Kimi Räikkönen
From Freepedia
| Car # | 9 |
| Current team | McLaren-Mercedes |
| Race starts | 87 |
| World Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 9 |
| Podium finishes | 27 |
| Pole positions | 8 |
| Fastest laps | 16 |
| First Grand Prix | 2001 Australian Grand Prix |
| First win | 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix |
| 2005 Championship position | 2nd (94 pts) |
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, considered one of the drivers with most potential in recent years. He is 1.75 m (5 feet 9 inches) tall and weighs 65 kg (143 lb). Despite being reputed to enjoy partying into the morning hours, he has been the butt of jokes from commentators for his dry and less then charismatic speaking skills during press conferences
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Early career
At age four, Räikkönen said to his mother, "I will be world champion one day. I don't know in which sport, but I will be." He 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 Formula Renault Winter series, winning the first four races of the year. In 2000, he dominated the British Renault Championship, where he won seven of ten events. After racing in the Formula Renault series later in 2000, Räikkönen had won an astounding 13 of 23 events -- a 56% win rate.
Entry into F1
Peter Sauber was so impressed that he 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 super license to such an inexperienced driver, having only 23 racing events to his credit; he was nevertheless granted a super license, and silenced his critics by scoring a championship point in Australia, his maiden grand prix. Räikkönen was asleep 20 minutes before his first F1 GP, but can't remember what he dreamt about. (He loves to sleep - so much so that he needs to be woken up before qualifying and races.)
Far from being the hazard that some people expected him to be, Räikkönen was very calm, cool, and calculating in his race strategy - prompting former critics to nickname him "the iceman". His other nicknames include Kimppa, Räikkä and Kimster (used by his mechanics). He had a solid debut year, proving he was indeed ready for the big time of Formula One. He finished the season with four points-scoring finishes, with eight finishes in the top eight. Completing the year with 9 points, Räikkönen, along with teammate and fellow prospect Nick Heidfeld (12 points), helped Team Sauber to its highest ever result: fourth place in the constructors championship.
McLaren
Räikkönen, long rumoured to be linked to a future Ferrari deal, instead sufficiently impressed McLaren, earning a race seat on Ron Dennis's team for 2002, replacing double-world champion (and fellow Finn) Mika Häkkinen.
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 still managed to score 24 points and four podiums, and held his own to teammate David Coulthard. Räikkönen came close to winning his first grand prix in France, but spun out on oil spilled on the Magny-Cours circuit with a handful of laps to go, settling for second place. All told, he finished the season in sixth place, right behind his teammate in fifth; together, they enabled McLaren to a solid third place in the constructor chase.
2003
Räikkönen began the 2003 campaign in spectacular fashion, reaching the podium in five out of the first six races. He won his first race during this span, the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix, and thought he had won in Brazil as well, only to be demoted to second place in the wake of a rain-drenched, red-flagged race. He also came extremely close to winning the famed street circuit of Monaco, but lost by less than a second to (future teammate) Juan Pablo Montoya. The 2003 season would prove to be the closest campaign in years, with Räikkönen still mathematically alive at the final race. But 2003 would not be his year, as he settled for second place to Michael Schumacher. Also, McLaren narrowly lost second place in the constructor championship, finishing a meager two points behind Williams.
2004
The 2004 season began in quite dismal fashion for both Räikkönen and McLaren, as he only claimed a single point through the first four races. His McLaren suffered repeated breakdowns, allowing him to complete just two of the first seven events. Toward the middle of the season, though, McLaren switched to their new MP4-19B chassis and had made a partial recovery by end of the year. Räikkönen scored his third ever pole position at McLaren's home grand prix at Silverstone, and he also claimed his second ever victory in Belgium. He ended the year a respectable seventh, with 45 points and four podiums.
