Paris: With former world champion Kimi Raikkonen returning to Formula One from rally driving and French prospect Romain Grosjean getting a second chance, the ambitious Lotus team has two drivers with a point to prove heading into the new season.
Raikkonen, the 2007 F1 champion, geared up for next weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix with the best time of the final test session in Barcelona last weeekend. That capped an almost perfect week for Lotus, which had the fastest lap on three of the four test days as Grosjean showed his promise by topping the grid twice.
"I think we'll have a lot of fun in the season ahead and hopefully we will get some good results," said Raikkonen, who is returning to F1 after a three-year absence, as is Grosjean.
"I want a strong enough car to challenge for good results. I think we will have a good relationship (with Grosjean).
"I met him before Christmas, and I raced against him in 2009."
Raikkonen was lured back to F1 as the team's No. 1 driver after Robert Kubica's recovery from his 2011 rally crash proved slower than hoped.
Lotus will want to avoid a repeat of last season's chaos at all costs.
Kubica missed the whole season after his crash, and the Pole was replaced by German driver Nick Heidfeld then by Brazilian Bruno Senna. After a bright start, with 60 points from the first seven races, form nose-dived to such an extent that the team managed to win only five points in the last seven races as a difficult season fizzled out.
Lotus will not only target more points this year, but also race wins.
Although Grosjean will probably be aiming for the odd podium place, the remarkably consistent Raikkonen will be an outside threat for the title. He has won 18 races in his F1 career, 62 podiums in 157 races, and his total of 35 fastest laps puts him third on the all-time list behind German Michael Schumacher (76) and Frenchman Alain Prost (41). He has won the Belgian Grand Prix more than any other driver, with a clinical four wins from his last five visits to Spa, the ultimate driver's circuit.
Raikkonen, who took the 2007 F1 championship by one point ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso after winning the last two races, produced his greatest race win at Suzuka in 2005. Starting from 17th on the grid, he beat Giancarlo Fisichella on the final lap.
"I think people expect things from me," the 32-year-old Raikkonen said. "As long as I know that I'm giving 100 percent, and I'm happy with my driving, then I'm happy."
After his stint driving in rally and NASCAR, the Finn thinks he is coming back to a far more exciting F1 championship than before.
"For sure the show is better. The tires make a difference too, as there is a big speed difference between when the tires are new and when the tires are old," he said.
"In the old Formula One, you had to be so much faster than the guy in front of you to have any chance to overtake, but now with the tires and the DRS (Drag Reduction System), it's different."
The 25-year-old Grosjean will also be keen to repay Lotus for showing faith in him.
"I think the team has a really good lineup for this year, with Kimi and myself. Hopefully we can do something special," he said.
"I think I'll only truly realize it when we get to Melbourne and I see my name on the official entry list."
Grosjean may have thought he would not sit in an F1 cockpit again after his previous experience.
His F1 career was short-lived in 2009, when he was promoted to a race seat alongside two-time champion Alonso. But he failed to live up to expectations, with his best finish from seven races a mediocre 13th in Brazil.
But the ease with which he won the GP2 series last year was enough to convince Lotus to give him another chance.
"The 2009 experience was very helpful for me to understand things and grow up from that point," Grosjean said.
"So it was difficult, but very good as well. The 2012 Romain Grosjean sees life a little bit different. My aim is to enjoy my No. 1 passion."
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