Kimi Räikkönen

Who is Kimi Räikkönen?

Kimi-Matias Räikkönen is a Finnish racing driver. After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he won the 2007 Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, he returned to Formula One, driving for Lotus and continued to drive for Lotus in 2013. On September 11, 2013, Ferrari announced their signing of Räikkönen on a two year contract, beginning in the 2014 season.

Räikkönen entered Formula One as a regular driver for Sauber-Petronas in 2001. Having previously only raced in very junior open-wheel categories, he was given his Super Licence from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile after a performance delivery promise by his team boss, Peter Sauber. He joined McLaren Mercedes in 2002, and became a title contender by finishing runner-up in the 2003 and 2005 championships to Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, respectively. Räikkönen's 2003 and 2005 seasons were plagued by severe unreliability from his McLaren cars.

Räikkönen switched to Ferrari in 2007, becoming the highest paid driver in motor sport with an estimated wage of $51 million per year. His move to Ferrari saw him secure his first Formula One World Drivers' Championship, beating McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by one point, as well as becoming one of the very few drivers to win in their first season at Ferrari. In 2008, he equalled the record for fastest laps in a season for the second time. However, with Ferrari's desire to get Fernando Alonso in the team with his Santander sponsorship, Räikkönen left the sport and Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team in 2009. Räikkönen then went into WRC to drive a Citroën C4 WRC for the Citroën Junior Team in the World Rally Championship for 2010. Along with rallying, Räikkönen also competed in NASCAR, and made his debut for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series. Räikkönen made his return to F1 when he signed a 2-year deal with Lotus starting with the 2012 Formula One season. In his comeback season, he won the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. His consistent performances allowed him to end the season 3rd in the Drivers' Championship.