Kimi Räikkönen

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Kimi Räikkönen
Räikkönen at the 2002 United States Grand Prix
F1 Record
Nationality	Finnish
Car #	3
Current team	McLaren-Mercedes (Until December 31st 2006)
Team for 2007	Scuderia Ferrari
Grands Prix	102
World Championships	0
Wins	9
Podium finishes	36
Pole positions	12
Fastest laps	19
First Grand Prix	2001 Australian Grand Prix
First win	2003 Malaysian Grand Prix
Last win	2005 Japanese Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix	2006 Brazilian Grand Prix
2006 Championship position	5th (65 points)
edit

Kimi Matias Räikkönen (pronounced approximately /ki-mi ma-ti-as ræik-kø-nen/ in IPA, born October 17, 1979 in Espoo, Finland) is a Formula One race car driver for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro. He is nicknamed "The Iceman". He finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 2003 and 2005. He has driven for Sauber-Petronas (2001) and Team McLaren-Mercedes (2002-2006) and has signed a 3-year deal with Ferrari from the 2007 season onwards. He is married to Finnish model Jenni Dahlman-Räikkönen.

Contents 1 Career 1.1 Early career (until 2000) 1.2 Sauber – his entry into Formula One (2001) 1.3 McLaren (2002–2006) 1.3.1 2002 1.3.2 2003 1.3.3 2004 1.3.4 2005 1.3.5 2006 1.4 Ferrari (2007–) 2 Complete Formula One results 3 Formula One records 4 References 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Career

[edit] Early career (until 2000)

Räikkönen had a long line of success in karting from the age of ten, including placing second in the 1999 European Formula Super A championship. He also competed that year in the Formula Ford Euro Cup, and by the age of twenty, he had won the British Formula Renault Winter series, winning the first four races of the year. In 2000, he dominated the Formula Renault UK Championship, where he won seven of ten events. After racing in the Formula Renault series later in 2000, Räikkönen had won 13 of 23 events — a 56% win rate.

[edit] Sauber – his entry into Formula One (2001)

On the basis of these results, Peter Sauber gave the Finn a test with the Sauber Formula One team in September of 2000. After further tests in Jerez and Barcelona, Sauber signed Räikkönen for the 2001 season. However, some critics (including FIA president Max Mosley) voiced concerns over granting an F1 superlicence to such an inexperienced driver, having only 23 car races to his credit. He was nevertheless granted one and scored a championship point in the 2001 Australian Grand Prix, his maiden Grand Prix. Räikkönen was asleep 20 minutes before his first F1 GP (It is said that he loves to sleep - so much so that he needs to be woken up before qualifying and races.)^{[citation needed]}

Räikkönen is very calm, cool, and calculating in his race strategy - prompting the nickname "the Iceman". His other nicknames include Kimppa, Räikkä and Kimster (used by his mechanics). Some Finns jokingly call him "Räkä", meaning snot in Finnish. This nickname was derived from "Häkä" (carbon monoxide in Finnish), the nickname of Mika Häkkinen. He had a solid debut year, achieving four points-scoring finishes and eight finishes in the top eight. Completing the year with 9 points, Räikkönen, along with teammate Nick Heidfeld (12 points), helped Team Sauber to its highest ever result: fourth place in the constructors championship.

[edit] McLaren (2002–2006)

Räikkönen, long linked to Sauber's engine supplier Ferrari, instead sufficiently impressed McLaren, earning a race seat in Ron Dennis's team for 2002, taking the seat left vacant by double-world champion (and fellow Finn) Häkkinen's retirement. Criticism was levelled at McLaren for choosing him instead of his 2001 teammate Nick Heidfeld, who was thought at the time to be the better of the two Sauber drivers.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 2002

Räikkönen scored a third-place podium finish in his first race with McLaren, the 2002 Australian Grand Prix. Although McLaren suffered many Mercedes engine failures in 2002, he scored 24 points and four podiums, and held his own against teammate David Coulthard. Räikkönen came close to winning his first Grand Prix in Magny-Cours, France, but went off track due to oil from the blown engine of Allan McNish's Toyota on the circuit with a handful of laps to go. He finished the race second. He finished the season in sixth place, one place behind his team mate; Together they achieved a solid third place for McLaren in the constructors' championship.

