F1 in numbers: 7 Kool Kimi Facts

[Seb Scott]

The Malaysian Grand Prix could have been a much better race this year for Kimi Raikkonen, as a result it was his teammate in the public eye after the race and not him. In reality Kimi drove a brilliant race - dead last to 4th - so I have dedicated this weeks F1 in numbers to you.

1. He is Ferrari's most recent World Champion.
His biggest achievement in Formula One was winning the World Championship in 2007 with Ferrari, however that was 8 years ago now! A lot has changed since then, he has few words for the press, and keeps a very very private life. He's got short(ish) hair, drives for Ferrari, and looks set to take on a works Mercedes team for the championship. Hang on a minute? Credit where credit is due, to have won the championship in 2007 is something to be extremely proud of, not one single manufacturer was significantly ahead of the rest and the same for the drivers. Kimi, we here at RaceDepartment applaud you for that.

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2. You thought Verstappen jumping into F1 from F3 was mad?
Kimi went from being a Formula Renault 2.0 driver to a McLaren GP driver in just over 12 months, with a Sauber race seat in between. Peter Sauber had to sign a performance delivery promise with the FIA in order for Kimi to race for the team that year, as the young Finn had only 23 single seater races under his belt. As a comparison, Max Verstappen managed to race in 49 F3 races (significantly faster than FR 2.0) before starting the 2015 season.

3. He founded and still owns a factory motocross racing team.
Red Bull Ice One Husqvarna Factory Race Team, most recently taking the MXGP overall win in Argentina.

4. He sometimes uses the pseudonym ‘James Hunt’ when racing.
In dedication to the 1976 Formula 1 World Champion - who is one of his heroes - when racing in snowmobile and powerboat races in Finland Kimi is seen on the entry list as James Hunt. In 2013 during the Monaco GP he raced with a special James Hunt helmet in homage to the 40 year anniversary of Hunt taking to the streets of Monaco in Formula One for the first time.

5. I don't speak Italian.
When he originally joined Ferrari he refused to learn Italian stating at a Ferrari press event in 2007, "I’m not going to a language school to learn Italian, that’s not what I came to do at Ferrari.”

6. Suzuka 2005
His greatest race win surely has to be Japan 2005. He started from 17th in a dry race (in those days a set of tyres had to last the race) and made a pass for the lead on the last lap to take the win.

7. Ever wondered why flat spots are bad?
Due to the tyre rule as mentioned above, we also saw Kimi have somewhat less successful but still high drama races, such as the 2005 European Grand Prix. We saw our favourite Finn retire from the race in a sensational way, after severely flat spotting his front right tyre and ultimately retiring from a race he could've so easily won.

 

[Dave Stephenson]

 

[Yuri]

That mx team is no joke. If I'm not mistaken it's a factory team now and they're 2nd in the world motocross championship. I really like that he's not the average Driver, and heck with his money he could buy most motocross teams but he did it the proper way and built it from the ground up, I don't expect he lost a penny with that

 

[F1Motorsport]

This never gets old

 

[Rob]

8. Kimi, at age 35, has a horrid start at the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix, then on Lap 2, has a puncture after Ericsson’s Sauber rammed him in the rear at turn one, costing the Finn a whole lap of flying rubber and an early pit stop. After Ericsson beaches himself on lap 4, Raikkonen manages to fight through the entire field and finish ahead of all but two Mercedes powered cars and, of course, his teammate, who he would have beaten (based on time lost) if Kimi had not had been shunted.

 

[Rob]

This never gets old

I'm in tears.

 

[the_sigman]

Robert, how do you count that tike, just reminding that the SC made gaps very close instead of around a minute after the pitstop.

 

[Rob]

Robert, how do you count that tike, just reminding that the SC made gaps very close instead of around a minute after the pitstop.

Very true. I'm not trying to be too serious with that post, but remind people that Kimi has not lost the incredible talent that he always had. Passing the field, especially other cars with Mercedes power, instead of cruising to victory, should not be discounted. And I thought he could have easily won.
Also, another reason I think most Kimi lovers are so fond of him is his frankness. He admitted that Australia was HIS fault, not the car's. Anyone watching would have thought otherwise. I know I did. Not many drivers would do that. He is truly a driver's driver.

 

[Steve Lorenz]

Passing the field, especially other cars with Mercedes power, instead of cruising to victory, should not be discounted.

For my taste, the Ferrari Engine did a huge step forward.
Surely its not that great as the Mercedes one, but it seems very close.

and Kimi was showing a great longrun on the friday training, maybe he would be also in front of the mercedes

 

[Qazdar Karim]

Mercedes suffered tyre wear during that race. Ferrari had better cooling and less tyre wear.

 

[Darth]

Come on Kimi show us that amazing and unforgiving pace of yours again.
I believe it's fact that the Lotus car never gave Kimi a chance to showcase
his true ability, as he always had to protect the his tyres, since that was the only
strong point of the car. If he is given a good car he can crazy things.