Biography of Kimi Räikkönen, “the ice man”
In every season of Formula One, a handful of drivers stand out, either due to their extraordinary ability behind the wheel or their exceptional personality.
However, some people possess both of these qualities, and the protagonist of this new chapter can brag about having both of them.
Temperamental when talking on the radio but otherwise ice cold outside the circuits.
You are aware of the person we are speaking to, aren’t you? You should now have a good idea of what to do.
That’s right, Kimi Raikkonen will be the central figure in the events that occur in the following lines.
The championship has been filled with so many beautiful moments thanks to his contributions; they all deserve to be remembered.
Biography of Kimi Raikkonen (1979 – present)
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way let’s talk about a fantastic driver who, along with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, helped make one of the most successful eras in the history of modern Formula One.
With all of you: Kimi-Matias Raikkonen.
1. Principles
The “Iceman,” or “Iceman,” depending on what you prefer to call him, was born on October 17, 1979, in the city of Espoo (Finland), which is located in the southern part of the Nordic country.
The fact of the matter is that, contrary to what we typically observe in the formative years of a pilot, his brother Rami, and not their parents, was the primary influence in his development of a passion for driving vehicles with four wheels.
And another thing is that although his father, Matti, worked in road construction, he had no connection whatsoever with the rival company.
Kimi Raikkonen is notable for several reasons, one of which is that he began his career in the world of karting at a significantly older age than is typical for most drivers (he started his first attempt when he was ten years old).
This pastime had to have been passed down from Rami, a rally driver who excelled in that field.
He won the junior championship of his country and competed in Formula 3 at the national level.
When Little Kimi started competing in national and international championships for karting and motorsports, she began to kill her curiosity for those activities.
His training stage on these vehicles lasted for ten years because he did not transition to single-seaters until he was twenty years old.
In the interim, between 1996 and 1997, he served his mandatory time in the Finnish Armed Forces as part of his national obligation.
After finishing all his duties, he was free to concentrate on his career in racing.
In 1999, he competed in Formula Ford at the European level, and he did so while driving for the Haywood team. This event took place in Europe.
His overall performance resulted in a fifth-place finish in the competition’s final classification.
During the same year, he also competed in the British Formula Renault, which he would go on to win with the Manor team in the following year’s competition.
That victory was the launchpad that propelled him to the Grand Circus. His dominance was unrivaled, as evidenced by winning seven of the ten races he entered and finishing on the podium in every one of those races.
That final baggage must be supplemented with seven pole positions and six fastest laps.
In Formula Renault, he also demonstrated excellent performance, as evidenced by winning two races, setting two fastest laps, and finishing in the pole position twice.
It was abundantly clear that it was time to advance the discussion.
2. Introduction to the Formula One Championship
The year 2001 marked the debut of a young man with no beard and blonde hair. He competed in the most competitive class of four-wheeled motor racing.
Kimi Raikkonen was presented to the general public for the first time as Sauber’s new driver when he was 21 years old.
Peter, the head of the Swiss team back then, had been very attentive to the genius of that reserved young man, and as a result, he signed him and allowed him to make his way in Formula 1.
His excellent impressions on the tracks were more important to the head of the manager than the curriculum vitae.
It did not matter that he had no experience in other championships of a higher pedigree, such as Formula 3000 or Formula 3, for example.
Naturally, he was required first to pass a test administered in September of that glorious year for Kimi, in addition to other tests administered in Montmeló and Jerez.
After those tests were completed, the Finnish driver started his career in the Grand Circus alongside his teammate, the German Nick Heidfeld, stationed in the pit box.
The long-awaited debut finally took place at the Australian Grand Prix in 2001.
It was a great accomplishment for him, as he achieved a milestone by coming in sixth place and earning his first point.
He finished with nine valuable points to make the team a position in the top four of the constructors’ championship.
In his first season, he posted some impressive results, including a fourth-place finish in Austria and a fifth-place finish in Canada, one of the most prestigious venues being Silverstone.
It was a fantastic year for him, and it was going to bring him a critical prize—the signing by a winning team such as Mclaren—so it was well worth the wait.
His countryman Mika Hakkinen was going to retire, and Woking needed a worthy successor to their two-time champion to continue their winning streak.
They were able to satisfy their requirement thanks to Kimi.
3. The fantastic opportunity presented by both McLaren and Ferrari
During his second season, possibly earlier than anyone might have anticipated, he signed with the championship team with the second-most wins.
As a result, he was in an advantageous position to earn his first victories while behind the wheel of that black-and-white single-seater.
During this crucial competition, the Scottish man David Coulthard served as his first teammate (2002-2004).
Despite a promising beginning, in which he finished third on the podium at the Australian Grand Prix, things did not go well for him in 2002.
He retired as many as eleven times, and the victory in the French Grand Prix, held at Magny-Cours then, was stolen from him when he ran off the track a few laps before the finish.
Coulthard was in a much better position than the young Kimi because he had 41 points, while Kimi only had 24.
