In Focus. Kimi Räikkönen.
Kimi Räikkönen is the most successful Finnish driver in Formula 1 to date, having competed in a total of 343 Grand Prix races, accumulating 1865 points across his career and winner of the 2007 drivers championship under Ferrari.
A driver with an impressive career to date spanning 20 years in Formula One, let’s dive deeper into Kimi’s journey so far.
Name: Kimi Räikkönen
Nationality: Finnish
Current Team: Alfa Romeo Racing
Current Teammate: Antonio Giovinazzi
2021 Current Driver Standing: 17th (2 points)
Road To Formula One
Like with most Formula One drivers Kimi started at a young age in the karting scene, his career karting spanned several years which eventually led him to the British Formula Renault Championship, in which he won the championship season back in 2000.
A Career-Spanning 20 Years
Apart from his brief break between 2010 and 2011, where Kimi had taken part both in NASCAR and the World Rally Championship, Räikkönen’s career in Formula one has currently spanned over almost 20 years.
His career in Formula one started back in 2001, in which he was given the chance to race for Sauber, and after excelling in several tests, he was signed for the 2001 Formula One Season. At the time, Räikkönen had been incredibly lucky to be given the chance to drive at the top of motorsport with only having 23 semi-professional races under his belt at the time.
It was not long before the Critics had been silenced, with a brilliant start to his first season in Formula one racking up 8 finishes in the top 8, aiding Sauber at the time to a 4th place finish in the constructor’s championship. The Fin was starting to get more attention.
In his second season of Formula One, he was given the opportunity to drive for McLaren, taking the mantle of another famous Finnish driver at the time and his mentor, Mika Häkkinen, who had been driving with McLaren since the early 90s.
Räikkönen’s first season with McLaren got off to a fantastic start landing a Podium finish during the Australian Grand Prix. That season he had grown in skill and landed a total of 24 points and 4 podium finishes in the 2002 season.
Räikkönen continued to race with Mclaren between the 2001 and 2006 season, and during his third season in the sport, saw him claim his first Championship race win during the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Competition during these early years of the sport, for Räikkönen, was challenging with Michael Schumacher dominating the Formula One arena, and with the likes of other young, up and coming drivers making their mark including Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.
During his last few seasons with Mclaren, it was a mixed bag, with several issues around the car, the Finn was still able to battle strong against some of the greats in Formula One, which lead to the next stage of his career.
Joining one of the most prestigious teams in Formula One
Running up to the 2007 Formula One Räikkönen had signed a 3 year deal with the elite Formula One team. Ferrari. He would be driving alongside Felipe Massa for the 2007 F1 Championship.
2007 was an iconic year for Räikkönen, which would add him to the hall of fame, amongst the motorsport elites. Not only was this the year he sat in the cockpit of one of the most iconic teams in the sport, but it was the year he would be crowned the World Drivers’ Championship, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
Kimi would spend two more seasons with Ferrari, before taking a short break from Formula One. Returning to his Finnish routes of rally driving competition in the 2010 season of the World Rally Championship, which he performed well, taking 10th place in the championship that year.
Return to Formula One
2012 saw the return to Formula one for Kimi, taking a seat in the newly returning Lotus team. It was not the return to the sports fans and arguably Kimi had been hoping for, ending the 2012 season 74 points behind Vettel.
2014 another significant year in his career saw him return to the team, where he had one of his Championship. Ferrari.
2016 through to 2018 under Ferrari, saw the Finn perform well, and give fans glimpses back to the great driver Räikkönen. His final season with Ferrari in 2018, ended well finishing third in the Drivers’ Championship.
Fast forward to the present
From the 2019 season to the current season, Räikkönen has joined the Alfa Romeo Racing team, for what has been a largely disappointing few seasons to date with the team, scoring only a handful of points.
As we look back on an impressive career in Formula One, this is not the end of Räikkönen’s career and as the second half of the 2021 season, is set to begin, we are hoping to see more exciting races from the Finn.
