ESPNSTAR.com columnist Steve Slater believes the past few weeks have been a PR triumph for the struggling Williams F1 team.

Whatever the outcome of any return from retirement by 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, the past few weeks have been a PR triumph for the struggling Williams F1 team. The build-up to this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been dominated by speculation that 32 year-old Finn, who last raced for Ferrari in 2009, will make a return to Formula One with the British team.

The prospect of a world champion in the driving seat certainly hasn't hurt William's ability to negotiate a major sponsorship deal with the Gulf state of Qatar. Its national bank, QNB, is set become a major supporter of the Williams team in 2012.

Not bad going for a team which is in the doldrums. Williams, who won nine world championships in the 1980s and 1990s, haven't won a race since 2004.

In recent years the team have produced some of the most innovative cars on the starting grid. The have led the way with creative aerodynamics (remember the walrus nose?) and this year a fielded radical new gearbox, smaller and lighter to that on any other car. The trouble is that those innovations have not given them results.

This season has been the worst in the team's history and they hold a distant ninth place in the Constructors World Championship standings. Only Team Lotus, Marussia Virgin and HRT have been less successful this season.

It was back in August that Raikkonen was first spotted visiting the Williams factory and the rumours had been growing ever since. It is believed that the Qatari funding has been the key to a deal.

Some see Raikkonen's return as being little more than a stunt to boost the Williams team's flagging image. Critics have pointed to Kimi's lack of motivation in his final season at Ferrari and wonder whether he will make sufficient effort if he doesn't achieve expected results quickly.

I personally think that Raikkonen's ability to develop a car is seriously under-rated. Some McLaren engineers will tell you that while Kimi may be monosyllabic while talking to the press, his engineering feedback is sharp, incisive and accurate. He could be just what Williams need.

Maybe we will see an intriguing ‘battle of the past champs' next season. It will be fascinating to see how any such comeback compares with that of his old rival Michael Schumacher and which can drive their respective team to greater things.

There are also some interesting rumours still surrounding Felipe Massa's future at Ferrari. The Brazilian, who trails team-mate Alonso by over 100 championship points, has a contract with the Scuderia for another year, but then again so did Raikkonen and he was paid to sit-out the 2010 season.

Although recent rumours that Nico Rosberg may jump ship to Ferrari from Mercedes have been quashed by the German signing a contract extension this week, there is little doubt that the last two races of this season and the first races of next will be pivotal to Massa's Ferrari future.

Rosberg's confirmation at Mercedes GP Petronas to the end of 2013 may also prompt a decision on Force India's driving line-up. I suspect that Vijay Mallya was holding back on his confirmation of di Resta and Hulkenberg for 2012 in case Mercedes decided to take up their option on di Resta.

Meanwhile let's not forget that there are still two races left of the 2011 season and our new double world champion is continuing to challenge the record books. Sebastian Vettel comes to Abu Dhabi with a perfect record of two victories in both the 2009 and 2010 twilight races.

Vettel has so far won eleven of the 17 races this season. If he were to win both the final rounds, he would equal Michael Schumacher's record for the most wins in a season, 13 wins with Ferrari in 2004.

Is that Vettel's new challenge? You can bet it is!