Sir Jackie Stewart has praised Kimi Raikkonen after the Finnproved he remains good enough to compete in Formula One.

Doubts had been raised when Raikkonen opted to end his two-year sabbatical in the World Rally Championship and return to F1 with Lotus.

After a subdued start from the Enstone-based team, in which performance failed to live up to potential, Lotus finally came good in the Bahrain Grand Prix. Raikkonen finished second behind Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, with team-mate Romain Grosjean in third.

It was the first time since the 1979 Spanish Grand Prix that two Lotus drivers finished on the podium, and three-times champion Stewart, a brand ambassador for team owners Genii, was suitably impressed.

"It's a genuinely great performance by a very good team of people who have come together so well," said the Scot. "It's not been easy to take over a team, to get them to gel and get them all to come together. But it was a great performance, and I'm sure everybody back at Enstone must be out of their mind with joy.

"Kimi's performance, in particular, after so many people had doubted whether he could come back and be successful, was amazing. Most people thought he wouldn't have the fitness to do a whole race. A lot of people were making those kind of comments.

"So to come back and answer them like he did, and in only his fourth race . . . and he could have won it, it was that close at one point. So I'm thrilled for the whole team, and the other side is that [Lotus founder] Colin Chapman must be pretty pleased up there looking down. They have hardly had any success since the team broke up, so it's great, fantastic."

Eric Boullier, the Lotus team principal, had expressed his frustration following the first three races in which his marque had managed just 24 points. He was left much happier in Bahrain.

"I am very happy for the team because they have worked very hard," said Boullier. "After the frustration we've experienced at the start of the season it has finally paid off. Now there's a sort of relief because I'm happy to prove we can do it.

"It's good to be fighting for the podiums and the points, and if we have an opportunity to win, then of course we will grab it. I hope we can put ourselves in a position to challenge in every race."