• Malaysian Grand Prix

Raikkonen hopes for steering solution

Kimi Raikkonen was encouraged by the Lotus performance in Australia © Sutton Images

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• Race:
• Malaysian Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Kimi Räikkönen

• Teams:
• Lotus F1

Kimi Raikkonen hopes that Lotus has found a steering solution for him in time for the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend.

Although he enjoyed an impressive return to Formula One as he climbed from a grid position of 17th up to 7th in Melbourne, Raikkonen was unhappy with the steering in his car and had the steering column changed during practice. It was an issue that had also arisen during the final pre-season test, and Raikkonen said that it was proving a difficult problem to fix but that there were some potential solutions to be looked at in Malaysia.

"We have some things [to try]," Raikkonen is quoted by Autosport. "It is just a matter of getting it right. It is many things. It is not as I have been used to in the past, and it is not as perfect as it should be. The team is working hard since we knew about the issue, but it is not the easiest thing to fix. But we have a new one to try and hopefully it will be OK."

Having completed his first race weekend in over two years, Raikkonen said that the car has impressed him and that it feels similar to the performance levels of 2009.

"The feeling is the same. The downforce is more or less the same as it was at that time. Maybe we have more now, but handling wise it is very similar. In the race it was good. There are areas you want to improve, but it is never going to be perfect. You always want something better."

Raikkonen added that he had been pleasantly surprised by the durability of the Pirelli tyres in race conditions and that he felt he could have one-stopped in hindsight.

"The tyres were really good. I took it easy, and probably I expected to have more problems with them. I didn't have any knowledge, so I was surprised how well it went. The second set [in the race], I think we could have run the whole race with them."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.