Finland’s Heikki Kovalainen will return to Formula One as a stand-in for compatriot Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus in the final two races of the season, the team said at the US Grand Prix in Austin yesterday.

Raikkonen, currently third in the championship, announced on Sunday he would be missing the races in Texas and Brazil because he needed back surgery.

Kovalainen, a former McLaren, Renault and Caterham driver and veteran of 109 starts, has not raced since the end of last year.

“Jumping into a car so late in the year when you have not been competing in the races all season will be a challenge but I know the team at Enstone well so I have no concerns,” said the 32-year-old.

Lotus principal Eric Boullier recognised the team had faced a difficult decision, with Italian reserve driver Davide Valsecchi overlooked for the seat.

Praising last year’s GP2 winner as a talented youngster with “a great deal of promise”, Boullier said they had opted nonetheless for Kovalainen as a seasoned competitor.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.