Kimi Räikkönen

Ice cold winner

From an early age, Kimi was racing around in karts and was able to achieve plenty of success in lower classes since he was 20. In 2000 the then still very young Kimi Raikkonen got the chance from Peter Sauber to take part in a test for Sauber. Kimi succeeded with flying colours and was appointed as a driver for the 2001 season.

There was one problem. Kimi hadn't picked up his super license yet. The document is eventually given to Raikkonen and he scored points for Sauber in his debut race. There was no doubting the young Finn's talent and Kimi was immediately on the radar of other teams.

If you want to win, take a Finn

McLaren, at the time led by Ron Dennis, saw Mika Hakkinen leave the team before the 2002 season. As a fellow countryman of Kimi Raikkonen, Mika played a major role in convincing Dennis to take on another Finn. If you want to win, take a Finn,' says Hakkinen. The Iceman eventually gets preference over Nick Heidfeld and appears at the start of the 2002 season in a McLaren next to David Coulthard.

In Australia Kimi immediately impressed with a podium place and repeated that trick three more times during the season. His results led to a place behind DC in the championship and a third-place for McLaren in the constructors. 

In 2004 Kimi was on the highest step of the Formula 1 podium for the first time and managed to climb that step seven times the following year. It wasn't enough for the title in 2005 and the following year McLaren was once again short to push Kimi towards the title. In 2007, Kimi Raikkonen switched to Ferrari to look for world championship success. 

Short but powerful

Kimi Raikkonen found success in his first year at Ferrari. Just in the nick of time (with only one point difference), the Finn managed to win the championship and give Ferrari the title. In the two years that followed, however, great successes weren't achieved. 

Although Kimi's contract with Ferrari also covered the 2010 season, both parties decided to dissolve the contract. Talks with McLaren about a return came to nothing and the brand-new Mercedes factory team opted for Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. The only solution? A year of racing elsewhere.

Comeback

After participating in rally-races for a year, Kimi Raikkonen returned to the Formula 1 grid. This time Lotus had room for the Finn, even though Raikkonen 'only wanted to race for a winning team'. Lotus did not meet those expectations at all and after constant money problems, Raikkonen even threatened not to drive the final races of the 2013 season. The collaboration with Lotus ended that same season, and Ferrari gave Raikkonen another chance with the team from Maranello.

In 2018 the Finn, knowing it will be his last year at Ferrari, cemented his name in the history books at the Grand Prix of America. Teammate Sebastian Vettel managed to beat him in the championship in the four years they had together.

However, Kimi left for Alfa Romeo and signed a contract for another two years in Formula 1. Raikkonen is set to end his career with the team where it once started.

Kimi Raikkonen in 2021

The expectations for 2021 are not very high for Raikkonen. The Finn seems to be working on his last season and Antonio Giovinazzi has been closing the gap to his more experienced teammate. It will be Raikkonen's chance to end his career with one more bang, but with the Alfa Romeo car, it's easier said than done.