Kimi Räikkönen – his 10 most beautiful victories

In a few days in Abu Dhabi, and despite the recent grotesque spectacle staged in Jeddah, the world of Formula 1 and its audience will surely only have eyes for the conclusion of the championship between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

However, next Sunday a pilot, and not the least, will make his farewell tour. This man is Kimi Räikkönen. Reduced to the shadows since 2020, it is probably in general indifference that the dean of the grid is about to say goodbye, and it’s a pity.

It is really sad to see that, for a few years now, the Finnish man has been reduced to the image of the grumpy ex-champion, who entertains the crowd, unwillingly, with his antics and interviews that only he knows the secret of.

But there was (without denigrating his current generally good racing abilities), in the past, fire beneath this ice, as evidenced by his past performances that made him so popular. Here is the story of ten of the best races by Kimi Räikkönen.

Malaysian Grand Prix 2003

Kimmi Räikkönen arrived in style at Sauber in 2001, and quickly delivered strong performances that led McLaren to designate him as the worthy successor to his fellow countryman, double world champion Mika Hakkinen.

2002 is the year of confirmation for the Finn. Despite a mediocre car with disastrous reliability (he has to retire eleven times), Kimi scores his first podiums and shows his teeth against Michael Schumacher and the BMW-Williams but without being able to prevail.

Success came the following season, at the wheel of a single-seater which is merely an evolution of the 2002 McLaren. He only started seventh in Malaysia (the second race of the year) but quickly climbed up the ranks. After several overtakes and following his teammate David Coultard’s retirement, he took the lead of the race after his second pit stop and never let go of the lead.

At 23, Räikkönen signs his first success in the top category, 39 seconds ahead of Rubens Barrichello’s Ferrari and with over a minute lead on the poleman, Fernando Alonso, who completes the podium. For a first victory, the Finn sends a strong signal.

Belgian Grand Prix 2004

A year after missing the title by two points against Michael Schumacher, the McLaren driver is experiencing a disastrous start to the 2004 campaign. The competitiveness of the MP4-19 proves to be catastrophic, and in seven races, the Finn has only crossed the finish line twice with as many points scored.

The British team is bringing a B version of its single-seater from the French Grand Prix onwards, but in the first thirteen races of the season, Kimi has only one pole position and one podium to offer his team.

The horizon will however clear up in Spa, and in what a way! Only tenth on the grid, Iceman goes around the outside of four cars at the first turn before overtaking Rubens Barrichello on the exit of Raidillon, on this same first lap. Three loops later, the McLaren driver overtakes Michael Schumacher, at the start of Raidillon this time, and then takes third place from David Coulthard.

Only surpassed by the Renaults, Räikkönen will take advantage of a spin from Fernando Alonso to climb back up in the hierarchy. Jarno Trulli will be passed during the pit stops, which will give the lead of the race to Kimi who will resist Michael Schumacher’s comeback at the end of the race. The Finn secures his first victory of the season (three more will follow for him in Belgium), a success full of authority at the wheel of a car completely outclassed compared to his opponents.

Monaco Grand Prix 2005

The 2005 edition of the Monaco Grand Prix marks the partnership between the Stars Wars license and the Red Bull team. But on this weekend in Monaco, the force will clearly be on Kimi Räikkönen’s side.

After a difficult start to the season, McLaren arrives boosted by its driver’s recent victory in Spain and plans to step up their game in Monaco. While on Saturday, Fernando Alonso seems to have outpaced the competition with a phenomenal time of 1:14.125, more than four tenths ahead of his closest rival, Räikkönen nullifies the Spaniard’s performance with an attacking lap in 1:13.644.

The next day, the McLaren driver indulges in a festival. Having led all the laps, the Finn achieves the perfect race to claim his only victory on the streets of Monaco and firmly enters the championship battle. His rival Alonso, who finishes fourth, is left 36 seconds behind.

