Kimi Raikkonen will retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2021 season - and he leaves behind a legacy unlike any other before him.
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When Kimi Raikkonen took to Instagram to make official one of the worst-kept secrets in recent times – that he was retiring – the outpouring of love from all corners was something to see. F1, like many sports, is divided strictly along fandom lines. Yet the feeling of love and affection towards the Finnish driver was unadulterated. Part of this, of course, is down to his status as an elder statesman in the sport. That he has nothing to prove anymore also probably played a part. After all, he openly admitted in Netflix docuseries ‘Drive to Survive’ that he sees F1 as little more than a hobby now. He’s accomplished what most drivers set out to do – win a world driver’s championship. He could have had more if not for circumstances denying him.
His Instagram post making retirement official was distinctly un-Kimi like. The Finn has become a cult hero among fans for his short and terse replies to any kind of questions. Yet his post was decidedly lengthy and struck an emotional chord.
As Raikkonen himself noted, the season is still on – and has 10 more races left to go. That means there are 10 more races of Kimi Raikkonen to enjoy. But now is as good a time as any to look back at his career – with all the highs and lows.
Most young drivers come into F1 and take at least a season or two to bed in. Not Raikkonen though; he scored a point for Sauber Petronas in his debut race itself. Amusingly, he had been asleep 30 minutes before the race!
His performances over 2001 were impressive enough to earn him a spot in McLaren Mercedes – where he replaced compatriot and two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen.
Raikkonen’s first season saw no wins, but he did make it to the podium four times and performed well relative to his more experienced teammate David Coulthard. Yet it was 2003 when people first saw a glimpse of his true potential.
Ferrari and Michael Schumacher had won the championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002 – the last of which was dominant to the extreme. Yet in a competitive McLaren Mercedes, he took the fight to the five-time world champion.
Raikkonen recorded one win and multiple podium finishes and went into the last race of the season needing a win. He could not get the required result, but went on to finish second – just two points behind Schumacher.
2004 was disappointing as the MP4-19 suffered severely from reliability issues. He completed two of the first seven races, retiring in the remaining 5 and taking just one point in that time.
Ferrari and Schumacher, meanwhile, were romping to win after win and by the time the McLaren began performing better, the title race was over.
2005 and 2006 saw Raikkonen notch up multiple wins but the dominance of Fernando Alonso and Renault was too much. The Spaniard took two world championships, but a team change for him and Raikkonen upped the stakes.
With Schumacher now retired after 2006, all eyes were on Raikkonen and Alonso – now of Ferrari and McLaren, respectively.
Raikkonen being in a Ferrari seemed a move that was long in the making. After all, Sauber – the team he made his debut at – used Ferrari customer engines in their cars.
Thus, impressing in a Ferrari-powered car saw more than a few people in Maranello take notice. Yet they would have to wait till 2007 to get their man.
However, his start to life at Ferrari was less than impressive. He struggled to get to grips with the Bridgestone-powered Ferrari, having gotten so accustomed to the Michelin-assisted McLaren.
It didn’t help matters that Alonso’s rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton took to the sport much quicker than anyone expected.
As such, the title fight was slowly becoming a battle between the two McLaren’s – something that had not happened since the days of the Ayrton Senna vs Alain Prost rivalry.
Yet a resurgent Raikkonen would go on to win 6 races in the season, pipping both McLarens by a point – capping one of F1’s most amazing seasons.
He failed to defend his title next year, when Hamilton won his own maiden title in memorable circumstances. In 2009, Ferrari and Raikkonen both struggled due to an uncompetitive car.
He took a sabbatical from the sport after that, returning with Lotus in 2012. He spent two eventful seasons there, winning races and finishing on the podium regularly.
But in 2014, he rejoined Ferrari and stayed there till 2019 before returning to Sauber – now Alfa Romeo, where he spent the final three seasons of his career.
Kimi Raikkonen always had plenty of fans due to his speed and daredevillery on the track. However, in later years, he gained noteriety for being his aloof and often short nature.
This included falling asleep 30 minutes before his F1 debut, and missing a ceremony featuring legendary footballer Pele presenting Michael Schumacher with a lifetime achievement award because he was ‘having a s**t’. Really. He said so himself.
But the 2012 Abu Dhabi GP was what made him a legend in this regard. On being advised of Alonso’s pace by his Lotus race engineer, he said “Leave me alone, I know what to do!”
To top things off, in the very same race, he said “yes yes yes yes I’m doing that all the time. You don’t have to remind me every ten seconds” when reminded of needing to keep tyre temperatures up.
It isn’t just his spoken word either. Often times, he can be hilarious without ever meaning to be. After retiring from the 2006 Monaco GP, he went onto his yacht – in full racing gear. He was spotted in the end of the race enjoying his jacuzzi.
He’s also known for answering questions in the shortest manner possible. When asked where the Alfa Romeo car can improve, he said “around the lap”.
He was also once asked to name three corners at the Monza circuit. “One two and three” came his answer. Or when asked how important his helmet was to him and simply saying “it protects my head”.
F1 has seen plenty of characters over the years, but none like Kimi. The Finn came, saw and conquered the sport. And, to borrow from a popular Frank Sinatra song, he did it his way.