[edit] 2003

At the opening Australian Grand Prix Räikkönen qualified 15th in the spare car. In the race he took the lead before being caught speeding in the pitlane, after a software glitch in the car's electronic system. Räikkönen held off Michael Schumacher to finish 3rd. It Malaysia, Räikkönen won the race after starting 7th on the grid. During the next round in Brazil, Räikkönen was declared the winner after the race was stopped on lap 55. According to rules the winner is decided by the race order as of two laps before the race stopped, i.e. lap 53. However a week later, evidence emerged that Giancarlo Fisichella was on lap 56 when the race stopped, therefore the winner was decided by the order at lap 54. This granted the win to Fisichella, with Räikkönen 2nd.

As other teams improved their cars, McLaren, who were still using the 2002 chassis, began to falter in terms of race speed. However, Räikkönen finished 2nd at Imola. At the Circuit De Catalunya in Spain, Räikkönen made a mistake in qualifying and had to start from the back of the grid, and at the start, he collided with Antônio Pizzonia, who was stuck on his grid position due to a launch control problem, causing Räikkönen to retire from the race.

The next few races came down more to strategy rather than speed. Whilst having understeering problems Räikkönen defended his 2nd position from Rubens Barrichello in Austria. He came extremely close to winning at the Monaco, but lost by less than a second to Juan Pablo Montoya. Starting from the pitlane in Canada after he went off track during qualifying with understeer, Räikkönen finished 6th, more than a minute adrift of race winner Michael Schumacher.

At the European Grand Prix, Räikkönen took pole, and controlled the race from the start until his engine failed on lap 25. Title rival Michael Schumacher finished 5th taking 2 points advantage from Räikkönen. Räikkönen finished 4th in France behind Schumacher but finished one point ahead of him with a 3rd place finish at the British Grand Prix. Räikkönen failed to finish the German Grand Prix after becoming involved in an accident at the first corner with Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Räikkönen finished 2nd at the next race, the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Prior to the Italian GP the FIA were tipped-off by rivals Ferrari about a tyre-illegality in the Michelin compounds.^{[citation needed]} Michelin were forced to bring in other tyre compounds and it seemed as if they had lost the advantage they had been enjoying over Bridgestone all season. McLaren also announced that they would see out the season with old MP4-17D chassis and would not bring out the MP4-18 as had been announced earlier. Räikkönen eventually finished 4th in the race, losing five championship points to race winner Michael Schumacher.

Räikkönen took pole at the US GP, but Michael Schumacher won the race with Räikkönen finishing 2nd. With one race to go, Schumacher only needed one point to win the championship. Räikkönen would need to win the next race with Schumacher not scoring any points. After qualifying 8th in Japan, Räikkönen finished 2nd while Michael Schumacher just slipped into the points to win his 6th World Championship. Montoya's retirement during the race also meant that Räikkönen finished 2nd in the championship, just two points behind Schumacher. The team also narrowly lost second place in the constructors' championship, finishing third, two points behind runners-up Williams, and 12 points behind Ferrari. Mathematically, Williams or McLaren could have won the championship at the very last race. Season 2003 was one of the closest in recent years.

[edit] 2004

The 2004 season season began with Räikkönen only claiming a single point in the first four races. His McLaren, especially the Mercedes engine, suffered repeated breakdowns, allowing him to complete just two of the first seven events. After seven rounds Räikkönen had only one point to Michael Schumacher's 60. In Canada, Räikkönen made 5 pit-stops but was classified 5th since the Williams-BMWs and the two Toyotas were disqualified. At the US GP Räikkönen finished 6th.

At the French GP, McLaren rolled out the new MP4-19B. Räikkönen finished 7th behind his team-mate David Coulthard. At Silverstone Räikkönen took pole and went on to finish second to Michael Schumacher. Following on from this encouraging display, the McLarens locked the 2nd row of the grid at Hockenheim, Germany. Both cars got off to a good start, however Räikkönen lost his rear wing on lap 13 of the race while following race leader Michael Schumacher. He would retire again from the Hungarian GP after starting from 10th place on the grid, again on lap 13. At the Belgian Grand Prix Räikkönen qualifed 10th, but took the lead on lap 11 and held on to it to take McLaren's first win of the season. The next weekend at Monza Räikkönen again retired on lap 13, this time due to electrical problems. At the next race in China he finished 3rd, only 1.4 seconds behind race winner Rubens Barrichello.

