“I must say, today was very positive,” Boullier commented. “You can see that the whole team is pleased with Kimi’s feedback and Kimi himself seemed very happy to be back behind the wheel. He got the feel of the car very quickly and it’s good to see him building a strong relationship with the team. Obviously, the R30 is different to the new car, but he is clearly excited to get started at the first test in Jerez. Our team is made up of true racing people and Kimi fits into that very well.”

Also eyeing over proceedings was Trackside Operations Engineer Alan Permane.

F1 returnee Räikkönen mingles with Lotus team members and trainer Mark Arnell

“The day went pretty much as we planned, which is great,” he said. “Kimi was on the pace we expected straight away. He completed around 300 kilometres (185 miles), going through three sets of tyres. It leaves us with four sets for tomorrow (Tuesday), meaning we can run a bit longer.

“We worked on getting him comfortable in the car, giving him a feel for the setup changes and helping him get to know his engineers. It’s always great to work with a top driver who is not just quick, but professional, and Kimi has all of those characteristics. His feedback is excellent, his requests are concise and to the point. We look forward to a good season with him.”

Lotus has told GPUpdate.net that Räikkönen’s Race Engineer for the 2012 season is expected to be confirmed within the next two weeks.

GP-Update.net