Known for his sheer pace and aggressive driving skills , Kimi Raikkonen hails from the Scandinavian country of Finland. Aged 16, he won the National Karting series and went on to reap success in Finnish Championship,Monaco cup and the prestigious Nordic Championship. Victory belongs to the most persevering and kimi proved it by entering formula1 at the age of 20. His successful stint as a test driver for sauber in 2000 earned him a seat for race sundays ,the following year. He drove for sauber and a very few realized the true potential of this prodigy.
Despite the FIA being reluctant to issue the super licence for racing because of his inexperience in Formula 3000, one man who did realize kimi's passion was Ron Dennis .Those 9 points he earned in 2001 furnished way for a driver's seat in a Mclaren for 2002 and this partnership extended till 2006. His Mclaren stint earned him a status of a potential champion but the iceman was never able to claim the driver's title. He was a sniff away in 2003 when he gave the legend, Michael Schumacher , a run for his championship. He lost the drivers crown by a solitary point.
Kimi has come a long way since then and is now defending the drivers championship . As formula1 went hollow with the retirement of Michael, Kimi was imposed with the duty of bringing back the title to the Marnello outfit. The red blazers suited raikkonen well, as he went on to win the Australian Grand Prix in his first ever grand prix for Ferrari. However his mid season collapse saw him trail the leaders by 25 points. His perseverance paid off as he closed in the gap to just 7 points to the mclaren drivers. A three way battle for the championship was on while the Mclaren drivers counted the chickens before they actually hatched. Kimi was crowned the champion in a dramatic season ending Brazilian grand prix .
Famous for his ill luck, kimi has had 39 retirements in 123 starts which contributes to his lack of race wins. Despite this 31% reitrements , his passion for driving has never gone down. How many times have we seen the iceman park his car and walk out as the other cars continued racing? Some started questioning his committment while some started to critique his driving skills. Enough is enough as the iceman walked out of the Mclaren and his latest term with ferrari proved his true potential.
His indifferent attitude and his lack of friends in the formula1 frame has always been under the scanner . Not such a media friendly driver , Raikkonen knows how to handle fame and how to handle pressure. Be it victory , be it defeat , the iceman takes them with the same hands. "The superior man is modest in his speech , but exceeds in his actions", a very famous quote that best describes this champion. Having gone through a lot of ups and downs in his illustrious career , Kimi has finally found his right set up at Ferrari. He is now hunting down his championship rivals in the right car and at the right time.
The drivers championship in 2007 came at the right time for kimi as his passion for the sport was on the decline. He is now a rejuvenated individulal and those retirement rumours, which threatened to blow up his career, looks to have subsided. His pace on the track can never be matched by any of the current drivers and kimi looks all set to defend his title. That shaken champagne is all that kimi needs to be motivated, be it on the track or off it. I think a hero is an ordinary indvidual who finds strength to persevere and endure inspite of overwhelming obstacles and kimi is definately one. Hail the king! Hail Kimi!!!!!
