Kimi Räikkönen

Before you read this I should warn you it's probably the longest article I have ever written on Dooyoo - settle down with a cup (vat) of your favourite drink, some food to sustain you and a carton of Pro-Plus! Finland has produced more than it's fair share of top class F1 drivers considering it is a small country with only 6 million inhabitants. Keke Rosberg was world champion in 1982, then Mika Hakkinen twice in 1998 and 1999, will Kimi emulate them I wonder? Born in the small town of Espoo on 17th Oct 1979, Kimi was soon showing an interest in motorsport. He began karting at age 8 (not that young for an F1 driver) and was winning national ...  Read the complete review

Why are the Finnish drivers becoming so good in Formula 1? Is there an answer to it? Well, there may not be an apparent one but Kimi Räikkönen sure has proven that the mould was not broken when they sent Hakkinen and Salo over here. When he turned up with Sauber last season, many had their doubts. He had only competed in a handful of single seater races, despite being lightning fast. He therefore lacked the experience needed to pilot one of the quickest vehicles on earth. You definitely need lots of practicve to be on the pace in one of these machines yet Raikkonen proved otherwise. In the suprise team of the season, Kimi seemed to shine, often ...  Read the complete review

Kimi Raikkonen burst onto the F1 at the start of this season and little was known about him. His only previous single seater experience was in the Formula Renault Championship in Britain, which he dominated. Apart from that he had only raced karts. That's what makes his debut Formula 1 season even more remarkable. I write this on the eve of the US Grand Prix and Kimi's fairytale season might as well end now. He already has a McLaren contract in his back pocket and has scored a fair number of points along the way. Driving a Sauber this is no mean feat. Peter Sauber took a risk on the young Finn at the start of the season. Red Bull were not pleased as they ...  Read the complete review

Having just witnessed the extremely dull end to the 2001 F1 World Championship fight, I was ready to cast the season aside and pretend it never existed. But then I remembered that there have been a few good points to take note of. The introduction of another Finn to the F1 world in Kimi Raikkonen being the main revelation. Losing Mika Salo to the not-yet-surfaced Toyota team would have left the Finnish contingent reduced to the Mighty Mika Hakkinen alone. Thankfully Peter Sauber, boss at the Sauber Petronas F1 Team, spotted the immense talent shown in Raikkonen and signed him to team up with German Nick Heidfeld. The Sauber drivers are by far the ...  Read the complete review