Sarcastic sense of humor combines Lopez and Räikkönen

Sarcastic sense of humor combines Lopez and Räikkönen 

F1 | Turun Sanomat 

11:03 

Gerard Lopez smiles to all the evil-spirited rumors going around the world that try to infect his and Kimi's relationship as if the men would never had even talked to each other. 

 - I can honestly assure you that we didn't try to hire Kimi until for this season. We had never discussed, but at the time I saw stories where he said that he would never come to us and that we claimed we would never take him. 

– Afterwards we have laughed about this episode together with Kimi. It's a funny situation how these stories are born. It's difficult to control F1. Sometimes when there aren't any news they start to create them out of thin air, Lopez told Turun Sanomat in an exclusive interview. 

Then how did hiring Räikkönen start? 

- I knew a bit of Kimi's reputation from before. I had read a lot about him, but I decided that it's best to forget everything I have read and start from a clean sheet and see what happens. 

- Kimi integrated at once with the team. He is very co-operative. On a personal level we quickly became buddies. Kimi talks a lot, which was very surprising. He is very friendly, honorable and a fun guy who is completely concentrated on racing. 

– I have known Romain Grosjean for a long time and it's a really nice feeling to work with both of the guys. I think we have the best driver duo in the serie. 

 – We don't talk all the time just about racing with Kimi. We like each other, because we both have a similar sarcastic sense of humor. Kimi, me or my businesspartner Eric Lux are not blinded by F1. We like it, we love it. F1 is a fantastic sport but everything related to it isn't fantastic. On this I agree completely with Kimi, Lopez said. 

Taking out the best both ways

You seem to be able to get the best out of Räikkönen? 

- Kimi gets from the team and correspondingly the team gets the best out of him. Lotus is probably one of the most committed racing teams. Our focus is in racing and that's what all of us aim for. We don't do politics, we just race. Kimi understood this immediately. All we want is for him to be quick in the car. The rest comes after that and is hence easier. If we would do the opposite and ask first for everything else, then racing would be in the background, Lopez emphasizes. 

- Before anything else we care about the results. Kimi has good relations with the team management - Eric Boullier and James Allison. Kimi is very straightforward and when there is something to say he says it out straight. This makes everybody's life easier. 

Successful season doesn't surprise at all 

How surprised is Lopez over the team's and Räikkönen's promising positions in the WC-battle? 

– I don't want to sound arrogant, but I can honestly say that I'm not surprised at all! 

- If you think logically about what has happened, we took a big risk last year with the exhaust system. Our car was the only car where the exhaust was directed forward. When we started to design the new car we took advantage off all the information from the car which we should have had last year. It was an ideal starting position to this year's car design. 

– We knew this was going to be a good car. The other phase was to get good drivers. Grosjean has had a contract with us for three years and we knew what he was capable of in GP2 and other series. Kimi again is a world champion. The only question mark was his motivation and after I had talked with him for the first time I knew immediately that he is top-motivated to come back. 

- Hence we have a good car and one young developing driver who sucks everything he can learn from the cool-headed Iceman, and a motivated Kimi that Romain makes sweat at the right time. That's why this season's results can't be taken as a surprise, they are the result of hard work. 

Ambition in place once again 

How much does it the idea of being better than McLaren and Ferrari in the F1-serie fascinate Lopez? 

– Like I said, it takes a lot of work, a lot of effort, a lot of skill. It's based upon a team that knows how to win races and championships. We have brought that ability back to Enstone, the ability that has been hidden in the team after it lost direction as a factory team due to the scandal they had experienced. 

– We give everyone a lot of selfconfidence, so they believe they can once again beat Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, anybody. 

– Since the team once again possesses a tough ambition, we have invested each time when it has been necessary. The engineers get their tools so that they can make sucess. Personally I'm not happy over beating McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull, instead I feel proud of the work the team and the drivers are doing. When they are doing well it doesn't matter who they are beating, what matters is that we are in a good position in the F1-serie. 

Alonso is no longer needed 

Is there anyone in the team who still misses Enstone's latest WDC- and GP-winner Fernando Alonso? 

– We have now Kimi who is a topdriver of the same level. We don't miss Fernando. Of course everyone acknowledges his talent - which is why he is now leading the serie, Lopez said. 

Technical manager James Allison is an important man in Lotus. 

– We knew Allison's talent and we put him in a position where he had more influence in designing the car. I know myself also how a car is built. James is the chain in the middle, but he has a good gang and I know that others also come with a lot of good ideas. 

In the management of Lopez the team in Enstone is now bigger than it was when Genii Capital bought it from Renault. Back then they had 480 people in the team, now they have 540 people in the team. 

Turun Sanomat, Monza 

HEIKKI KULTA

Fonte: Turun Sanomat / Tradução para o inglês: Nicole

Muito bom ler esta entrevista e saber que Gerard Lopez gosta de Kimi e o entendeu como pessoa também, não apenas como um piloto. Ele fez o que a maioria que já lidou com o nórdico nunca fez, tentar conhecê-lo primeiro para depois julgá-lo.

Hoje não estou nos meus melhores dias para analisar a Lotus, porque estou realmente chateada com o que ainda vamos enfrentar pela frente, mas desejo muito que eles possam voltar a ser grandes e conquistar isto com o Iceman. Não escondo que meu coração sonha com o finlandês de volta à Woking, mas sou realista, isto não é muito provável, então, desejo que esta dupla, Lotus/Räikkönen consigam ainda mais do que já estão conseguindo juntos.

Para encerrar, lembram do Eric Lux né? Da confusão com o Sutil... #aquelebabadoforte

Beijinhos, Ludy