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Lotus boss confident Raikkonen will stay
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Lotus expects to finalize an investment deal imminently and is confident Kimi Raikkonen will decide to stay on next season, according to the Formula One team’s principal Eric Boullier.
“Yes, I am (confident). He loves this team. He likes to be here and he likes the environment we created for him,” the Frenchman told reporters after Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix.
“I understand he needs to be reassured about the strength of the team financially, the technical challenge we have to face for next year... it’s normal.”
Boullier said he expected new investment, first announced in June, to be finalized by next week’s Italian Grand Prix to put the team on a secure footing.
Raikkonen, the 2007 champion who is out of contract at the end of the year and has been linked to other top teams, indicated at Spa that his salary had not been fully paid and Lotus knew what had to be resolved before any talks could begin.
Boullier said the issues alluded to by Raikkonen, who won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and is currently fourth in the standings, were being addressed.
“They are solvable if we can put in place the package we want to put in place,” he said.
Lotus announced in June that a consortium of private investors, including an American hedge fund manager and an Abu Dhabi-based multinational business group, had acquired a 35 percent stake.
However, owner Gerard Lopez subsequently revealed the deal had not been finalized. “We are still working on it but I think we solved most of the issues now and so we expect before Monza to get the deal completely done,” said Boullier.
Raikkonen has been linked to Red Bull and a return to Ferrari but being No. 1 at a well-financed Lotus is an attractive option.
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