Japanese Grand Prix 2005

The 2005 season is coming to an end at Suzuka, the penultimate round of the season, but the world champion has already been known since the previous round in Brazil. Räikkönen may have given it his all, but the persistent reliability issues of his McLaren MP4-20 prevented him from challenging Fernando Alonso for the title until the end.

Trapped by the rain during the qualifications, Kimi starts from a distant 17th place but after as many laps he is already seventh. Climbing to fourth place at mid-race after a sharp overtake on the Red Baron, Räikkönen chains fast laps with insane speed and when he comes back on track on the 45th lap, he is in second place, seven seconds behind the leader, Giancarlo Fisichella.

In just five laps, Kimi moves up and pressures the Renault driver. It’s finally at the start of the last lap, in a passing move that will go down in history, that Räikkönen will take the lead of the race.

The McLaren driver claims his seventh victory of the season in style, probably the most beautiful win of his career. That day in Suzuka, Kimi and his horse were one.

Brazilian Grand Prix 2007

In 2007, Räikkönen has the difficult task of succeeding Michael Schumacher within the Scuderia Ferrari. However, despite struggling to adapt to Bridgestone tires, Kimi begins his season by dominating in Australia.

The rest of the campaign proves more delicate due to adaptation issues and mechanical retirements that cost him two podiums. But starting from the French Grand Prix, the Finn comes back strong, so much so that he is still in the running for the title against the McLaren drivers in Brazil.

With a seven-point deficit, Räikkönen, third on the grid, must absolutely win to maximize his chances against Alonso and Hamilton. At the start, the Finn steals second place from Hamilton who goes wide after a duel with his teammate in the following corners. The Englishman loses many positions but the worst is yet to come for him.

Several laps later, the young Briton is slowing down on the track after pressing the wrong button on his steering wheel (a similar mishap will happen to Heikki Kovalainen the following season, prompting the McLaren team to modify their steering wheel afterwards)!

Hamilton sets off and attempts a desperate comeback, which will end in seventh position. At the same time, Alonso will not do better than third, and Kimi, on his side, will take the lead of the race from Felipe Massa.

After years of unsuccessful struggles at McLaren, Räikkönen edges out the drivers of his former team (by one point) and finally wins the world title that has so often eluded him up to now. To this day, he is the last driver to become world champion for the Scuderia.

Spanish Grand Prix 2008

In Kimi Räikkönen’s long career, few remember his performance during the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix. Yet this race weekend, as a whole, will later be described by the driver himself as the best Grand Prix ever achieved by the Finn.

While his rivals keep making the stopwatch fall during the last minutes of Q3, it is finally the Iceman who will freeze his opponents on the spot by signing the fifteenth pole position of his career.

His race will be uneventful, a masterfully conducted test from start to finish except during pit stops. The conclusion of a perfect weekend for Räikkönen who, after having already won two rather challenging races in Malaysia, seems to be heading towards a second title. He did not know it yet, but this victory on the king’s lands, Juan Carlos, will already be his last of the season!

Belgium Grand Prix 2009

In 2009, Ferrari is having its worst season since 1993. Up to the tenth round of the championship, in Hungary, the two home drivers only bring back one podium each, in pain.

But just as the Scuderia thought they had hit rock bottom, Felipe Massa is the victim of a terrible accident that will keep him out for the rest of the season. Although relations with Kimi and Ferrari have been tense for a year, all the team’s hopes now rest on the Finn and what a performance!

While his F60 looked more like a cow on the track than a thoroughbred, the Finn will leverage all his racing expertise to secure four consecutive podiums, the most notable of which occurred at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Then sixth on the grid, Kimi avoids Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn from the moment the lights go out and goes wide in the first turn. Coming back third at the start of the Raidillon, he engulfs Robert Kubica and his BMW once the legendary turn is cleared. After a brief period behind the safety car, Räikkönen wastes no time and immediately gets rid of Giancarlo Fisichella’s surprising Force India.

