Kimi Raikkonen is targeting victory for Lotus when Formula 1 returns after a three-week break at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Lotus driver full of confidence after second place in Bahrain
Kimi Raikkonen is targeting victory for Lotus when Formula 1 returns after a three-week break at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Finn won the World Championship with Ferrari in 2007, and also had stints with Sauber and McLaren, but has spent the last two season driving in the World Rally Championship.
The Enstone-based team persuaded 32-year-old to return to F1 this year, and he took the team's best result in its current guise with a second place in Bahrain.
Lotus had chassis problems at the Circuit de Catalunya during pre-season, forcing them to sit out the first of the two tests at the venue, but with those issues behind them, Raikkonen is aiming for the top step of the podium in Barcelona.
"I am here to race and I race to win," he said.
"That is the target for me and the team. We want to win grands prix. We have a good car and we saw in Bahrain it is good enough to win. That's the target."
Prior to Bahrain, the 'Iceman' had endured a difficult start to his comeback, qualifying 17th in Australia and finishing outside of the points in China, but he insists he never doubted himself.
"I never had any doubts in myself and it is clear we have a good car so in some ways the podium could have come sooner," he said.
"We had the car already in the first three races to be up there, but we made some small mistakes and it cost us a lot.
"I would have been much happier if we had managed to get the victory, but nevertheless it's a good result and the team deserved it for all their hard work. We have been good in every race so far, so hopefully we will be regular visitors to the podium this season."
