Lotus have confirmed that Finnish driver Heikki Kovalainen will indeed be replacing Kimi Raikkonen for the remaining two races of the 2013 season. Raikkonen will miss the remaining two races of the season as he will be undergoing back surgery.

It emerged yesterday that following Hulkenberg turning down an offer to take over, Kovalainen became the next favourite to drive out the season for the team.

Lotus have announced the news via Twitter saying, “@H_Kovalainen will join the team for the final 2GPs this year #WelcomeHeikki #GetWellSoonKimi”.

The move comes as a surprise for many who expected that 2012 GP2 Champion Davide Valsecchi – Lotus’ reserve driver – would step into the cockpit for the Austin and Brazilian Grand Prix.

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier said in a statement on the team’s website, “Obviously we had to move quickly following the news of Kimi’s non-participation in the final two races of this season, and we found ourselves facing a difficult decision in terms of who should take the wheel in Austin and São Paulo. On the one hand we had our reserve driver Davide Valsecchi – who is a talented young driver that has shown a great deal of promise – and on the other we had the opportunity to bring in a seasoned Formula 1 competitor in Heikki.”

“Whilst we have every faith in Davide’s abilities, we are obviously involved in a tight Constructors’ Championship battle, so it was decided that the experience Heikki could bring to the team would be invaluable as we aim to finish the year in the best position possible. We must thank Tony Fernandes and Caterham F1 Team for their professional conduct in allowing Heikki to join us for the final races of this season.”

Kovalainen, who has experience with the current cars and tyres having done FP1 work for the Caterham team, is also gearing up for a full time return to the Caterham team in 2014.

Kovalainen is very excited about the opportunity saying, “It is a fantastic opportunity for me to join Lotus F1 Team for the final two races of 2013. We’ve seen this year that the E21 is a car which can win races and finish on the podium, so I will be pushing hard for the best results possible. 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 about getting up to speed. This is a great opportunity for me, so I would like to thank Tony Fernandes and Caterham F1 Team for allowing me to take advantage of it.”