Former F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen says he doesn’t know why F1 fans love him so much.
Kimi Raikkonen closed the curtain on his F1 career by breaking the record for 349 races in the 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Raikkonen, who made his F1 debut from Sauber at the age of 22, was one of F1’s most popular drivers.
Kimi Raikkonen, who moved to McLaren in 2002, was given the nickname “Iceman” by then-team principal Ron Dennis.
“I don’t know why they like me,” said Kimi Raikkonen.
“Maybe it’s because I’m as it is. It’s strange, weird, or whatever!”
“That’s normal for me, but it may not be for everyone who sees it from the outside.”
“But most of the time, I came my way.”
“There are times when you have to do it differently here and there. Of course, it’s difficult at first. They try to mold, but if they don’t obey, they give up trying to change. “
Kimi Raikkonen says he wasn’t a fan of anything other than F1 racing, including media and promotional activities, but he’s happy to remain loyal to himself rather than being a different person.
“Maybe it’s easier to let him say,’It’s best to let him do what he wants to do.’ I’m glad I fought in the beginning. It’s much easier. Someone else later. It’s much harder to try to be
“I think we can be what people want and be what people want for a while, but I don’t think it’s very good or healthy in the long run.”
Kimi Raikkonen won his first victory in the 2012 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix during the Lotus era after returning to F1. However, as much talk as the victory was the radio phrase Raikkonen exchanged with the engineer on international broadcasts during the race.
『Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing』
(Relieve me, I know what I should do)
This phrase became one of Finland’s most famous phrases and was printed on hats and T-shirts.
When asked if he was interested in the reaction to the message, Kimi Raikkonen replied, “No. I didn’t care at all.”
“In the end we won the race, and the people there know what really happened. It’s easy to pick one thing out of it and do this and that.”
“In the end, winning a race is a long process from Friday to Sunday. I have no feelings, good or bad, either.”
2007 F1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen finished his career in F1 with a total of 21 wins and 103 podiums.
Category: Category: F1 / Kimi Raikkonen
