Kimi Raikkonen to ramp up testing programme on day two with Lotus

Kimi Raikkonen is set for more intense running on the second day of his comeback Formula 1 test with Lotus on Tuesday.

The Finn completed just over 300km in a 2010-specification Renault R30 at Valencia on Monday using three sets of Pirelli's very durable demonstration tyres.

He has four sets of Pirellis available for Tuesday's running and is scheduled to complete more laps than on the first day as the team is hoping to give him more long runs as part of a wider-ranging programme.

"We'll do some more high and low-fuel runs," Lotus track operations director Alan Permane told on Monday. "And there will be a few more set-up changes as we did some basic ones today.

"There will also be some procedural stuff like starts that will be subtly different to what he experienced at Ferrari, just to get him up to speed before he drives the new car."


Lotus has structured its running around Raikkonen's needs, with re-acclimatising to F1 his priority ahead of the first pre-season test at Jerez, which starts on February 7.

As Raikkonen left F1 before refuelling was banned in 2010, giving him experience of varying fuel loads is also key.

"It isn't a traditional test, it's more about doing what he wants and getting him up to speed," said Permane.

"We wrote a run-plan and pretty much stuck to it [on Monday]. But I said to Kimi in the morning that the test is really for you and that if you want to do something different, that's fine, let us know.

"But he just got on with it. We did a few little set-up changes and ran the car on a very high fuel load because that's something he didn't do as he left F1 before the refuelling ban came in.

"So it gave him a feel of the car on 150kg [fuel levels] when there's a difference of four or five seconds a lap. The plan is for more of the same on Tuesday."

Raikkonen is looking forward to the extra mileage on what is his first experience of an F1 car since November 2009.

"Obviously you get more into the zone with the more laps you complete as you discover more about the car and the tyres," he said.