At Japan, Räikkönen was shunted by Felipe Massa on the first lap of the race, which caused him handling problems. He later managed to make up some ground: finishing 6th, 2.5 seconds behind Alonso. At Brazil, he overtook pole sitter Barrichello, even before they had reached Curva De Sol. Räikkönen later battled Montoya for the lead and finished 1 second behind him in 2nd. Räikkönen ended the year seventh, with 45 points and four podiums.

Despite the disappointment of the 2004 season, Räikkönen was still seen as one of the rising stars of the sport, along with Renault's Alonso and 2005 McLaren teammate Montoya. Many pundits predicted 2005 to be filled with great on-track battles from a resurgent team. He was also referred to by Ross Brawn and Jean Todt as a driver whom Ferrari might consider in the future. In early November 2004, Räikkönen announced his intention to create a racing team with his manager Steve Robertson, to be entitled Räikkönen Robertson Racing (otherwise known as "Double R"), which would compete in Formula 3 in 2005.

[edit] 2005

Räikkönen's start to the 2005 season season was less than perfect. The car was reported to be too soft on its Michelin tyres, with the result that it wasn't generating enough heat to post competitive qualifying times.^{[citation needed]} The best qualifying position that a McLaren driver could manage in the first 3 races was 6th. Räikkönen compounded this by stalling on the grid of the first race of the season, the Australian Grand Prix, and ending the race with just a point. He looked set for a podium in Malaysia until a faulty tyre valve failed and dropped him out of the points. Bahrain saw him get his first podium of the season.

Räikkönen then achieved three consecutive poles at San Marino, Barcelona and Monte Carlo. An almost certain win was denied at Imola after a driveshaft failure, but he won the other two races, putting him within 22 points of leader Alonso. At the European Grand Prix Räikkönen flat-spotted his right front tyre while lapping Jacques Villeneuve (some commentators put a share of the blame on Villeneuve, as he did not give Räikkönen the racing line). The resultant vibrations caused his suspension to fail while he led on the final lap, and sending him into the tyre wall and handing a further ten points to his rival Alonso. Changing a tyre would have given him a relatively safe third place. However, tyre changes were only allowed in 2005 in cases where a "punctured or damaged tyre" could be changed for "clear and genuine safety reasons"^[1] and there was no precedent for whether the stewards would consider a flat-spotted tyre dangerous enough. This incident, in part, resulted in a rules clarification allowing teams to change a flat-spotted tyre without punishment.^[2]

Alonso's first major mistake of the 2005 season handed the Canadian Grand Prix to Räikkönen. The following weekend saw the Michelin teams, including McLaren, withdraw from the United States Grand Prix due to safety concerns. At the French Grand Prix Räikkönen suffered a ten-place grid-penalty following the replacement of his new specification Mercedes Benz engine which failed in Friday practice. Räikkönen, putting in what Ron Dennis would call his best ever qualifying lap,^[3] qualified 3rd (demoted to 13th) with a significant fuel load. He finished 2nd behind Fernando Alonso. A week later at the British Grand Prix Räikkönen suffered another Mercedes engine failure due to an oil leak; his 2nd place qualifying place became 12th. He claimed 3rd place in the race.

In the German Grand Prix Räikkönen was comfortably in the lead having dominated all weekend, but suffered a hydraulics failure, handing victory and a further 10 points to Alonso. It was his third retirement while leading a race during the season. On all 3 occasions, it was championship rival Alonso who took advantage to win. Significantly, at the opening of the Hungarian Grand Prix, though saying he was very comfortable at McLaren, Räikkönen raised the possibility that he may leave McLaren when his contract expired in 2006 if reliability issues were not solved.^[4] He told a news conference, "We need to work in a better way just to make sure that the car is very reliable." However he went on to take the chequered flag with a convincing victory over Michael Schumacher.

Räikkönen also achieved an impressive statistic at the Hungarian Grand Prix by managing to win the race from the most handicapped qualifying position, having had to do his qualifying run first on the notoriously dusty and dirty track due to his early retirement a week earlier at Hockenheim. No other driver had previously managed this feat under the controversial grid qualification system which significantly penalised those who retire from a race. Räikkönen then became the first ever winner of the Turkish Grand Prix. Two weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix, Räikkönen's pole position was taken from him as he received another 10-position grid penalty for an engine change. It would emerge that he had 5 laps of fuel more than teammate Montoya and 6 more than Alonso during qualifying - and still managed to outpace them. Just when it looked like McLaren had pulled off a strategic coup with Räikkönen on a one-stop strategy, his left-rear tyre delaminated, and was forced to take an extra stop to change the tyre. He dropped down to 12th. He recovered, but spun his car after pushing too hard chasing the 3rd placed driver. He eventually finished fourth.

