Raikkonen roars home for Lotus

Kimi Raikkonen proved he actually does know what he is doing after finally ending Lotus’s long wait for a Formula One victory.

There was a moment in the chaotic and breathtaking Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that summed Raikkonen up, and will be aired on many a season-review reel in years to come.

Raikkonen had inherited the lead from Lewis Hamilton on lap 20 as for the second time in two years at the Yas Marina Circuit, and second time in the last five races, the Briton retired whilst on course for the win.

Told over the radio Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was five seconds behind and he would be kept informed of his pace, a clearly irked Raikkonen retorted: “Just leave me alone, I know what I’m doing!”

Then with 14 laps left, and running behind the safety car for a second time in the race, Raikkonen was told to keep working all four tyres.

Again his response was classic Raikkonen as he said: “Yes, yes, yes, I’m doing that all the time. You don’t have to remind me every 10 seconds!”

Yet Raikkonen drove flawlessly throughout, holding off a charge from Alonso. By taking the chequered flag, it was his first win since the Belgian GP in 2009 — albeit with two years away — and for the Enstone-based team, their first since the 2008 Japanese GP. For the Lotus name this was their first triumph since the 1987 USA East Grand Prix in Detroit.

The Finn, who earlier this week signed a new one-year deal with the team for 2013, said: “I’m very happy for the team — and myself — but mainly for the team. It’s been a really hard season for them. Hopefully this will give them more belief.”

Behind him there was mayhem on occasion, with Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg running into, and flying over the top of, Narain Karthikeyan’s HRT on lap seven, bringing the safety car out for the first time.

After Hamilton’s retirement, and with Raikkonen controlling the race at the front, a second safety car disrupted his rhythm when Sergio Perez collided with Lotus’s Romain Grosjean, who in turn collected Red Bull’s Mark Webber, the latter duo both retiring.

Raikkonen’s performance aside, Sebastian Vettel’s drive from pitlane to podium was sensational, the German finishing third to the likely astonishment of second-placed Alonso.