Raikkonen and Pic star at ice racing event 25 Feb 2013
Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen and Caterham’s Charles Pic were the star attractions at a unique ice racing event in Russia over the weekend.
The pair were competitors in the ‘Race of Stars’, a long-running motorsport contest co-organised by Renault in which drivers race 4x4 cars on a specially-constructed ice track within Moscow’s Hippodrome.
Speaking afterwards, former rally driver Raikkonen said: “It was good to be back on an ice track after a while away. It made a change from Barcelona and my regular F1 car!
“You need a very different driving style on ice - you have to be very smooth on the throttle and brakes and feed the steering in. But a small drift can also be pretty fun… I enjoyed it, particularly seeing so many fans out here.”
Pic added: “I enjoyed the day with Renault and it was cool to be part of such a big event. This was my first time driving on ice and it was great fun. I tried out the Renault Duster, which was fitted with snow tyres. It was an experience and tricky to find the grip on the slippery surface.
“Then I tried out the Logan with the studded tyres and it was even harder! It took a few laps to get up to speed but once I got used to it I enjoyed it.”
Raikkonen and Pic will be back in more familiar surroundings when they take part in the final pre-season F1 test of 2013 in Barcelona. It runs from February 28 to March 3.
For tickets and travel to 2013 FORMULA 1 races, click here.
For FORMULA 1 and F1 team merchandise, click here.
