Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has picked out Kimi Raikkonen as his "star driver" of the 2013 season.

Raikkonen finished fifth in the final driver rankings for Lotus Renault after missing the final two races because of surgery on his back.

"This year I suppose I have to call Kimi the star driver, with the equipment he had," Ecclestone wrote in a foreword to the official 2013 Formula 1 season review.

"I think he was motivated on hope that he was going to get paid. He's a good guy to have in a team, good for us, good for the team. He's super, he's a racer."

Next year Raikkonen will return to Ferrari, the team with whom he won the 2007 World Championship.