This one will threaten Iceman throughout the entire race, but Kimi will never give up and secures Ferrari’s only victory this season, his fourth and final on the famous Ardennes rollercoaster.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2012

After a two-year break where Kimi will try his hand at WRC and Nascar, the 2007 world champion makes his big comeback to the Lotus team.

While many observers doubt his level of performance, Kimi sweeps away all speculation by narrowly missing victory in Bahrain (fourth round of the season) after starting eleventh. This 2012 season marks the return of the fearsome and unemotional Kimi of his McLaren years, but despite securing five more podiums after Bahrain, the long-awaited victory since Spa, three years earlier, still hasn’t arrived… until the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Fourth at the lights out, Kimi is already second before even reaching the first turn. He quickly attacks Lewis Hamilton, the leader, but the Englishman resists. Räikkönen can count on a Lotus (and on his driving skills) more gentle on its tires than the McLaren to try to regain the upper hand on the 2008 world champion, but by a twist of fate or luck, the British driver’s car eventually gives up the ghost on the 20th lap.

The rest is history, Kimi leads the next 35 laps and achieves one of his most popular wins. How can we talk about this Grand Prix without mentioning the famous “just leave me alone, I know what I’m doing” from Kimi, said to his engineer during the race, becoming the most popular radio communication in F1 history.

Australian Grand Prix 2013

Despite a great comeback in 2012, few observers consider Kimi and Lotus as credible contenders for the title the following season, especially as Iceman misses a private testing session during the winter due to his nocturnal antics.

During the first Grand Prix of the season, Räikkönen starts from a decent seventh place and gains two more positions in the first corner. He then repeatedly attacks Lewis Hamilton, who will not be able to resist for more than two laps.

The Lotus number 7 then unrolls a perfect race with two pit stops (compared to three for its main rivals) to claim the 20th victory of its career, ahead of Alonso’s Ferrari and Vettel’s Red Bull. At the same time, the other Lotus, Romain Grosjean’s, only finishes 10th, more than one minute and twenty seconds behind the day’s winner who will describe his victory as one of the easiest he has ever achieved.

United States Grand Prix 2018

Five years have passed since that famous Australian Grand Prix in 2013. We may have seen the Finn on the podium many times since then but the top step eludes him.

Since 2014, Kimi has been back at Ferrari. However, this eagerly awaited comeback does not have the desired effect. Number 7 has been struggling since the arrival of the hybrid in Formula 1, and although he is getting better year after year, it feels like his best seasons are now behind him.

Räikkönen delivered his most successful campaign since his Lotus years in 2018. But despite all his efforts, Ferrari decides it’s time for a change and after the Italian Grand Prix (where Räikkönen lost the victory in the final laps), they sign young Charles Leclerc for the 2019 season.

Not destabilized and seeking refuge with Sauber, the team of his beginnings, Kimi will deliver the race everyone has been waiting for since his return to the red team in the United States.

Upon their arrival in Texas, the F1 cars turn so little due to the rainy conditions that only the third free practice session on Saturday morning allows the drivers and their teams to prepare for the Grand Prix. In this context where driving time is minimal, a driver’s experience can make the difference, which may not be insignificant for the rest.

Initially qualified third, Räikkönen finally starts on the front row following a penalty that pushes back his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, to the fifth position. Kimi tries a strategic gamble and starts the race with softer tires than his competitors, allowing him to pass Lewis Hamilton, by force, right at the first turn. Iceman will not let go of the lead of the race, except during pit stops. That day, neither Daniel Ricciardo’s retirement at the beginning of the Grand Prix, which disrupted Mercedes’ strategy, nor Hamilton’s attacks (and Max Verstappen’s, very threatening towards the end of the race) will prevent Räikkönen from achieving his 21st victory in Formula 1, his last to date (making him the most successful Finnish driver in the premier category of motorsport). On the radio, there is relief, even for this man who rarely breaks the ice.

Like a symbol, this success will be sealed on October 21, a date that is all the more important as eleven years earlier, Kimi won the championship on this same day with Ferrari.