This weekend was a very successful one for the Lotus Racing Team, as Kimi Räikkönen scored the first victory for the team during the first round of the FIA 2013 World Championship Formula One race in Melbourne, Australia.
According to Lotus officials, Kimi needed to face both the rain and a critical tire strategy. Still, he managed to preserve tire condition, pitting only twice over the 58-lap Albert Park course. What’s more, the fastest lap of the race was his at 1:29.274. This race was the 20th race for Räikkönen and the 81st for the Lotus team.
The race had seven different leaders, but Raikkonen held the lead on 43 of the 58 laps of the race. Fernando Alonso of Ferrari was second and Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull was the third on the finish line.
Next weekend the team will have to face another challenge: the second round of the competition taking place at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.
There’s been a number of stars to sit behind the wheel of Top Gear’s "Reasonably Priced Car," but this week’s celebrity may have a leg up on his competitors. On Sunday, March 18, 2012, Formula One race car driver, Kimi Raikkonen, will try to set his best lap around the Top Gear test track and get to spend some time with the Stig.
Obviously, the Stig didn’t have much to say during the whole ordeal, but Jeremy Clarkson told Raikkenon that the Stig was one of his biggest fans. To that, Raikkenon replied that the Stig had the best job because he could drive cars and not have to talk. Future Stig in the making? Maybe.
All that aside, this teaser video shows part of the interview with Kimi Raikkenon, as well as some shots of him calmly taking his lap around the track. How did he fare in a car that is nothing like the Formula One cars he is used to driving? Check out Top Gear on Sunday to find out!
Now that Kimi Raikkonen’s rumored return to Formula One in 2011 has gone up in smoke, rally fans of the Iceman can now breathe easy. It looks like your hero is going to stay in the WRC after all.
But as one of the most recognizable faces in the sport, Raikkonen will always be the subject of constant speculation and while the rumor of him returning to the glitzy world of Formula One has been shelved, another rumor is beginning to take shape; only this time, it involves who Raikkonen’s teammate is going to be in 2011.
There has been whispers that the Finnish racer’s name is being mentioned as a potential driver for the Monster Ford World Rally Team where he is going to have no less than Mr. Gymkhana himself, Ken Block, as his teammate.
Take this for what it’s worth because this rumor is trickier to navigate than a field full of land mines. For starters, there’s no telling how much Raikkonen is going to command in the market and given certain financial constraints, accommodating both him and Block on the same team is going to require a lot of ringing cash registers.
Then there’s the issue of endorsements. As we all know, Raikkonen is one of Red Bull’s top endorsers for the brand whereas Block holds the same clout with Monster. Last we checked, those two companies are direct competitors with each other.
So while the Raikkonen-Block tag team looks to be formidable both on the dirt track and up in the WRC suites, there’s a whole lot to be sorted out before it becomes a reality and at this point, we’re not holding our breaths.
He may not be the most pleasurable person to be around, and he certainly won’t win any Mr. Congeniality contests anytime soon, but one thing we know about Kimi Raikkonen is that he’s a pretty good driver. Check that: the man is one of the best in the world.
The former Formula One driver’s champion left Formula One last year to try his luck at the World Rally Championship where he has shown a lot of potential. However, let’s face it, the Finn belongs in single-seaters. But if rumors around the paddock are to be believed, Raikkonen may be looking to return to the circus that is Formula One under the Renault team.
Despite the fact that Renault isn’t one of the front-runners in the 2010 F1 season, the team has consistently piled up points to stay competitive in the middle of the pack. Turns out, that may have been enough to entice the former world champ to approach the team and inquire about a seat at Renault next to Robert Kubica.
We certainly hope that there’s more truth to this rumor than what is being passed around. Like we said, Raikkonen isn’t the chatty type, but his racing skills certainly do a lot of the talking for him. And in a Formula One grid that could potentially have five world champions for 2011, adding another one will most certainly add some intrigue to a Formula One series that never seems to run out.
Kimi Raikkonen and Ken Block may be rookies in the world of the WRC, but they certainly brought their reputations as two of the best race car drivers in the world when they made the jump to the World Rally Championship.
Block, a former Rally America Rookie of the Year and Raikkonen, a former Formula One champion, took part in a Super Special Stage during the kick-off event leading up to the 2010 WRC Rally Portugal. As part of the event, both Block and Raikkonen competed against each other on-board Block’s Ford Fiesta and Raikkonen’s Citroen C4.
While it was nothing more than an exhibition for the fans, the race had some ramifications for both Block and Raikkonen after the two agreed to a 100 euro bet. Needless to say, that was all it took for both drivers to push their rally chariots to the limit and, after a race that featured a steady diet of lead changes, it all came down to an exciting photo finish with both drivers posting the same exact time of 2:11.00!
Check out the video after the jump for the dramatic race.
After nine seasons in Formula 1, Kimi Raikkonen will now take part in the 2010 World Racing Championship for the Citroën Junior Team. Raikkonen’s departure from Formula 1 was a shock to some due to the contract he had with Ferrari for the 2010 season. Many rumors flew around in regards to where Raikkonen was headed, but none seemed to pan out as McLaren, Mercedes, and Toyota all signed other drivers.
Red Bull Racing team boss, Christian Horner has downplayed rumors that Raikkonen will be riding with them in 2011, but for now he is racing in the WRC. The World Racing Championship consists of 13 three-day events driven on surfaces ranging from gravel and tarmac to snow and ice. Here’s how Kimi Raikkonen overcame this special stage and obtained his first points in the 2010 WRC Jordan Rally. Enjoy!
If reports are accurate, when the driver’s line-up for the 2010 Formula One season is completed, one household name will not be included in it. After spending nine years in Formula One, Kimi Raikkonen will seek a different challenge next year in the form of the World Rally Championship. The news was first reported by MTV3, a Finnish broadcaster who has ties to Raikkonen.
Raikkonen’s interest in driving rally cars has been well-documented and the former F1 champ has even got a few rally races under his belt. After cutting ties with Ferrari, speculation surrounding Raikkonen’s future made headlines in and around the industry. There were reports linking him to Mercedes GP, taking up rallying instead, and even going on a year-long sabbatical.
Whatever the case may be – and whatever Raikkonen’s decision is – watching an F1 race without the Iceman is going to take some getting used to. Then again, if he does enter the world of the WRC and trades in his Ferrari F60 for a Ctiroen C4 – the car he is rumoured to be driving - then that’s something a lot of us will be looking forward to watching.
Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley couldn’t have scripted a better outcome to the Formula One season, as Kimi Raikkonen won the Brazilian grand prix and took the world driver’s championship by one point over McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton. And, he did it on the racetrack, leaving McLaren spluttering about an appeal of the ruling by the stewards at the race against disqualifying or penalizing the BMW-Sauber and Williams teams for supposedly having fuel which was too cold. (...) > Full story