Despite the disappointment of the 2004 season, Räikkönen is still seen as one of the rising stars of the sport, along with Renault's Fernando Alonso, Sauber's Felipe Massa, and 2005 McLaren teammate Montoya. Many pundits expect 2005 to be filled with great on-track battles from a resurgent squad in Woking. Ross Brawn still fondly refers to Räikkönen as a driver whom Ferrari might consider in the future.
On July 31, 2004, at 24 years of age, Räikkönen married 22-year-old Jenni Dahlman, 2000 Miss Scandinavia.
In early November 2004, Räikkönen announced his intention to create a racing team with his manager Steve Robertson, to be entitled Räikkönen Robertson Racing, which would compete in Formula 3 in 2005.
2005
After a slightly lacklustre beginning to the 2005 season, Räikkönen hit back with three consecutive poles at San Marino, Barcelona and Monte Carlo, with an almost certain win being denied at Imola after a driveshaft failure and then winning the Spanish Grand Prix with a large margin. Räikkönen then won the prestigous Monaco Grand Prix, putting him within 22 points of leader Fernando Alonso.
At the European Grand Prix Räikkönen flat-spotted his right front tyre while overtaking Jacques Villeneuve. The resultant vibrations caused his suspension to fail while he lead on the final lap, sending him into the tire wall and handing a further ten points to his rival Alonso. Opinion is divided as to whether he should have persevered on the track or rather pitted for a tire change and a relatively safe third place.
Alonso's first major mistake of the 2005 season handed the lead (and eventually the win) of 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. While Alonso's qualifying lap was judged to be magnificent Räikkönen's was even better, he qualified 3rd (demoted to 13th) with a significant fuel load. Räikkönen eventually 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 through the weekend, suffered a hydraulics failure (it has also been reported that the failure could have been due to a "fluid leak triggered by human error, a pressure relief valve had apparently not been re-fastened properly after a check."), handing victory and a further 10 points to Alonso. It was his third retirement while leading a race this year. On all 3 occasions, it was championship rival Fernando 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 expires in 2006 if reliability issues are not solved. He told a news conference "We need to work in a better way just to make sure that the car is very reliable." He however 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 penalises those who retire from a race.
Räikkönen became the first ever winner of the Turkish Grand Prix, held at the Istanbul Otodrom on August 21 2005. Two weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix, Kimi Räikkönen's pole position time was taken from him as he received a 10-position grid penalty for another engine change. Just how impressive this lap was only revealed during the race, when it turned out that he had 5 laps of fuel more than 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 Kimi on a one-stop strategy, his tyre delaminated (something which affected Montoya, too, towards the end and almost had him giving the race to Alonso), and he was forced to take an extra stop to change the left-rear 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. It could have been a potential 2nd place finish, behind teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, or very possibly a victory, had it not for the events that were symptomatic of the problems he's endured through this season.
The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps was a drama filled weekend due unpredictable weather conditions. Räikkönen qualified second behind team mate Juan Pablo Montoya to win an all McLaren front row. The race began with wet track conditions from morning rain. At the start Juan Pablo maintained the lead, with Räikkönen behind, the race continued this way for a short while. On lap 11 Giancarlo Fisichella crashed heavily at the famous 290km/h Eau Rouge. While under safety car, Montoya pitted before Räikkönen who held up the cars behind him. However this disadvantaged not only himself but also those behind him due to the fact that he waited too long, allowing those who hadn't pitted to gain track position. This tactic was later banned by the FIA.
Räikkönen moved into second position after Toyota fitted dry tyres on Ralf Schumacher's car which turned out to be wholly unsuitable to the track conditions. At this point Räikkönen reduced Montoya's lead and eventually claimed the race lead after the final pit stops. A certain McLaren one-two was denied by Antonio Pizzonia who crashed into Montoya while attempting to unlap himself with 3 laps to go. Pizzonia was later fined for the accident. The extraordinary race ended with Räikkönen taking his 6th chequered flag of the season and rival Alonso finishing in P2.
