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Kimi braced for F1 sceptics

PARIS, France - Kimi Raikkonen insists he is ready to face down the doomsayers as he prepares to return to Formula 1 in 2012 in a two-year deal with Lotus Renault GP.

The 2007 World champion, who has been rallying for two years, said he was already looking forward to his return to the grid. "I couldn't care less what people say. I would not have come back had I not been motivated," he said. "There's still a lot to be said - but nobody really knows what I do or say.

"I really don't care what people say - I'm happy to be coming back."

'I NEVER LOST MY PASSION'

Raikkonen, nicknamed The Iceman, is an F1 veteran with 18 Grands Prix wins for Ferrari.

He said: "I never really lost my passion for F1, just maybe for all the other things around it. But when I did some Nascar races in 2011 I noticed that I was increasingly missing the racing side, to race against each other, because in rallying you really race against the clock.

"And then I got the call from certain people in Formula 1. All sorts of things happened and we managed to have a nice conversation with Lotus Renault GP and make a deal."


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