Lotus: Raikkonen targets second world title in 2012
Kimi Raikkonen may have struggled in Monaco, but Lotus knew the track wouldn't suit the E20. However, upcoming races are suitable to the car's aerodynamics and given that the car has been quick mostly everywhere, victories are just around the corner.
Raikkonen struggled in Monte Carlo having missed all of the first free practice session with a steering issue. In the race he had moved in to a competitive position early on but struggled to look after his tyres and dropped away, inheriting ninth late in the race when Michael Schumacher retired. Boullier, however, points out that Raikkonen is still just one race win behind the championship leader and believes that Lotus should be able to fight for that victory at the next race.
"In the end, the two points we've scored are disappointing but because the field is so tight we have not lost too much ground on our opponents," Boullier said. "We have the same number of points as Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship, while Kimi is 25 points away from Fernando Alonso who's leading the drivers' classification. Anything can still happen and the championship is wide open. We're now looking forward to Montreal, the first low downforce track of the season, where the E20 should be strong."
Looking back at Monaco, Boullier added that the car was quicker than the race result shows but that a poor qualifying performance proved costly.
"We arrived in Monaco after two consecutive podiums and did not really know what to expect at such a unique circuit. Before qualifying it was obvious that the E20 was going to be competitive, but things did not go as planned. Our positions on the grid did not reflect our true pace and that put us on the back foot for the rest of the weekend."
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