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SPECIAL: King Kimi
Written by:
Adam Cooper
RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com/speedtv
RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com/speedtv
03/06/2008 - 07:32 AM
Balen, Belgium
Will World Champion status affect in any way the "Ice Man" in 2008? (LAT Photo) » More Photos
He made his debut there as an unknown rookie back in 2001, having stepped straight out of Formula Renault. Kimi Raikkonen will return to Australia as reigning World Champion, and with the confidence of knowing that titles are won over the long haul of a season. He proved that in spectacular fashion in 2007, coming from a long way back to overhaul the two McLaren drivers at the very last race in Brazil, with a little helping hand from teammate Felipe Massa.
Raikkonen finally did what most of us long knew he was capable of. A quiet, low-key presence in the paddock, he has been a champion in the making ever since that impressive debut season.
It led to a McLaren deal, where he quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with. Indeed, last season he could have earned his third title, having come close in both 2003 and 2005, only to be let down by unreliability. It was his growing frustration while at the British team that ultimately led him to accept a huge offer to join Ferrari, and take on the very difficult task of filling the shoes of Michael Schumacher.
Of course, that was going to be hard for anyone. The two men are very different. Kimi was never going to be the motivating force within the organization that Michael was (and indeed still is to some degree), spending time at the factory, taking an interest in everything, and inspiring the guys.
The laid back Raikkonen has a different approach, preferring to have a snooze in the team motorhome to sitting in yet another meeting discussing the details of strategy or setup. He also has a rather more colorful social life than his predecessor, and he is very sensitive to suggestions that anything that happens away from the track might affect his form.
But does his way of working really matter? In the end it’s the results that count, and the way Kimi won the title suggested that Michael’s departure had not been just the end of an era, but the start of a new one.
He may not come across as an emotional person in TV interviews, but there’s no doubt that winning the title has meant a lot to Kimi. It’s like having a weight taken off his shoulders, and success has allowed him to approach
Filling Schu's shoes is no easy task, but Kimi responded by winning his first title in his maiden season with the Scuderia. (LAT Photo) » More Photos
“I feel good,” he says. “It’s easier to go in a new season in the second year, I know the people, the people know me. We had a good season last year, and it will be interesting to start the season when you already know the team. Overall it’s much easier for everybody.’
However, he denies that his title victory has made him stronger.
“Not really, but for sure people expect you to do well and try to win the championship, so finally when you win... For myself it’s something that I always wanted to achieve, so it kind of makes it a little bit easier, your future life. I don’t think that makes you stronger in any way, but at least you know that you can do it.”
The 2007 season was certainly a dramatic one for Kimi. It all started so well when he won first time out in Australia, but then things soon became difficult. The second win didn’t come until France in July, and retirements in Spain and at the Nurburgring also cost him momentum before things really began to come together for him.
“Hopefully we will have an easier start to the season! Like I said I know the team and they know me, we have a better understanding of what I want and what they want. It’s a new season, a new car, and you can’t be 100% sure, but we should be in a better position than we were at the start of last year.
“We’d love to have a strong start to the season, it always helps. Even if we didn’t have the strongest start last year, and a bump at mid season, we were still able to come back. I think you need to be strong over the whole season to be able to win. In fact the biggest thing that really hurt us was the two DNFs, where we had problems.
“If we can avoid those, we could have had a much better position earlier in the season. I think that’s the key, where we gave up too many points to McLaren basically, it was just the failures of the car. We definitely have to work hard on those areas to make sure we don’t have those problems again.”
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