Kimi Raikkonen

Consortium takes 35 percent stake in Lotus F1

London: The Lotus F1 team announced on Tuesday that a consortium of private investors, including an American hedge fund manager and an Abu Dhabi-based multinational business group, had acquired a 35 percent stake.

The British-based team said in a statement that Infinity Racing Partners Limited had joined Luxembourg-based Genii Capital, who retain the remaining 65 percent through an investment vehicle, as shareholders.

Genii's head Gerard Lopez will continue as chairman of what was formerly the championship-winning Renault team before the outfit changed its name.

The statement said Infinity Racing also included "royal family interests of a major oil producing nation" among its investors. It named Mansoor Ijaz as chairman, with Suhail Al Dhaheri as vice-chairman....more    

Lotus team principal Boullier confident of recovery

Despite poor performances in Monaco and Montreal, Lotus team principal Eric Boullier is confident that his team will bounce back to be at the front of the grid. Lotus' lead driver Kimi Raikkonen started the season with a win in Australia and also by claiming four other podiums. In Bahrain both the drivers finished in top three. In the last two races, Lotus managed to take three points and added...  

Raikkonen ideal replacement for Webber, says Gerhard Berger

Former Toro Ross boss Gerhard Berger believes that Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen could be an ideal replacement for Mark Webber after the Red Bull veteran vacated his Formula One seat at the end of the year. Webber's future has been in serious doubt with Red Bull as his current contract is set to expire at the end of the season. Both Toro Rosso drivers - Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo...  

Raikkonen and Ricciardo demoted for pit lane error

Montreal: Formula One title contender Kimi Raikkonen and Australia's Daniel Ricciardo were handed two place grid penalties for Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix after pit lane offences in qualifying. They were penalised by Formula One stewards for jumping the queue to leave the pit lane after the second qualifying session had been halted when Brazilian Felipe Massa crashed his Ferrari. All the cars returned to the pits while the track was...  

Under-fire Perez says his Monaco move not stupid

Montreal: Sergio Perez has defended himself against criticism that he drove like "an idiot" at last month's Monaco Grand Prix, insisting he did nothing wrong. The Mexican came under fire from rival drivers after he collided with Formula One title contender Kimi Raikkonen in the most recent race of the championship but was adamant he was not to blame. "Every manoeuvre that you try to do in Monaco to try...  

Kimi Raikkonen closes in on F1 record scoring run

London: Kimi Raikkonen has one of Michael Schumacher's Formula One records in his sights this weekend at the Canadian circuit where the now-retired seven times world champion won more races than anyone else. If 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. Naturally,...  

Raikkonen in the hunt without the Hunt

Monaco: Formula One title contender Kimi Raikkonen has covered up a tribute on his helmet to late champion James Hunt after the lettering was deemed to contravene television regulations. The party-loving Lotus driver, second in the championship at present, is a big fan of Britain's 1976 champion and once entered a snowmobile race under Hunt's name. He has also paid tribute to him in the past with Monaco helmets. This...  

Vettel under pressure to get pole at Monaco GP

Monaco: Sebastian Vettel needs to rediscover his speed in qualifying if he is to protect his overall Formula One lead at the Monaco Grand Prix. Monaco is the hardest track to overtake on in F1, with only two drivers winning from outside of pole position in the last 10 years, so starting from the front is crucial. But Vettel's Red Bull has not been its usual dominant self in qualifying...  

Kimi Raikkonen would rather be left alone

Monaco: Kimi Raikkonen would much rather be left alone but he is happy to admit that sometimes he does not know what he is doing. Social media is never going to be the Finn's thing and the Lotus driver has never hidden his distaste for interviews but he overcame his reluctance and spoke to Reuters at the Monaco Grand Prix - albeit stressing: "That's not the reason why I am...  

Kimi Raikkonen plays down Monaco Grand Prix chances

Monaco: The Monaco Grand Prix should be less about tire degradation and more about pole position, as Formula One returns for its showcase race on a street circuit that is notoriously difficult to overtake on. That will be good news for Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, but less so for Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen. Vettel, the three-time defending Formula One champion tops the championship standings by four points from Raikkonen, who...  

Ferrari, Lotus the F1 winners on return to Europe

London: The first European race of the Formula One season provided a boost for Ferrari and Fernando Alonso, with Lotus and Kimi Raikkonen also smiling, but left plenty of other former champions feeling the pain. While Red Bull retained their lead in both championships, they struggled with similar tyre problems to others in Barcelona on Sunday with triple champion Sebastian Vettel finishing off the podium with his lead over Raikkonen...  

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso wins Spanish Grand Prix 2013

Barcelona: Fernando Alonso won the Spanish Grand Prix by nearly 10 seconds in a dominant performance in front of his jubilant home fans on Sunday to close the gap on championship leader Sebastian Vettel and get right back in the Formula One title race. Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen finished second for the third straight race, with Alonso's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa in third spot as most drivers chose a four-stop...  

Felipe Massa sets fastest time in final practice in Spain

Barcelona: Felipe Massa gave Ferrari a boost ahead of qualifying later on Saturday by posting the fastest time in the third and final practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix. The Brazilian driver left it very late in his run to clock a best time of 1 minute, 21.901 seconds in mostly sunny conditions, enough to edge out Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen by .006. Mark Webber was third quickest in his...  

Raikkonen focuses on title challenge, not future

Barcelona: Kimi Raikkonen is confident he can put questions about his future to one side and fight for the Formula One title this season. Four races into the season, the 2007 champion is second overall and only 10 points behind three-time defending champion Sebastian Vettel heading into this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix. Rather than play down his chances of a second F1 title, the 33-year-old Finn says "it would be...  

Raikkonen fastest in second practice at Bahrain GP

Sakhir: Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen drove the fastest time in the second practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix, followed by the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel on Friday. Raikkonen, who won the season-opening Australian GP and lay second behind Vettel in the drivers' championship, was 0.03 seconds faster than Webber and 0.12 quicker than Vettel. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was fourth while his teammate Felipe Massa, who topped...  

Lewis Hamilton grabs pole position at Chinese Grand Prix

Shanghai: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position for the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton's best time on Saturday at the Shanghai International Circuit was 1 minute, 34.484 seconds, qualifying a quarter of a second ahead of Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso will start third in Sunday's race. A cat-and-mouse qualifying session saw all runners restrict their time on the track to preserve their tires for the...  

Kimi Raikkonen to start 10th after grid penalty

Raikkonen's teammate Romain Grosjean was eleventh fastest after the rain scuppered his Q2 lap on new tyres; forcing him to abort his final attempt. ...