Raikkonen questions if Lotus have budget for title push
18 March, 2013
Kimi Raikkonen
Australian Grand Prix winner Kimi Raikkonen, and 2013′s early championship leader, has questioned whether Lotus can keep up its winning pace throughout the season.
The Finn beat formidable opponents Fernando Alonso, of Italian giants Ferrari, and Red Bull’s triple consecutive reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel to the chequered flag in Australia.
Asked if Lotus – whose budget is also eclipsed by McLaren and Mercedes – can keep up the pace in Formula 1′s era of constant and rapid-fire car development, former McLaren and Ferrari driver Raikkonen was unsure.
“I’m sure we have the people, all the tools,” he said.
“The money is a big part,” said Raikkonen, referring to Enstone based Lotus, whose previous incarnations were the championship-winning works Renault and Benetton teams.
“For sure we don’t have the same budget as Ferrari or Red Bull or Mercedes but we could show last year that … we did pretty well on the money and the things we have,” he added.
“Of course it’s not going to be easy for us,” he admitted.
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- Hans Stuck says Raikkonen could win the title
- No team orders as Lotus allows Raikkonen and Grosjean to duel
- Lotus set fourth place target for Raikkonen led team
When the car is stable Kimi smooth driving excells button n Vettel are the only other drivers close
if it means that kimi could win the titlle i think that genii will bankroll the deveopment of the car. i just hope that they can keep it up. Would love it for mclaren and lotus to both be up their at the end of the season. although the former is a long shot at the moment i agree.
I would love to see Kimi beat Alonso and Vettel this year if McLaren can’t.