PARIS (AP) — Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen will have back surgery and miss the final two races of the Formula One season.
Lotus said in a statement Sunday that Raikkonen will skip next week’s United States Grand Prix and the season-ending Brazilian GP at the end of this month. The team has not said who will race in his place.
The 34-year-old Raikkonen has had back pain in recent months and almost missed the Singapore GP in September when the problem flared again.
Raikkonen’s Lotus career, in effect, is over. He will drive for Ferrari next year.
