Kimi Raikkonen's 10 Best Moments In F1

Tomorrow Kimi Raikkonen, the ‘Iceman’, will celebrate his 200th F1 start. Here are 10 of his best moments in the sport:

The 2005 Japanese Grand Prix is undoubtedly the Finn’s greatest ever drive. The grid for the race – which was the penultimate round of the season – was mixed up after the rain-affected qualifying session. Raikkonen started 17th, just behind Fernando Alonso.

He made steady progress early on but only really joined the fight for first place in the closing stages. With Alonso stuck behind slower cars, he put in several fast laps and pitted, emerging just five seconds behind long-time leader Giancarlo Fisichella. He rapidly closed in on the Italian and pulled off a stunning move around the outside at turn one on the last lap to take the lead and the victory.

2. World champion

Having narrowly missed out on titles in 2003 and 2005, Raikkonen finally got his chance in 2007. The battle for the championship went down to the final race in Brazil, with Raikkonen seven points behind leader Lewis Hamilton.

He started second and spent most of the race following his team-mate, but he managed to emerge from his second pit stop in the lead after a long second stint. He went on to win the race in fine style. With his title rivals Fernando Alonso and Hamilton in third and seventh, he secured his first championship by just one point.

Raikkonen had burst onto the F1 scene in 2001 with Sauber and immediately impressed. He moved to McLaren in 2002 and scored four podiums, before making his debut on the top step at the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix. He qualified seventh but a great start and chaos at turn two moved him up to fourth.

He displaced Nick Heidfeld for third on lap two, which became second after his team-mate retired. When the race leader Alonso pitted on lap 14, Raikkonen stayed out. After some blistering lap times, he emerged from his stop in first place and dominated the rest of the race to win by 39 seconds from Rubens Barrichello.

Raikkonen was clearly not impressed by his race engineer’s advice during the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, replying over team radio with the now infamous quote: “Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing.”

5. In control

The 2005 Monaco Grand Prix was dominated by the Iceman. He took pole on the Saturday after a stunning lap of the Circuit de Monaco and was followed closely by Alonso in the early stages of the race. He soon pulled away from the Spaniard before a mid-race safety car period bunched up the pack.

McLaren decided not to pit Raikkonen and it proved to be the right move. When the racing resumed, he quickly established a comfortable lead and managed to pit without losing first place. He eventually won the race by 13 seconds.

One of the reasons why he is so popular is because he is always brutally honest and says it how it is. This was no more evident than at the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix. Having missed a presentation ceremony prior to the start, he was quizzed on his absence by Martin Brundle on the grid. His response? See the video above!

7. A dream start

There was plenty of pressure riding on Raikkonen’s shoulders at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix, as it was his first race for Ferrari. The weekend was best remembered for Hamilton’s stunning debut, but it was the Finn who dominated the weekend. He took pole, set the fastest lap and only relinquished the lead in the pit stops. His winning margin, which was seven seconds by the chequered flag, could have been considerably larger had he not backed off in the closing stages after his car suffered a water leak.

It is fair to say that Raikkonen’s appointment as a Sauber driver for the 2001 season came as quite a surprise. The Finn had only competed in 23 single seater races, but winning 13 of them helped him to secure an initial test with the team. Following two more outings, the Swiss outfit signed him.

Despite criticism from some, he was granted an F1 superlicense and lined up on the grid in Australia – he famously revealed that he was asleep 30 minutes before the race. He started 13th but put in an almost perfect race to finish sixth, not too far off his team-mate.

9. Ice cream

When the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix was red flagged, what was the first thing Raikkonen did after he had swapped his race suit for his civvies? He grabbed an ice cream. We all found it hilarious, but when you’re craving ice cream, there’s only one thing to do.

Raikkonen was on course to win the 2005 European Grand Prix when he dramatically retired on the final lap. He started from second place but took the lead into turn one, establishing a comfortable lead. The Finn severely flat-spotted his tyre mid-way through the race, which left McLaren in a tricky situation. A rule change for 2005 meant tyre changes were not allowed during the race, other than to replace punctures or for wet weather.

The team could have pitted Raikkonen, but he would have lost the lead. Instead, they opted to risk it and go for the victory. The vibrations due to the flat-spot became more and more severe as the chequered flag closed in, with Fernando Alonso rapidly decreasing his lead. The gap was 1.5 seconds on the final lap but on the approach to turn one, Raikkonen’s suspension failed. He spun across the track, narrowly avoiding Jenson Button’s BAR Honda, and retired, handing the win to Alonso in dramatic fashion.