The future of Räikkönen at Lotus linked to Renault’s involvement?

The future of Kimi Räikkönen continues to set the paddock ablaze. After being mentioned as a potential driver for Red Bull, Ferrari, or even McLaren, the Finn might indeed stay with the Lotus F1 team next season if he gets the assurances he is seeking.

Indeed, the future of the 2007 world champion with the Enstone team could be linked to a greater involvement of the team’s engine supplier: Renault. The brand with the diamond logo might not be fully satisfied with its media exposure following its three titles won with Red Bull over the past three years – as the Infiniti brand is now being prominently featured within the Austrian team.

Gérard Lopez, the head of Genii Group which owns the Lotus team, expressed confidence about the possibility of seeing Renault more involved with the Lotus F1 team: “We don’t need to provide guarantees. We are very competitive. The question is more about next year. We are very close to reaching an agreement with Renault. I think we have very good chances. We have done a very good job of giving Kimi [Räikkönen] what he wants.”

The Luxembourger also has high hopes that this will eventually persuade Räikkönen to extend with Lotus as he mentioned to the site f1news.ru: « We understand what Kimi expects. [Money?] No, I mean the technical side. He is interested in knowing what our relationship with Renault will be next year, things like that. The chances of him staying are very high. I really believe in it. The financial aspect is not a problem. What we are discussing are options that will allow us to establish a privileged partnership with Renault. Nothing more, nothing less. »

Eric Boullier, the director of the Lotus team, has also shown confidence, as quoted by *Pitpass*, regarding the chances of seeing Kimi Räikkönen continue behind the wheel of a black and gold car: « Yes, I am [confident]. He loves this team. He likes being here and he likes the environment we have created for him. I understand that he needs to be reassured about the team’s financial strength, the technical challenge we will face next year, it’s normal. »

A return of Renault as the owner of the team doesn’t seem to be on the agenda, but what the Lotus team seems to be hoping for is stronger involvement. As a reminder, Renault made its F1 debut in 1977. The diamond brand alternated between periods of about 10 years as a constructor, then engine supplier, then constructor again, before leaving F1 at the end of 2011, selling its team to Gérard Lopez.

But for the moment, nothing has been decided regarding Kimi Räikkönen, even more so according to Martin Whitmarsh – his former boss at McLaren who told the official site that the Finn wanted to leave his current team: « Kimi is obviously determined to go elsewhere and I don’t think he will succeed. »

There is no free seat at Mercedes, the paths leading to Ferrari and Red Bull have more or less closed, as has the possibility of the Finn returning to McLaren. He could therefore continue with the Lotus team, which wouldn’t displease Bernie Ecclestone, who according to the Finnish channel MTV3, would like a balance of top drivers across several teams.

No matter the rumors from the Lotus side and Gérard Lopez, the latter indeed hopes to reach an agreement very soon with Iceman: “We have already discussed a lot. As long as we are able to give him what he wants and we can react calmly, I think we can quickly reach an agreement.”