Kimi Raikkonen insists that an on-going back problem will not prevent him participating in this weekend's Korean Grand Prix.

On the eve of the Singapore weekend it was revealed that the Finn was suffering pain in his back, something he'd suffered for many years but which was further aggravated by the bumpy surface of the Marina Bay street circuit.

While the pain dissipated enough for the Finn to take a superb third in the race, and in spite of media speculation that the pain had really brought about by the situation at Lotus which sees him moving to Ferrari for 2014 and having admitted that he has not yet been paid for this season, since Singapore it has been claimed that Raikkonen will undergo surgery over the winter break.

Speaking at the start of the Korea weekend, the Finn was at pains (sorry) to halt speculation that the pain could see him sidelined.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't going to race," he told reporters. "It would be a bit pointless to come here if I didn't think I was racing, but on Friday we will see.

"Right now it is okay," he continued, "but it is always difficult to say until I drive and I see how it is, but I don't think it will be a problem. This isn't the first time I've had to deal with it and I'm sure it's not going to be the last. It's something I've had to deal with for a long, long time, and sometimes it gets bad, sometimes not.

"I've been okay every year I've been racing, but sometimes I have to deal with the pain," he admitted. "Obviously with every year you get older you seem to come up with more issues. I'm sure we can deal with those things."

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