Because of the lessons, he learned in 2002; he was able to mature and achieve success in 2003 when he won for the first time and finished in second place.
The always-sweltering Malaysian Grand Prix provided the sport’s first truly memorable moment.
After this, he proceeded to the following available podium, which brought his total to ten.
His reliability was undeniable, and he was only two points away from taking the championship away from Michael Schumacher when he made his move.
2004 was another underwhelming year for him and the Woking team, as they competed against a Ferrari that dominated the competition and three other teams that outperformed them in terms of overall performance.
The only bright spot was the impressive win at Spa-Francorchamps, which was followed by podium finishes at Silverstone (2nd), Interlagos (2nd), and Shanghai (2nd) (3rd).
Another fantastic championship opportunity presented itself in 2005; this time, Ferrari was not the team setting the pace.
However, a strong Renault and Fernando Alonso, who demonstrated what he had been warning about over the past few years, prevented him from proclaiming himself to be the best.
The McLaren was a bullet but unreliable, a factor that worked against him throughout the entire season.
On top of that, the team announced that they would be signing Alonso for the 2007 season before the close of the previous season and the beginning of the next preseason.
His future is highly uncertain, and it’s possible that this uncertainty hindered his performance in what was his final season with the English.
He didn’t win a single race and was relegated to fifth place. His departure from the Monaco circuit, after which he abandoned the race and got on a yacht that was docked right next to it, will live on in infamy.
Following the bombshell that announced that Michael Schumacher would retire, everyone in the paddock was curious about who would succeed the Kaiser at Ferrari.
Finally, the Prancing Horse put his faith in his extensive experience and the two second-place finishes he had earned and entrusted this significant responsibility to him.
They did not want any experiments to occur in Maranello, especially after they brought on board the individual who had come so close to stealing the drivers’ world championship from them years earlier.
His first stage, which he completed while wearing a red suit, was a roller coaster, just as it had been for him at McLaren.
However, he got off to a strong start by winning in Melbourne, which eventually served as the foundation for him to become the Formula 1 world champion.
It was precisely in that turbulent year for his former team, with the tremendous internal tension between those who supported Lewis Hamilton and those who did the same with Fernando Alonso. During that time, his former team finished in last place.
To make matters even more difficult for them, the FIA deducted all of their points for the act of espionage that they had committed, which allowed Ferrari to win both championships.
Despite having the number 1 on the nose of the car, he was unable to reproduce his best performance and was passed by his Brazilian teammate Felipe Massa, who put the Scuderia on his back to win the race.
In any event, he went on to win two more races at Montmeló and Sepang, in addition to seven other podium finishes, which allowed him to finish third overall and contributed to the revalidation of the constructors’ title.
His final season, 2009, was not his best on the track due to changes in the regulations, which caused Ferrari to fall from its position as the top team, and he only won at Spa.
After failing to reach the same level of success as in previous years (5), he decided to head home instead of continuing to compete in the rallies.
4. Transition through rallying and NASCAR racing
He embarked on this journey with Citroen and the subsidiary team it provided, but the best result he could muster was a fifth-place finish in Turkey.
Other than that, he did not have much success. Over the two years, he finished in tenth place.
Additionally, he attempted his luck in NASCAR, but he only ran in a single race, in which he finished 27th.
Because he was unable to adjust to the other forms of competition, it was inevitable that he would return to Formula One.
5. A second attempt at Formula One
His gamble paid off as he finished third in the world championship and brought the former Renault car back to the top step of the podium in Abu Dhabi after Lotus stepped in to save him and allow him to compete again in 2012.
In addition to that, he was able to score points in all of the races except Bahrain.
It appeared that 2013 could be the year of his reconquest; however, after a great start in which he won in Australia and finished on the podium in four of the five races he competed in, he became deflated.
This was in part due to the financial difficulties of the team, which prevented them from paying him.
Because of this, in addition to the problems he was having with his back, he decided not to compete in the most recent two races, which took place in Austin and Interlagos.
However, it was announced that he would return to Ferrari to replace Massa, who had been his teammate in the previous stint and would be working alongside Fernando Alonso.
The year 2014 was not a good one for either of them, as they were performing well below their best, and the same thing was true of the cars.
Following Fernando Alonso’s departure, he accepted the role of the second driver for Ferrari from 2015 until 2018 to assist Sebastian Vettel in bringing glory back to Maranello.
However, this did not occur. Bear in mind, this time, his farewell was very successful, as he won once more in Austin and returned to his previous level of consistency.
Despite this, the choice to bring in Charles Leclerc was made after the team could not prevail against Mercedes.
He completed the circle by returning to his original team, which competed under Alfa Romeo at the time.
He contributed his experience and earned a fourth-place finish in Brazil in 2019, his greatest accomplishment in his final season before retiring.
It was announced that he would compete in NASCAR in 2022; let’s hope he will once again provide one-of-a-kind moments as he did in the Grand Circus.
¿Did you like the content?
