Kimi Raikkonen has admitted he travelled to Australia recently unsure if he would be immediately back up to speed in formula one.
The 2007 world champion spent the last two years rallying, after Ferrari ended his last F1 contract a season early.
"I always felt I could make a return to grand prix racing," said the Finn ahead of his second race of 2012 with Lotus.
"But, I can confess now, I got some good answers (in Australia) to my own minor doubts how quickly you can adapt the racing rhythm after being away for some time. The speed is there," added Raikkonen.
The 32-year-old has previously won the Malaysian grand prix with McLaren and Ferrari.