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 Raikkonen prepared for the brickbats
Noncsi  2011.11.30. 23:42 
	Flying Finn Kimi Raikkonen insists he is ready to take the brickbats and face down the sceptics as he prepares to return to Formula One racing next season after signing a two-year deal with Lotus Renault GP. 
	  
 
	Lotus announced their move for the 2007 world champion on Tuesday two years on from a suprise move to pursue a career in rallying and Raikkonen said he was already looking forward to his return to the grid. 
	  
	"I couldn't care less what people say," he insisted in a team press statement. 
	"I would not have come back had I not been motivated. 
	  
	"There's still a lot to be said - but nobody really knows what I do or say. I really don't care what people say - I am happy to be coming back," said the driver nicknamed The Iceman and a veteran of 18 Grands Prix wins with Ferrari. 
	"I never really lost my passion for Formula One - just maybe for all the other things around it. But when I did some Nascar races this year I noticed that I was increasingly missing the racing side - to race against each other - because in rallying you really race against the clock. 
	  
	"And then I got the call from certain people in Formula 1. All sorts of things happened and we managed to have a nice conversation with Lotus Renault GP and make a deal," he explained. 
	On Tuesday, Raikkonen had exlained that "I can't deny the fact that my hunger for F1 has recently become overwhelming. 
	totalf1.com 
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