Kimi Raikkonen believes Lotus has what it takes to race at the front this year, even though it has not been able to show that form in the first two grands prix.
The new Lotus E20 has shown good flashes of speed in qualifying and the races, but incidents have meant neither Raikkonen nor teammate Romain Grosjean have yet shown what the car is fully capable of. Raikkonen has faith that the potential is there, and that a weekend of no penalties or misfortune will finally allow him to deliver.
"I think we've got off to an encouraging start," Raikkonen said. "It's been frustrating sometimes with the chassis issues in testing, the qualifying mix-up in Australia and the gearbox change in Malaysia, but we've shown we can deal with any problems and come back stronger.
"It feels like I've never been away; the team has done a good job and I'm working well with them which makes things easier. The car feels good and we clearly have the pace to be at the front; we just need some better luck."
Raikkonen also says he already feels fully at home at Lotus, and that the atmosphere at the team is helping him shine.
"Maybe people see me as more relaxed, which I think is down to the team," he said. "It's a different atmosphere to what I've experienced before; everyone is very open and laid back but at the same time they work extremely hard and pay a lot of attention to detail.
"I feel comfortable here which helps me to focus on racing; I guess that's why people seem to think I'm a different person, but I'm just as focused and motivated as before."