In the penultimate race of the year at the Suzuka circuit in Japan, Raikkonen produced arguably the best drive of his career, taking victory after starting 17th on the grid. The win was secured when he overtook Renault driver Giancarlo Fisichella on the final lap. This memorable drive brought tears to the eyes of McLaren boss Ron Dennis.
Proponents of Räikkönen argue that he has been the best driver of the 2005 season. Almost undoubtedly without the reliability issues he would have won the Drivers' Championship. However most commentators agree that Alonso fully deserves 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 saw Alonso abandon the conservative style evident in Brazil when he was still chasing the championship title.
Formula One results
Grand Prix
2001:
- Australia 6th
- Malaysia DNF
- Brazil DNF
- San Marino DNF
- Spain 8th
- Austria 4th
- Monte Carlo 10th
- Canada 4th
- Europe 10th
- France 7th
- GB 5th
- Germany DNF
- Hungary 7th
- Belgium DNF
- Italy 7th
- USA DNF
- Japan DNF
2002:
- Australia 3rd
- Malaysia DNF
- Brazil DNF
- San Marino DNF
- Spain DNF
- Austria DNF
- Monte Carlo DNF
- Canada 4th
- Europe 3rd
- GB DNF
- France 2nd
- Germany DNF
- Hungary 4th
- Belgium DNF
- Italy DNF
- USA DNF
- Japan 3rd
2003:
- Australia 3rd
- Malaysia 1st
- Brazil 2nd
- San Marino 2nd
- Spain DNF
- Austria 2nd
- Monte Carlo 2nd
- Canada 6th
- Europe DNF
- France 4th
- GB 3rd
- Germany DNF
- Hungary 2nd
- Italy 4th
- USA 2nd
- Japan 2nd
2004:
- Australia DNF
- Malaysia DNF
- Bahrain DNF
- San Marino 8th
- Spain 11th
- Monte Carlo DNF
- Europe DNF
- Canada 5th
- USA 6th
- France 7th
- GB 2nd
- Germany DNF
- Hungary DNF
- Belgium 1st
- Italy DNF
- China 3rd
- Japan 6th
- Brazil 2nd
2005:
- Australia 8th
- Malaysia 9th
- Bahrain 3rd
- San Marino DNF
- Spain 1st
- Monte Carlo 1st
- Europe DNF
- Canada 1st
- US DNS
- France 2nd
- GB 3rd
- Hungary 1st
- Turkey 1st
- Italy 4th
- Belgium 1st
- Brazil 2nd
- Japan 1st
- China 2nd
Championship qualifications
- 2001: 9th, 9 points, 0 wins, 0 poles, 0 fastest laps (Sauber Petronas)
- 2002: 6th, 24 points, 0 wins, 0 poles, 1 fastest lap (West McLaren Mercedes)
- 2003: 2nd, 91 points, 1 win, 2 poles, 3 fastest laps (West McLaren Mercedes)
- 2004: 7th, 45 points, 1 win, 1 pole, 1 fastest lap (West McLaren Mercedes)
- 2005: 2nd, 112 points, 7 wins, 5 poles, 10 fastest laps (Team McLaren Mercedes)
Formula One Records
For the 2005 season, Kimi 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.
In the 2005 season, he also equalled Michael Schumacher's record of 10 fastest race laps in a season, set in 2004.
External links
| Constructors and drivers competing in the 2005 Formula One championship: | |||||||||
| Ferrari | BAR | Renault | Williams | McLaren | Sauber | Red Bull | Toyota | Jordan | Minardi |
| 1 M Schumacher 2 Barrichello | 3 Button 4 Sato | 5 Alonso 6 Fisichella | 7 Webber 8 Pizzonia | 9 Räikkönen 10 Montoya | 11 Villeneuve 12 Massa | 14 Coulthard 15 Klien | 16 Trulli 17 R Schumacher | 18 Monteiro 19 Karthikeyan | 20 Doornbos 21 Albers |
