Kimi Raikkonen sure Lotus just needs better luck to be at front

The new Lotus E20 has shown good flashes of speed in qualifying and the races, but incidents have meant neither Raikkonen nor team-mate Romain Grosjean have yet shown what the car is fully capable of.

Raikkonen though has faith that the potential is there - and that a weekend of no penalties or misfortune will finally allow him to deliver.

"I think we've got off to an encouraging start," Raikkonen told the Lotus website about the first two races. "It's been frustrating sometimes with the chassis issues in testing, the qualifying mix-up in Australia and the gearbox change in Malaysia, but we've shown we can deal with any problems and come back stronger.

"It feels like I've never been away; the team has done a good job and I'm working well with them which makes things easier. The car feels good and we clearly have the pace to be at the front; we just need some better luck."

Raikkonen also says he already feels fully at home at Lotus - and that the atmosphere at the Enstone-based team is helping him shine.

"Maybe people see me as more relaxed, which I think is down to the team," he said. "It's a different atmosphere to what I've experienced before; everyone is very open and laid back but at the same time they work extremely hard and pay a lot of attention to detail.

"I feel comfortable here which helps me to focus on racing; I guess that's why people seem to think I'm a different person, but I'm just as focused and motivated as before."