Kimi Raikkonen is a bold driver and a worthy successor to his compatriot, fellow Finn, Mika Häkkinen.

Kimi Räikkönen surprised the world of F1 when Peter Sauber announced that he had offered Kimi a seat for 2001 on the condition that obtained his superlicense.


In his first year Raikkonen helped Sauber achieve fourth place constructors championship, the best in their history. This success eaned him a drive at McLaren.
In 2002 he maintained his blistering pace, on several occasions beating his teammate. His first F1 victory came in 2003, a year in which he fought for the title until the very last race of the season. Many thought that the 2004 title was his to lose, but as it transpired, the new MP4-19 was not up to the challenge. Räikkönen had to be satisfied with seventh place, with just a single victory, in Spa. 2005 began badly for McLaren and Kimi, but they recovered, gaining 7 important victories, enabling the team to compete with Fernando Alonso right down to the wire, but in the end he was runner-up.



So far this season has only been a reasonable one by Kimi's exacting standards, he currently (after the Hungarian Grand Prix) lies equal fourth with 49 points, 51 points behind the leader, Alonso.