He went on to win, for the second year in a row, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. The following race (the Brazilian Grand Prix) saw Alonso clinch the Drivers' Championship, after finishing third behind Montoya and Räikkönen. In the penultimate race of the year, at the Suzuka circuit in Japan, Räikkönen produced arguably the best drive of his career, taking his 7th victory of the season after starting 20th on the grid (as rain had mixed up the qualifying grid). The win was secured when he overtook Renault driver Fisichella on the final lap, which many considered to be the most spectacular pass of the season.^{[citation needed]}

Proponents of Räikkönen argue that he was the best driver of the 2005 season. Without the reliability issues, he may very well have won the Drivers' Championship. This was reflected in Räikkönen getting several post-season accolades like "Driver of the season" - especially from reputed magazines like F1 Racing and Autosport. However most commentators agree that Alonso fully deserved the title, dominating the early part of the season, while McLaren struggled, and driving consistently since then to capitalise on Räikkönen's problems. The Japanese and Chinese Grands Prix also saw Alonso abandon the conservative style evident in some races when he was still chasing the championship title.

[edit] 2006

In Bahrain, Räikkönen suffered electronic problems during Friday practice and a rear suspension break during the first qualifying session, which forced him back to 22nd place on the grid. Nevertheless he drove through the field, ending third behind Alonso and Michael Schumacher. In Malaysia, Räikkönen was hit from behind by Red Bull Racing's Christian Klien on the very first lap. The impact caused a left rear suspension failure resulting in Räikkönen retiring from the race.

Having started the year clearly behind Renault, McLaren improved in Australia, where Räikkönen finished second after flat spotting a tyre and losing a wing end-plate, causing him to fall off the pace somewhat around the midpoint of the race. Chasing down Alonso during the final stages of the race, he did however achieve the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, finishing only 1.8 seconds behind the Spaniard. At the San Marino Grand Prix a bad choice of strategy and a mistake from Räikkönen in qualifying (8th) saw the McLarens get caught in traffic in the early part of the race allowing Michael Schumacher and Alonso to get away at the front. Räikkönen eventually finished 5th, with team mate Montoya ahead in 3rd place. McLaren team boss Ron Dennis blamed Kimi Räikkönen's poor performance for the team's failure to finish in the top two in the race.^[5]

At the Spanish Grand Prix Räikkönen qualified 9th. However at the start Räikkönen managed to get up to 5th place on the first lap. He retained this position for most of the race, finishing 5th place. A few days after the Spanish Grand Prix, he admitted that he had no chance of winning the 2006 Championship.^[6]In Monte Carlo Räikkönen qualified third. During the race he would get up to 2nd and keep pace with Alonso, however he retired during a safety car period after a failed heat shield led to heat from the exhaust causing a wiring loom inside the car to catch fire.

The British Grand Prix at Silverstone saw Räikkönen qualify second behind Alonso and in front of Michael Schumacher. The running order was Alonso, Räikkönen, Schumacher until the second set of pitstops where Räikkönen was demoted to third by Schumacher, a position he held until the end of the race. At Canada, Räikkönen achieved another podium. In the United States Grand Prix, his teammate punted him out in an expensive seven car accident. The 2006 French Grand Prix saw Räikkönen qualify his car in sixth. His teammate was now former test driver Pedro de la Rosa in place of Montoya. Räikkönen ended the race in fifth. In Germany Räikkönen qualified on pole. After a battle with Button, he finished the race for the first time in his career, ending in third place. Another pole came in Hungary but he collided with Vitantonio Liuzzi after 25 laps, causing his fourth retirement of the season.

A first turn incident with Scott Speed at the Turkish Grand Prix led to an exploded tyre and suspension damage. After a tyre change, Räikkönen's race ended half way into the next lap when he ran into the barricade at turn 4. Räikkönen qualified on pole for the Italian Grand Prix, snatching pole from Michael Schumacher by 2 thousandths of a second right at the end of qualifying. He led the early part of the race until the first pitstops where he was passed by Michael Schumacher. He stayed in second place for the rest of the race. After the race Schumacher announced that he was retiring. Later Ferrari announced that he would be replaced in the 2007 season by Räikkönen.^[7]

The Chinese Grand Prix saw another retirement for Räikkönen due to engine problems. His last two Grands Prix, those of Japan and Brazil, did lead to 2 finishes, but twice missed the podium. He ended his McLaren-Mercedes era with a fifth place in the World Drivers' Championship, with McLaren placing third in the World Constructors' Championship.

