Kimi Raikkonen's return in F1, was confirmed on Tuesday, as team Lotus Renault signed him for 2012 season. The 32 year old Finn, World Champion of 2007, is delighted to return in F1, after spending two seasons competing in the World Rally Championship. "The main reason was that I never really lost the passion for racing in Formula 1, just maybe for all the other things around it. But when I did some NASCAR races this year I noticed that I was increasingly missing the racing side, to race against each other, because in rallying you really race against the clock," he said.

Raikkonen took the title in 2007 with Ferrari, but the next season he was overshadowed by his teammate Felipe Massa. He left Ferrari and F1, to be replaced by Fernando Alonso. It was said by many that he lost his passion for F1. But his statements say otherwise. He seems very happy with his return and fully motivated. "I would not have come back if I wasn't motivated. There is always a lot of talk about motivation but nobody really knows what I do or what I think apart from myself so I don't really care about what people say. But I'm happy to be coming back. I wouldn't put my name onto a contract if I didn't think I'd really enjoy it, so it will be interesting and exciting to get back!"