• Korean Grand Prix

Raikkonen cautious over Lotus updates

The Lotus will have the Coanda-effect exhaust successfully used by McLaren and Sauber © Sutton Images

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• Race:
• Korean Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Kimi Räikkönen

• Teams:
• Lotus F1

Kimi Raikkonen is remaining cautious over the new Lotus updates, despite team principal Eric Boullier describing them as "a new era" for the team.

Lotus will have a new Coanda-effect exhaust layout in Korea as part of upgrades that Boullier hopes will allow it to challenge for victories once again. Raikkonen, however, said it was natural for the team to be positive when bringing new parts to the car but that he would reserve judgement until he tries the updates out on track.

"You have to be [positive] don't you, otherwise you wouldn't print any of this stuff!" Raikkonen said. "But we will see tomorrow, we know the numbers from the wind tunnel and the calculations but until we run anything we don't really know what it's going to bring us. So hopefully it works as we expect and it will improve our position a little but we should know after practices tomorrow."

Raikkonen also said he wouldn't be satisfied finishing in his current third position in the drivers' championship, saying it doesn't matter where he ends up if he isn't champion.

"For me it doesn't matter if I'm second or tenth, it makes no difference. I'd probably rather be out of second or third place so I don't have to go to the [FIA] prize giving [gala in December]! But seriously it makes no difference to be second or fifth if you don't win. For sure if you'd said at the beginning of the year [we'd be this competitive] we'd take it, but once you do well you want to do better and you want to all the time do better and better. We'll keep trying and hopefully we can improve."

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