Formula One: Räikkönen begins two days of testing in Spain

Kimi Räikkönen began his return to the cockpit when he hit the track with a two-year-old Renault run by his new Lotus team in Valencia, Spain, on Monday.

This was the first time the Finn has driven an F1 car since he took part in the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for Ferrari.

Räikkönen has the Spanish track to himself for two days as he gets acquainted with the 2010 Renault R30, which he is allowed to drive outside of the usual testing restrictions, on Pirelli demo tires.

The car was originally driven on Bridgestones in yellow-and-black livery by Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov. It was repainted in black and gold for demo purposes last year.

Räikkönen will get his hands on the new Lotus R32--which has now successfully passed its FIA crash tests--at Jerez next month.autoweek.com