Returning Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen says that he was in serious discussions with both Williams and Renault for a 2012 return, but says that "everything worked out" with the Renault deal in the end.
Raikkonen confirmed his return to the Formula One grid with the Lotus Renault GP team on Tuesday morning, ending speculation linking him with a Williams drive.
He had initially been linked with the Grove-based team last month, as a replacement for Rubens Barrichello.
And Raikkonen admitted in an interview with the Renault team on Tuesday that he had been in discussions with both teams for his return, before choosing Renault.
"I got the call from certain people in Formula One and certain things happened," he non-specifically explained.
"Then we managed to have a nice conversation with Lotus Renault and ended up making a deal with them, so I'm very happy with that."
He added: ""There were two options [for 2012]. It was either this team or Williams and in the end everything worked out with Lotus Renault as we wanted, so that's really the reason [to choose Renault]."
The Finn will rejoin the sport in 2012 after spending two seasons taking part in a mix of motorsport activities, from rallying to NASCAR.
And he admitted that it was his NASCAR cameos earlier this year that convinced him to push for a return to on-track racing, admitting that he had missed competing with other drivers.
"I never really lost the passion in racing in Formula 1, but maybe all the things around it," the notoriously PR-unfriendly Finn muttered.
"But I did some NASCAR races earlier this year and I started to miss the racing more and more and racing against each other, because in rallying it's against the clock, really. That's what I was missing."
And the 2007 champion also insisted that there was no issue with his motivation for F1, despite his somewhat lacklustre final seasons with Ferrari before his departure from the sport.
"I wouldn't have come back if I wasn't motivated," he growled, "There is always a lot of talk about the motivation but nobody really knows what I do or what I think except for myself, so I don't really care about what people say.
"I enjoy to come back. I wouldn't put my name in a contract if I didn't think I'd enjoy it. It will be interesting. It will be exciting to get back."
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