Alonso. India's Narain Karthikeyan qualified on 17th place.
Renault took second and third place with Italian Giancarlo Fisichella and newly-crowned champion Fernando Alonso respectively.
Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen stretched his Formula One lead to nine points with a dominant win from pole position in the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday.
Kimi Raikkonen says his McLaren needs to be more powerful as well as more reliable if he is to win the championship this season.
Finland's Kimi Raikkonen won the season-opening Australian Formula One Grand Prix for Lotus on Sunday, beating Ferrari's Fernando Alonso into second place at Albert Park.
The winner of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix is just four points behind Red Bull's triple world champion Sebastian Vettel after five of the 19 races and hitting the sort of form that brought him the title as a Ferrari driver.
Kimi Raikkonen will miss the last two races of the Formula One season in Texas and Brazil after deciding to have back surgery next week, the Lotus driver's manager said on Sunday.
Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen is unlikely to return to Formula One, he was quoted as saying on Saturday.
Kimi Raikkonen gave Lotus a dream start to the Formula One season on Sunday with a winning strategy carried out to perfection in the Australian Grand Prix.
The final three races will decide whether Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, Williams' Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya or Raikkonen takes the F1 title.
Germany's Nick Heidfeld was second for Williams with Australian team mate Mark Webber third for his first podium finish.
Renault's Fernando Alonso will replace Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari next season, the Italian team said Wednesday. Spain's Alonso, World champion in 2005 and 2006, has signed a three-year deal and will partner Felipe Massa next year.
The glass was half full for Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene after Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, even if Kimi Raikkonen filled it almost to the brim before sloshing the contents around.
Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen embarks on a new career in the World Rally Championship this weekend but the Finn is under no illusions about how difficult the season-opening event in Sweden might be.
World champion Kimi Raikkonen will not be given preferential treatment over Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa this season, Ferrari's new team boss Stefano Domenicali said on Wednesday.
Kimi Raikkonen says he is determined to keep up his rallying activities wherever the Finn ends up after leaving Ferrari at the end of the Formula One season.
The Ferrari driver was confirmed as 2007 F1 world champion after a court rejected a McLaren appeal that could have handed Lewis Hamilton the title instead.
Kimi Raikkonen made clear on Friday that his Lotus Formula One team had issues to resolve before he could have serious discussions about staying on next season.
Kimi Raikkonen's Formula One comeback picked up speed on Monday when the Finn got back behind the wheel of a two-year-old Renault grand prix car at the Valencia circuit in eastern Spain.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances