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| Nicknamed 'the Iceman', for his cool, unflappable character, Raikkonen showed talent from an early age and made his karting debut at ten. He progressed through the lower formula; Formula Ford, Formula Super A and Formula Renault. In 2000 he won seven out of ten races to win the Formula Renault UK Championship. His form was enough to merit a test drive with Sauber in September 2000, and he was given a race seat for the 2001 season, with just 23 car races under his belt. Nonetheless, he joined an elite group of drivers to have scored points on their F1 debut, finishing sixth in Melbourne. Raikkonen picked up nine points in his rookie season, and secured a move to McLaren, taking the place of former world champion and fellow Finn, Mika Hakkinen. Despite technical issues blighting his season, he ended the year sixth, enjoying his first ever podium finish at the Australian Grand Prix. Raikkonen's first race win came in Malaysia in 2003, beating second-placed Rubens Barrichello by an impressive 39 seconds after qualifying seventh. He took ten podium's that season, sealing second place in the drivers' standings, just two points behind Michael Schumacher, who won the title for the sixth time. After a disappointing 2004 season, scoring just 45 points compared to his previous year's 91, 2005 saw Raikkonen win seven races and score 112 points, equalling Alan Prost's 1984 record of the most wins in a season without winning the title. After five years with McLaren, Raikkonen joined Ferrari in 2007 to replace Michael Schumacher. Far from being nervous about replacing the seven-time world champion, he went on to win the title in his first year at Ferrari, beating Lewis Hamilton by a single point at the final race of the season. However, an investigation into fuel irregularities meant he had to wait nearly a month to be confirmed as champion. He failed to retain his drivers' crown the following year, finishing third behind Hamilton and team-mate Felipe Massa. A disappointing 2009 season followed, with the Ferrari struggling for pace in the opening part of the season, he managed just one race victory, in Spa, finishing sixth in the championship. In September 2009 Ferrari confirmed a deal with Alonso, meaning Raikkonen would leave Ferrari with a year remaining on his contract - leaving him to enjoy a lucrative gap-year most likely honing his skills in a rally car. |
