Team boss Eric Boullier (Pictured) insists that Kimi Raikkonen isn't a part-owner of Lotus. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Raikkonen Not Lotus Team Owner - Boullier: Eric Boullier has slammed rumors Kimi Raikkonen is a shareholder in the Lotus team. It was reported that the 2007 World Champion's retainer this year was subsidized by owner Genii granting the returning F1 driver a small slice of the Enstone-based team. "He has no shareholding. It is complete nonsense," Boullier is quoted by Finnish broadcaster MTV3. "Raikkonen has a two-year contract as driver," he added. "Genii Capital holds 100 percent of the team." Boullier also dismissed suggestions Raikkonen, whose teammate is the reigning GP2 champion Romain Grosjean, is Lotus' obvious number one driver. "There is no such thing in the contract," he said.

Teams Say F1 Officials To Decide On Bahrain Return: Sauber's Monisha Kaltenborn has admitted the Swiss team will return to Bahrain this year if F1 officials say so. She is referring to the fact that, despite the island Kingdom's scheduled return to the calendar in April, there are reports the situation inside Bahrain is not yet stable. "We are not in a position to judge it too well," Sauber's managing director is quoted by Europa Press, "so we have to trust the FIA and the commercial rights owners. If they believe it is right to go there, we definitely will." Agreed Lotus team boss Eric Boullier: "It is not an easy topic. We are currently awaiting comments from the FIA about whether or not to go there." Team owner Gerard Lopez added: "What I have heard is that there are a number of guarantees in terms of what will happen, so if things look good there is no reason why we shouldn't go."

Renault Still Lotus Team Sponsor - Caubet: Lotus — the former Renault team — will continue to receive the French carmaker's backing in 2012. The Renault chassis name has now departed the grid, but Renault remains one of F1's few engine suppliers. While the French marque's focus is the championship-winning Red Bull team, the word 'Renault' remains prominent on Lotus' new black and gold E20 car livery. Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, however, said the Enstone-based team is now paying for its 2.4-liter V8 power. "But only 70 percent," said Renault's Jean-Francois Caubet, "because we remain sponsors of the team from Enstone. We also have a technical collaboration that relates to KERS and the turbo V6 engine that will come in 2014."

Grosjean Thanks Knockers For 2009 Criticism: Romain Grosjean has thanked those who wrote him off after his disappointing 2009 debut. When Nelson Piquet was ousted amid the developing 'crashgate' scandal, Swiss-born Frenchman stepped in at Renault and failed to shine alongside Fernando Alonso. So he returned to GP2, winning the title in 2011 and earning another chance at the Enstone-based team — now Lotus — under new management. "To the people who did not believe in me, thank you — you made me stronger," the 25-year-old is quoted by the French language sport24.com. Grosjean admitted, however, that his problems of 2009 were not other people's fault. "I think I was not ready, I made mistakes. I did some good things too but I overall I was not up for it," said the Frenchman. "I must say the past two years were very useful and very interesting for me, and now I'm more prepared."

Van Der Garde 'Surprised' By Jerez Test Day: Giedo van der Garde has admitted to surprise at his inclusion in Caterham's test plans this week. Originally, the former Lotus team scheduled the four days of the Jerez session to be split evenly between Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli. Italian veteran Trulli, however, has been shunted from Thursday's schedule in favor of van der Garde, the Dutch former GP2 driver who has been signed as Caterham's 2012 reserve. "We are very curious to see him at work in our new car," said team chief executive Riad Asmat, according to Dutch-language reports. "I am surprised and delighted with this opportunity," added van der Garde, who is backed by the sponsor McGregor. "I am fit and ready to get the best out of the car and myself."

Lotus Frustrated With 'Reactive Ride Height' Ban: Eric Boullier has admitted frustration with the FIA's decision to ban reactive ride height systems. Lotus looked to have stolen the march with the clever technology ahead of 2012, but when the other teams started asking the governing body for approval, the FIA closed the avenue altogether. "We invested time and money and always kept the FIA informed of our progress," team boss Boullier is quoted by Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport. "It was frustrating, but it will not impact on our performance." The Finnish broadcaster MTV3 quoted the Frenchman as elaborating: "It took a lot of time to get the system in place — a couple of years in fact. "We are not stupid, so we checked the progress with the FIA at all stages. We believed it was beneficial, but the benefit would not have been massive." The benefit also would not have been immediate, as explained by technical boss James Allison. "We would not have used it in the car from the very start," he told Auto Motor und Sport. "For us, it was part of the development program."

Raikkonen To Reunite With McLaren Engineer: Kimi Raikkonen will have a familiar race engineer for his return to Formula One this year. Finnish reports in Turun Sanomat and the broadcaster MTV3 claim the 2007 World Champion will work with Mark Slade. Slade, recently at Mercedes GP working alongside Michael Schumacher, was Finn Raikkonen's race engineer at McLaren years ago. Turun Sanomat said they will start to work together at Barcelona at the last test before Melbourne. "I wanted him and I am pleased that it worked out," Raikkonen confirmed.

Sauber's Key Headed For Le Mans With Lotus: Sauber's departing technical boss James Key appears headed for Lotus. On the eve of its 2012 car launch, the Swiss team announced that it will not replace the departing Briton Key, who has accepted an offer to work in the UK. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said it is rumored Key is headed for Lotus. Not the Enstone-based F1 team, however, but sponsor Group Lotus' motor racing program, including Le Mans. Sauber managing director Monisha Kaltenborn denied the Hinwil-based team cannot afford to replace Key. "If we look back 20 years, the team have always lacked funds," she insisted. Kaltenborn defended the bare look of the 2012 car's livery. "We are in negotiation with new partners so I am quite confident our livery will look different by the time we hit the first race," she said. As for Key, "For some time both sides had the feeling that things were not working anymore, and what has happened is the outcome," La Gazzetta dello Sport quotes Kaltenborn as saying.