Is Kimi lacking motivation to drive for Lotus?

The Rift

Could Lotus have been the best team to help Kimi win races in 2014 given their financial woes?

Raikkonen candidly admitted that the move to Ferrari was financially motivated. The reason being that while he was being paid his basic salary, he was not given performance-based incentives as per his contract.

That may have been the tip of the iceberg but in a larger perspective and for the benefit of his Formula One career, Raikkonen had to be sure if Lotus was the team that could help him to win races and probably another title. After all, that’s what every driver aspires to do in Formula One.

Raikkonen thought that Ferrari was in fact his best option and the team would help him to fight for Grand Prix victories and maybe even enable him to win a long cherished second world championship.

It was Raikkonen’s disclosure of the pay issue that left Lotus team principal Eric Boullier fuming and made things even more bitter between the team and the driver.

What followed was a cold shoulder to Raikkonen and a shift of focus towards Grosjean(not to mention the Frenchman’s resurgence as a driver), who is touted to be Lotus’ no. 1 driver next season.

He fights to win despite pain

Kimi reached the podium at the 2013 Singapore GP despite starting from 13th on the grid and fighting a re-occurring back pain.

It was at the Singapore GP that he suffered a back pain – which had pertained since a crash during testing in 2001—and was able to qualify only 13th. But then the Iceman – with his never say die attitude – made it to the podium(thanks to some brilliant driving and critical Lotus strategy) at one of the longest races of the year, on a bumpy street circuit in the sweltering Singapore heat.

That’s the attitude of a driver who just loves to ‘race’. A driver who is committed to the team and motivated to fight for a top finish despite suffering physical pain. He continued his streak of performing at his best in Korea with a second place finish but lost out to his teammate in Japan and India.

Kimi is someone who loves to drive, to win every race and thrives on going fastest on track. While the refusal to give way to Grosjean at the Indian GP was debatable(considering he might have handed over the place eventually to Grosjean given the state of his tyres and Grosjean being faster or it could have led both drivers going out of the race), it was proof enough that he was fighting and wasn’t ready to let go off his podium place.

With three races remaining, he has a third place in the table to defend and would fight for every possible point and place. The fact is that while money could be a motivating factor for the Finn, there’s nothing that motivates Kimi Raikkonen more than just driving. That’s just what the Iceman loves to do, be it at Lotus, Ferrari or any other team.