Lopez has taken care of Räikkönen’s dues

Lopez has taken care of Räikkönen’s dues 

Turun Sanomat 23.11.2012 23:51 

The speculations about Lotus-team’s problems to pay Kimi Räikkönen his due salary has stirred up a big sensation on the F1-paddock. Gerard Lopez assured to Turun Sanomat that Kimi has got his money. 

– Kimi has scored much more points than we expected. That’s why we had to alter the bugdet-foundation and now he has got his money, Lopez said. 

– Everything is in order between us. Would Kimi had signed a continuance contract with us if it wouldn’t be in order? Kimi is a smart guy. He doesn’t do any stupid things. Räikkönen has now 206 WC-points and one victory. Since the salary bonuses depend upon points and results he has exceeded the pre-estimation of costs that they had taken into account in Lotus. 

How many points did Lopez expect Räikkönen to score when he made the contract with him one year ago?

– I was expecting about 120-150 points in the endresults and 5th or 6th in the WDC-standings, Lopez tells.

– If I had listened to myself right from the start then I would have believed myself that Kimi is 3rd. But when listening to other people and getting reminded over how Michael Schumacher’s comeback had succeeded it was difficult to balance the expectations. Now Kimi has once again proved to everyone that he is a brilliant race driver, Lopez reveals. 

– Over 200 points is a really tough result from Kimi and thanks to that we have secured the 4th position in the WCC-serie which will bring much more money to the team. 

Lopez emphasizes that he is really satisfied with hiring Räikkönen – and also in keeping him in the team next season. 

The Coca-Cola -deal was like a GP-victory Lopez smiles easily since Lotus got Coca-Cola as their sponsor for next season. 

– It feels really good, it feels as good as Kimi’s victory in Abu Dhabi, Lopez said. 

What about expectations for next season?

– We want to be 3rd in the WCC-serie and hopefully we are due to this fighting for several GP-victories, Lopez listed. 

Turun Sanomat, Sao Paulo 

HEIKKI KULTA

Fonte: Turun Sanomat / Tradução para o Inglês: Nicole

Cada vez que leio um dos chefes da Lotus elogiar Kimi, fico ainda mais orgulhosa de já saber há muito tempo o que eles só descobriram agora.

E fico muito aliviada que esteja tudo certo com Kimi e a questão financeira. Tenho certeza que a Lotus saiu ganhando muito mais com a chegada do Iceman. Certeza absoluta.

Beijinhos, Ludy