Kimi Raikkonen to retire at finish of Formula One season

The Iceman is lastly retiring, bringing the curtain down on one of the distinctive careers in Formula One historical past.But not for just a few months but.
Kimi Raikkonen will retire on the finish of the season, concluding a profession that spanned twenty years and included the 2007 world championship.
Raikkonen is within the ultimate yr of his contract with Alfa Romeo. The Finn introduced his departure on Instagram on Wednesday forward of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
“This is it. This will be my last season in Formula 1,” Raikkonen wrote.
“This is a choice I did throughout final winter. It was not a simple choice however after this season it’s time for brand new issues.

“Formula 1 might come to an end for me but there is a lot more in life that I want to experience and enjoy. See you around after all of this! Sincerely Kimi.”
Raikkonen’s retirement will open a seat at Alfa Romeo for the 2022 season. The crew has fielded the identical drivers’ lineup of Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi for the previous three seasons.
Raikkonen was comparatively unknown when he made his F1 debut with Sauber in 2001 and scored factors in his debut to shortly acquire consideration. He changed Mika Hakkinen at McLaren within the 2002 season and received his first race the following yr whereas ending second within the championship.
He moved to Ferrari in 2007 and received his solely championship, beating Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by a single level within the season finale.
Raikkonen took a two-year break from F1 in 2010 and 2011, utilizing his time away to pursue different racing formulation, together with NASCAR. He ran in each the Truck Series and Xfinity Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2011.
Raikkonen credited his time away for renewing his ardour for F1 and serving to to increase his profession. The 41-year-old has 21 profession victories, his final in 2018 on the United States Grand Prix when he was with Ferrari and completed third within the championship standings.
Raikkonen completed fourth at Interlagos in 2019 however has not been larger than ninth since. He’s scored two factors this yr, ending tenth in each Azerbaijan and Hungary.
Two-time F1 champion Hakkinen was the well-known Finnish driver earlier than his countryman Raikkonen got here alongside.
“I raise my hat to Kimi and appreciate the energy and strength he has had, and that he’s been able to drive with Formula One for such a long time,” Hakkinen mentioned in an interview with Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat.
“The fact that Kimi has continued for so long is quite incomprehensible and I really appreciate it.”
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali additionally paid his tribute to Raikkonen, who turned an icon not only for nerveless driving that earned him the nickname “Iceman” but additionally for his monosyllabic, mumbled solutions in information conferences.
“Kimi is an incredible part of our sport, a personal friend and a true champion. I had the privilege of working with him at Ferrari and know the fantastic person he is,” Domenicali mentioned.
“We will all miss him and his unique style and wish him and his family the best for the future.”
The aura of indifference made him well-known and earmarked him as a singular character in a collection replete with self-promoting characters.
Beneath Raikkonen’s cloak of indifference, nevertheless, lay a devoted skilled with an enormous work ethic and a wonderful eye for element a lot appreciated by race engineers who labored with him.
That view was echoed by Alfa Romeo crew principal Frederic Vasseur.
“His presence, his charisma and his unique attitude, matched with the innate skill that made this team give him a chance back in 2001, have made him a legend of our sport in a way which numbers and statistics struggle to convey,” Vasseur mentioned.
“A driver like Kimi has written some indelible pages of our team’s, and our sport’s, history.”