test2wa

Steve Slater

It says a lot for the way in which Kimi Raikkonen is revered by fans, that the return of the feisty Finn completely swamped any news from the 2011 finale in Brazil. He has certainly added an unprecedented buzz to the end of the season.

It is not just 2007 world champion's driving performance that marks him out. It is the way that Kimi goes racing that makes him special.

Unlike the chatty reigning champion Vettel, who is a PR man's dream, Kimi is equally monosyllabalic in both his native Finnish and English. However fans around the world love him anyway, because has never - and will never - fit in any mould.

This is the man who once used the pseudonym "James Hunt" when he took part in a snowmobile race, an activity specifically banned by his Ferrari contract and the morning after the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix, the newly crowned Formula One world champion was apparently found fast asleep on a sofa in his hotel lobby, clutching a large inflatable dolphin. You can't imagine Vettel doing that, can you?

Rumours of Kimi's return to Formula One began in August when Raikkonen, who has spent the last two years contesting the World Rally Championship in a Red Bull-backed Citroen, was spotted visiting the Williams Grand Prix team. An announcement was expected around the time of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. However a silence indicated that all was not well.

It seems that Kimi was less interested in the financial transactions with Williams than in being offered a shareholding in the team. Clearly that did not appeal to fiercely independent team owners Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head.

It had been rumoured that Kimi had spoken to Renault team principal Eric Bouillier back in 2010, so its not too surprising therefore that Raikkonen was promptly back in touch again. The 32 year-old Finn's return will no doubt be underwritten by Malaysian investment from Proton, owners of Lotus Cars, for who it will be an enormous boost have a world champion as an ambassador.

It will be a boost to the Lotus Renault GP Team too. It clearly needs a leader to replace the still-injured Robert Kubica (who I think is more likely to test with Ferrari some time in 2012) and it seems that Russian driver Vitaly Petrov has not lived up to the team's expectations.

Petrov and Force India's Adrian Sutil are the two drivers most likely to be on the move in the ‘musical chairs' among the mid-order teams. Each of the teams ahead of them in the Constructors Championship standings; Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes, will keep the same driver line-ups for the 2012 season, while Force India is expected to confirm 2011 test driver Nico Hulkenberg alongside Paul di Resta.

If as most expect, either Bruno Senna or French GP2 Champion Romain Grosjean are selected to partner Raikkonen at Lotus Renault, the Williams team will have an added choice as they ponder their options.

Until Raikkonen's arrival, it was almost a forgone conclusion that Adrian Sutil would join Pastor Maldonado at Williams, replacing veteran Rubens Barrichello. If Petrov is on the market, that decision might be deferred.

Sauber and Marussia have already confirmed their driver line-ups, leaving India's two Grand Prix drivers fighting for an ever-shrinking number of seats. Frankly, I can't see either Narain Karthikeyan nor Karun Chandhok being keen to rejoin HRT, leaving Caterham (formerly Team Lotus), who are I believe still debating whether to draft in new talent to replace Jarno Trulli.

Chandhok, one would expect, should be in pole position having been the team's third driver. Then again Karthikeyan has the more effective management team, which raised a big budget from Tata and Hero Honda to allow Narain to start his home GP. Can either driver prevail? Watch this space!