'Group Lotus Ambassador' Jean Alesi has welcomed the team's signing of 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen for the 2012 Formula One season, saying that Kimi's driving will be more crucial to the team than his car development skills.
Raikkonen will return to the sport for the first time since 2009 after signing a two-year contract with the Lotus Renault GP team from the start of 2012.The move is part of the team's renewed efforts to move forwards in F1, after an unsuccessful and somewhat turbulent 2011 season.
Raikkonen was not seen as being a particularly strong car developer during his previous time in F1, something that may have appeared to be an important asset for a team needing a boost in performance.
But Alesi has said that Raikkonen's driving speed will be more key than his development work, saying that the sport was now less focused on development of the car.
Asked to compare Raikkonen to Michael Schumacher, a man renowned for development work, he mused: "Michael was brilliant at that, but it isn't working for him now at Mercedes.
"I think this is a reflection of how F1 has developed in recent years and re-prioritized. Now you just need to focus on having a quick driver, someone who does the job."
He added: "The great thing with Kimi is he extracts the maximum from a quick car. When the car was good at McLaren and Ferrari he was always winning. [The team] will expect him to extract the maximum from the Lotus as well."
Alesi added that he was sure that Raikkonen would make a success of his return to Formula One, saying that the Finn's move to the team was "exciting" for the whole Lotus company.
"Kimi has more natural speed than just about anyone who has ever raced a Grand Prix car, and if he's coming back it's because he wants to do it, he misses F1, and he believes he can do well," the Frenchman explained.
"He has had a short break, which was a little bit forced by Ferrari. I think he was fed up with the system and wanted to take time out, which I can totally understand.
"But now he's coming back, with Lotus, so it's really exciting."
And asked if the signing would 'fire up' the whole team, he added: "F1 teams need a driver who will consistently set lap times that are 100 percent on the edge.
"That is what a driver of Kimi's caliber can do, to dance on the edge and never fall off.
"From that, the engineers get a baseline. They understand the true speed of their car and can make changes accordingly. It eradicates any doubt."
He added: "I expect Kimi will be a very valuable tool indeed. But I don't expect a lot of talking outside the car! I'm sure he hasn't changed a bit."
Raikkonen is expected to race alongside Vitaly Petrov at the team for 2012, with the Russian having a contract with the squad for next season.
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