Lotus believes letting Raikkonen focus on racing key to his success

Raikkonen took his first triumph since the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix with victory in Abu Dhabi, just a week after he re-signed with Lotus for another year.

Team principal Eric Boullier believes that one of the main factors in allowing Raikkonen to do so well on his return to F1 has been in giving him the right atmosphere to get on with his job.

When asked by AUTOSPORT if the way Lotus has handled him has boosted Raikkonen, Boullier said: "You should ask him - but I believe yes. This is something I was keen on from the beginning.

"The first time I met him I talked to him for two hours in my office. And clearly you could see the guy was not happy, because the enjoyment of Kimi is racing and winning.

"Beyond that, you need to ensure that his agenda and schedule is variable."

Boullier also sees the future getting even better for team and drivers now that their relationships have bedded down.

"It is just a question of more experience and time," he explained. "In one way we had two new drivers this year, so to build a team, and build a winning team, you need so many parameters in place.

"One is time and experience, and we learned this year with our drivers that there can be ups and downs. Now, Kimi is right there for both qualifying and the race."