Born in:
Date of Birth: October 17, 1979
Nationality : Finnish
Nickname: Iceman, Kimppa, Räikkä and Kimster
Racing for : Scuderia Ferrari.
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| 2008 team | |
| 2008 car # | 1 |
| 2009 team | |
| Races | 140 (139 starts) |
| 1 (2007) | |
| Wins | 17 |
| Podium finishes | 57 |
| Career points | 531 |
| 16 | |
| 35 | |
| First race | |
| First win | |
| Last win | |
| Last race | |
| 2008 position | 3rd (75 points) |
Kimi 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 (FIA) after a performance delivery promise from 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.
Switching to Ferrari in 2007 after the retirement of multiple World Championship winner Michael Schumacher, Räikkönen became the highest paid driver in motor sport with an estimated wage of $51 million per year. In turn 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.
Räikkönen is known to be very calm, cool, and calculating in his race strategy—prompting the nickname "Iceman", which is subtly written on the side of his current helmet design.
In 2008, Räikkönen is one among the two Formula One drivers who made it into the Forbes magazine's The Celebrity 100 list, the other being Fernando Alonso. He is 36th on Forbes magazine's The Celebrity 100 list of 2008, and 41st on the previous year. On the same list, as of 2008, he is listed as the 26th highest paid celebrity overall and the 5th highest paid sportsman behind Tiger Woods, David Beckham, Michael Jordan and Phil Mickelson.
RECORDS
§ In 2005 Räikkönen equalled the record of wins in a single season without winning the World Title (7), shared with four time World ChampionAlain Prost, who initially set the record in 1984 and matched it in 1988, and also with Michael Schumacher, in 2006.
§ In the 2005 and 2008 seasons, he equalled Michael Schumacher's record of 10 fastest race laps in a season, set in 2004.
§ He currently holds the third highest record for total fastest laps at 35 (up to and including the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix), thus making him the highest ranked driver still active.
§ In 2008, Silverstone marked his sixth fastest race lap in a row (Spain, Turkey, Monaco, Canada, France, Britain), passing Michael Schumacher with 5 and 1 behind record holder Alberto Ascari with 7. His 6 consecutive fastest laps put him level with Alberto Ascari for most consecutive fastest laps in single season. Ascari's 7 were set over 2 years with 6 in 1952 and 1 in 1953.
§ He is the first driver to win on his Ferrari debut since Nigel Mansell at the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix and the first to win, set the fastest lap and Pole Position on his Ferrari debut since Juan Manuel Fangio at the 1956 Argentine Grand Prix.
§ As of 2008 Räikkönen is currently the highest paid driver in Formula One, with a reputed base salary of $51m per year.
§ The 2007 Chinese Grand Prix saw Räikkönen give Scuderia Ferrari their 200th Formula One GP win, as well as their 600th podium (along with team-mate Felipe Massa who finished in 3rd).
§ Räikkönen is the second driver to win the World Championship after being third in the drivers standings before the final race. Giuseppe Farina, the first F1 World Champion, was the first to do this in 1950, beating Juan Manuel Fangio by three points and Luigi Fagioli by six points.
§ Räikkönen is the third Ferrari driver after Juan Manuel Fangio and Jody Scheckter to win the world title in their first year with the team.
§ Räikkönen is the third Finnish driver to win the World Championship, after Keke Rosberg and Mika Häkkinen. He is also the most successful Finnish Formula One driver in terms of points, podium finishes and fastest laps.
Career summary
| Season | Series | Team Name | Races | Poles | Wins | Pts | Final Placing |
| 1999 | | 2 | | | | 5th | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | NC | |||
| 4 | ? | 4 | | 1st | |||
| 4 | 0 | 0 | | | |||
| 2000 | | 2 | 2 | 2 | 62 | 7th | |
| 10 | 6 | 7 | 316 | 1st | |||
| 2001 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 10th | ||
| 2002 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 6th | ||
| 2003 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 91 | 2nd | ||
| 2004 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 7th | ||
| 2005 | 19 | 5 | 7 | 112 | 2nd | ||
| 2006 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 65 | 5th | ||
| 2007 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 110 | 1st | ||
| 2008 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 75 | 3rd |
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