Meanwhile, Räikkönen's British Formula Three Championship team Räikkönen Robertson Racing claimed their first major success, with British driver Mike Conway winning the 2006 British F3 International Series title and the prestigious Macau Grand Prix.

[edit] Ferrari (2007–)

After the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari announced that Räikkönen had signed a three-year contract with Scuderia Ferrari for the 2007-2009 seasons, after years of rumours. Räikkönen said after the move that he was very happy with this change of events but wished McLaren the best of luck in the future. He will be the teammate to Brazilian Felipe Massa, who has been driving for Ferrari since 2006. Following the retirement of Michael Schumacher and his new deal with Ferrari, Kimi is estimated to be the highest paid driver in F1, with a basic salary worth US $51M. ^[8]

[edit] Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Team	WDC	Points
2001	Sauber	AUS 6	MYS Ret	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	ESP 8	AUT 4	MON 10	CAN 4	EUR 10	FRA 7	GBR 5	GER Ret	HUN 7	BEL Ret	ITA 7	USA Ret	JPN Ret			Sauber	10th	9
2002	McLaren	AUS 3	MYS Ret	BRA 12	SMR Ret	ESP Ret	AUT Ret	MON Ret	CAN 4	EUR 3	GBR Ret	FRA 2	GER Ret	HUN 4	BEL Ret	ITA Ret	USA Ret	JPN 3			McLaren	6th	24
2003	McLaren	AUS 3	MYS 1	BRA 2	SMR 2	ESP Ret	AUT 2	MON 2	CAN 6	EUR Ret	FRA 4	GBR 3	GER Ret	HUN 2	ITA 4	USA 2	JPN 2				McLaren	2nd	91
2004	McLaren	AUS Ret	MYS Ret	BAH Ret	SMR 8	ESP 11	MON Ret	EUR Ret	CAN 5	USA 6	FRA 7	GBR 2	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL 1	ITA Ret	CHN 3	JPN 6	BRA 2		McLaren	7th	45
2005	McLaren	AUS 8	MYS 9	BAH 3	SMR Ret	ESP 1	MON 1	EUR 11	CAN 1	USA DNS	FRA 2	GBR 3	GER Ret	HUN 1	TUR 1	ITA 4	BEL 1	BRA 2	JPN 1	CHN 2	McLaren	2nd	112
2006	McLaren	BAH 3	MYS Ret	AUS 2	SMR 5	EUR 4	ESP 5	MON Ret	GBR 3	CAN 3	USA Ret	FRA 5	GER 3	HUN Ret	TUR Ret	ITA 2	CHN Ret	JPN 5	BRA 5		McLaren	5th	65

[edit] Formula One records

• For the 2005 season, Räikkönen holds the joint record of 7 wins in a single season without winning the World Title, shared with four time World Champion Alain Prost, who initially set the record in 1984 and matched it in 1988, and now also Michael Schumacher, in 2006.
• In the 2005 season, he also equalled Michael Schumacher's record of 10 fastest race laps in a season, set in 2004.

[edit] References

• Kimi Räikkönen. Manipe F1. Retrieved on June 9, 2006.

[edit] See also

• Famous Finns
• The Flying Finns

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kimi Räikkönen

• Kimi Räikkönen Official Site
• Kimi Räikkönen statistics
• Kimi Stuff - goodies for your computer and more. check the forum for customized needs
• GoKimi.com
• Unofficial Kimi Räikkönen website

Constructors and drivers competing in the 2007 Formula One championship
McLaren	Renault	Ferrari	Honda	BMW	Toyota
1 Alonso 2 Hamilton	3 Fisichella 4 Kovalainen	5 Massa 6 Räikkönen	7 Button 8 Barrichello	9 Heidfeld 10 Kubica	11 Schumacher 12 Trulli
Red Bull	Williams	Toro Rosso	Spyker	Super Aguri
14 Coulthard 15 Webber	16 Rosberg 17 Wurz	18 ? 19 ?	20 Albers 21 ?	22 Sato 23 Davidson

Persondata
NAME	Räikkönen, Kimi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Räikkönen, Kimi Matias
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Formula 1 driver
DATE OF BIRTH	October 17, 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH	Espoo, Finland
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH